Axie Infinity Shards (AXS), the token behind the play-to-earn blockchain game Axie Infinity, has soared more than 24% in the past 24 hours amidst an announcement to develop and introduce 12 new projects within its ecosystem. The program offers developers perks in exchange for building valuable functionality within Axie Infinity.
Among the rewards for being a part of the program are a minimum $10,000 grant in AXS tokens to fund projects, exclusive access to tech integrations such as Ronin Single-Sign-On and Ronin wallet transactions, and guidance from Axie Infinity’s engineering, game design, and product teams. Additionally, players will get to monetize their creations. The builders get to keep a significant portion of their revenue, with the rest going back directly to players or the community treasury.
What Is Axie Infinity?
Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based game where users purchase non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of Pokémon-like monsters and fight against each other in battles. Moreover, players can earn a second token, called Smooth Love Potion (SLP), by playing and can trade this token for money in exchange.
Additional components of the game that are set to be built through the Builder’s Program include Inter the Dungeon, a push-your-luck dungeon crawl where users can showcase how to exchange resources between games, Defenders of Lunacian Land (DOLL), a survival action game with simple gameplay and challenging roguelike elements, Across Lunacia, a platforming adventure for Axie NFTs, and Mech Infinity, a battle royale game involving Axies and their unique abilities.
Axie and NFTs
Axie Infinity is recognized as the leader in non-fungible token (NFT) gaming. In-game digital assets such as the Axie creatures are represented by NFTs. These cryptographically unique tokens, as discussed, confer ownership and allow the player to trade Axies on the game’s marketplace for real money.
In the realm of NFT projects, Axie Infinity holds the record for the third-highest all-time sales. As of March 2022, Axie Infinity generated $4.17 billion in all-time NFT sales, below OpenSea’s $23.21 billion, and LooksRare’s reported at $18 billion.
Axie Infinity’s Builder’s Program
Axie Infinity developer, Sky Mavis, said community co-creation is key to its growth strategy and will be a fundamental driver of scaled-value generation over time. In addition to supporting the development of program recipients, Axie Infinity goes a step beyond in allowing community developers not accepted into the official Builders Program to build and monetize Axie Infinity experiences as long as they abide by the guidelines outlined.
“The Builders Program is the first step in a new world where the community can make significant and meaningful contributions directly toward games and projects they love and is one of many initiatives that will allow players to gain more enjoyment from the Axies they own. We can’t wait to see these projects come to life and look forward to seeing what the community will create next,” said Philip La, game product lead at Axie Infinity, in a statement.
The Future of Axie
Axie Infinity has proven successful in building games that users love to spend time enjoying. With its investment in the Builder’s Program, Sky Mavis is showing that it is committed to evolving and enhancing the experience that so many have come to love. If Axie Infinity continues to invest in its fans through initiatives like the Builder’s Program, it’s likely its fanbase will deepen its loyalty and grow in adoption.