Make Web3 Games Fun Again
A new web3 game from Yuga and nWay looks to be one of the best developed to date - here's what you need to know. And catch up on what Base is cooking with Onchain Summer.
TylerD's Market Summary
GM!
Today's top news includes:
Yuga and nWay drop Wreck League teaser
Base goes live Aug 9 with Onchain Summer
Phantom adds Instant Sell feature
Zora adds Protocol Rewards to share with creators
VeeFriends partners with Reebok for new physical sneakers
📈 Yuga and Wreck League Set to Wreck Havoc
The biggest complaint about Web3 games developed to date?
They simply aren't fun.
This was the major feedback against the play-to-earn meta, where players literally only played very boring games because they were being paid. And once the incentives wore off as token values dropped, they left.
Even a Sega exec commented on Web3 games not being fun in his exit from the sector.
Well, Wreck League might be about to change that.
What Happened?
Yesterday the teams at nWay, Animoca and Yuga introduced a new hybrid Web3/Web2 fighting game called Wreck League, which includes NFTs, Yuga IP and onchain prizes.
While not directly inside the Yuga core ecosystem, this is the first game that will be a part of "The Extended Yugagverse," featuring Yuga characters but not impacting their direct roadmap and game arc with HV-MTL and The Otherside.
Key details include:
Wreck League is a multiplayer game powered by ApeCoin allowing players to create, own, and fight with their Mechs, with over 1.5 quadrillion possible Mech combinations possible
Holders of BAYC, MAYC, BAKC, and Otherside Kodas can claim a free fully constructed Founders Mech across 3 different Mint phases
Players can collect (buy) Mech Parts as NFTs to create fully customizable, unique Mech characters (also NFTs) made up of 10 Mech Parts - and then they can sell them
A free-to-play Web2 version of the game is also planned without the onchain component
Did you catch that sneaky detail in bullet 3?
Yes, owners who create Mech NFTs will be able to create copies of them and make them purchasable in the Web2 game store. And a portion of that revenue will go back to the Mech NFT owner.
Create an incredible Mech fighter? Go copy it and sell it on the store.
Why It Matters
This is one of the most exciting and fun-looking Web3 games we have seen to date.
The ability to build your Mech fighter via NFT parts, copy and then sell that Mech on the Web2 store is a major potential profit unlock (and incentive mechanism) for players.
It offers another potential sink for ApeCoin (desperately needed), as we start to see more glimpses of how that token will be used in the broader Yuga and Animoca ecosystem.
And perhaps most importantly, the free Web2 version offers a chance to onboard more of the mass gamer space into Web3.
Overall it seems like a very strong development and use of the Yuga IP and native token, and early sentiment and reactions seem very strong.
Now let's see if the actual gameplay can hold up to the hype.
This is just a high-level summary, and those interested in diving in should read the nWay team's blog post plus other content from Animoca.
🔵 Coinbase Opens Base, Plans Onchain Summer
Coinbase is trying to win back favor for its Base protocol after this recent $BALD rug debacle.
Yesterday they made a major 3-part announcement, that the bridge to ETH was officially open, that the mainnet is set for public launch on August 9 and they're celebrating with a month-long festival called Onchain Summer.
The bridge was a nice surprise and is much needed, but its Onchain Summer that deserves the spotlight here.
What is Onchain Summer?
Onchain Summer is a month-long onchain festival to celebrate Base's launch, begins the same day on August 9th.
Core components of this "festival" include:
100+ ETH in grants for builders and creators to innovate on Base (provided in partnership with PropHouse)
$125,000 in prizes for a virtual hackathon "SuperHack", scheduled for August 4-18
Several NFT mints planned from notable brands like Coca-Cola, Atari, and more
Users simply need a crypto wallet with some ETH on Base mainnet to participate.
Coinbase also released a commemorative NFT to celebrate the event.
Will it be enough to win back over sentiment? Time will tell. But this is a damn good effort.
🚚 What else is happening in NFTs?
Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:
Trading volume again fell below 7k ETH on Thursday; NFTs were mostly green on the day, led by QQL and Milady's
Bored Ape Yacht Club sold out its ApeFest Hong Kong tickets, now moving to a waitlist for hopeful attendees
Snowfro has been announced as the 3rd artist in the Red Bull Racing Velocity Series; interested buyers can mint a Velocity Pass for 0.3 ETH
Sam Spratt has confirmed that there will be public access to his highly anticipated "The Monument Game" and that "some eth and speed are certainly helpful tools to acquire it"
Phantom Wallet introduced Instant Sell, now allowing users to sell NFTs directly in their wallet at the best possible price (aggregated across mp's)
OpenSea announced that it will support Base and its NFTs
Zora introduced its Protocol Rewards, now splitting fees from mints across creators and developers
Doodles shared a teaser video indicating Doodles Figurines are coming on Aug 18 in at least 3 different styles
Shinsei Galverse partnered with Swedish singer, Tove Lo, to release its first "nostalgic and futuristic anime"
Nifty's, the platform that brought The Matrix and Game of Thrones to web3, announced it is shutting down operations
🌎 Around Crypto and Web3
A few other Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:
The crypto market chopped on Thursday; BTC even at $29,130; ETH even at $1,835
Binance is launching a new stablecoin FDUSD, live for trading with BTC and ETH today
VeeFriends is partnering with Reebok to release the Aspiring Alpaca Classic Nylon sneakers, with an exclusive presale for VeeFriends S1 and S2 NFT holders starting Aug 17 and public worldwide release on Aug 24
The Futureverse co-founders unveiled a new $50M venture fund and studio called Born Ready, aimed at boosting emerging tech ventures related to Futureverse and The Root Network
🚀 NFT Total Volume
BAYC (1,351 ETH, 29.3 ETH Floor)
Azuki (837 ETH, 4.87 ETH)
MAYC (834 ETH, 5.48 ETH)
BAKC (813 ETH, 2.07 ETH)
DeGods (317 ETH, 9.16 ETH)
📈 NFT Floor Price Increase
QQL (78%, 8.88 ETH Floor)
Ether Avatar (36%, 0.12 ETH)
Paty Bears (27%, 0.22 ETH)
Combat Crates (26%, 0.51 ETH)
Yamabushi's Horizons (22%, 2.5 ETH)
🗓 Upcoming NFT Mints and Reveals
It is a very light day of new drops to end the week.
Retrometrix by artist Ben Kanizay is likely the highlight, as a small supply (44) gen art collection dropping over on Prohibition for 0.044 ETH.
Expect a quiet weekend in the NFT space as summer rolls on and the remaining traders focus on coin trading.
If you want more, see the full list of today's drops from Swizzy's daily mint monitor.
Memes by 6529 (11:00 a.m. ET)
Prohibition "Retrometrix" (1:00 p.m. ET)
Enjoy this write-up and/or want to sponsor the Morning Minute? Follow along with me on Twitter @tyler_did_it or reach out via email tyler.warner@luckytrader.com.
For all volume and floor price data, see Lucky Trader's Project Rankings page.
For all upcoming mints, see Lucky Trader's NFT Calendar page.