MINTS

• To celebrate February, Earn Alliance kicked off its "Click Play Love” event for users to discover exciting browser games, mint NFTs, and earn valuable rewards. The featured browser games include CHAMPS, PixelPal, Heroes of Holdem, Norma in Metaland, Nekoverse, Sunflower Land, Anichess, CrobBytes, Chibi Clash, Knights of the Ether, OneRare Foodverse, and Planet Mojo. The event will last until February 26.

• Rave, the NFT car racing game on Immutable, has initiated the public mint for its Forever Pass. This pass, with a supply of 2,000, is priced at 40 MATIC on Magic Eden. Holders of the Forever Pass are entitled to benefits such as unlimited game access, access to new chapters, future airdrops of the $RAVE token, and more.

PARTNERSHIPS AND FUNDINGS

• iCandy Interactive, a mobile game developer, has announced a partnership with Animoca Brands to launch a new game titled "Snaky Cat." This multiplayer game allows players to control a snake-cat, guiding it to move around and eat to grow longer. Players who purchase ticket for rounds can compete and if they secure top positions on the leaderboard will have the opportunity to earn TOWER tokens.

• Darewise, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands and the developer behind Life Beyond, has joined forces with DFZ Labs in a strategic partnership. This collaboration aims to co-develop the Life Beyond game and leverage DFZ Labs' expertise in mobilizing streamers to support the title. Additionally, Darewise has acquired NFTs from DFZ Labs as part of this collaborative effort.

• Marblex, a subsidiary of Netmarble focusing on web3 gaming, has announced a collaboration with SAGA, a blockchain protocol. Under this partnership, Marbex will leverage the Layer-1 capabilities of SAGA to develop and support its upcoming games, as well as promote the games it plans to publish. As part of the collaboration, SAGA is hosting an airdrop campaign, allowing users to participate and receive rewards.

• Animoca Brands, a prominent blockchain game company, has entered into a collaboration with LightLink, an Ethereum scaling protocol. This partnership aims to introduce gasless transactions to games, particularly benefiting Animoca Brands' existing and future game offerings. The goal is to enhance user experience by eliminating the need for users to deal with gas fees, making the gaming process more user-friendly.

• ERM LABS has partnered with The Sandbox to debut "The Wonder World," which represents the first Escape Room IP Collection in the metaverse. This collaboration aims to transform virtual gaming by combining puzzle-solving elements with the broad capabilities of blockchain technology.

• Yuga Labs, renowned for its NFT creations and the 'Legends of The Mara' (LoTM) game, is expanding its presence in mobile gaming. By year's end, LoTM will be available on mobile platforms, thanks to a collaboration with Faraway. This partnership, grounded in a series of successful ventures, aims to transform the mobile gaming landscape. LoTM combines the strategic depth of collectible card games with the engaging ease of idle games, inviting players to explore the Otherside universe. Here, they'll combat adversaries, collect unique cards, and unlock new evolutionary directions for their characters.

• Apeiron and TALON Esports, a leading force in Asia Pacific esports, have unveiled an exciting partnership featuring two key events: the $10K Apeiron Creator Challenge and the $30K Apeiron x TALON Nova Tournament. This collaboration signifies TALON's first foray into web3 gaming, generating significant buzz in the gaming world.

• Pixelmon, a web3 initiative notorious for its poorly received debut in 2022, has successfully raised $8 million in a seed funding round. Notable investors such as Animoca Brands, Delphi Ventures, and Foresight Ventures, along with additional support from Amber Group, 9GAG's Ray Chan, and Robbie Ferguson from Immutable, contributed to this round. In February 2022, the project was heavily criticized for the low-quality art presented during its NFT sale. Despite these challenges, Pixelmon has made significant improvements under the direction of a new team at LiquidX, including art replacement, leadership changes, and the unveiling of a comprehensive roadmap.

• Vermilion Studios has secured $7 million in funding, setting the stage for their upcoming title, "Forgotten Playland." This Web3 social party game, supported by Merit Circle and other key investors such as Paper Ventures and Spartan Group, is scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2024.

LAUNCHES

• MixMob, a gaming company, has successfully launched its token, "$MXM," on various exchanges, including ByBit and CoinMarketCap. This token release coincided with the launch of MixMob: Racer 1, a racing game. Token holders will have the opportunity to participate in MixMob governance, enhancing the community engagement aspect of the gaming ecosystem.

• Immutable, a prominent blockchain network, has officially launched its Layer-2 Network, zkEVM. This development aims to provide users with reduced gas fees and faster transaction speeds, facilitating seamless and cost-effective transactions. The release is currently in Early Access, offering developers the opportunity to explore and build projects on the zkEVM network.

• Heroes of Mavia, a mobile simulation strategy game, has officially launched on Android and iOS platforms. Players can now download the game from legitimate app stores such as the Play Store for Android users and the App Store for iOS users. Additionally, the project has initiated an airdrop to engage and reward players participating in the launch.

• Captain & Company, a naval extraction battler, was officially launched on February 1. The game is accessible through web browsers or can be downloaded on Android and Mac platforms. Players have the opportunity to engage in naval battles, either collaborating with friends or competing against other players.

• Rumble Racing Star, a game reminiscent of Mario Kart, was officially launched on February 1 for mobile devices. The game is now available for download globally on the Google Play Store. The launch also introduces a new season and leaderboard, providing players with the opportunity to compete for rewards, including USDC.

• Echoes of Empire officially launched on January 30th, 2024, unveiling its 4x space strategy game that offers play and earn opportunities to all players, including those who opt for the free-to-play model. The game is now accessible live! Players can sign up for a Gala Games account to dive into this multiplayer strategy experience, which is designed to provide play and earn options for every participant.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEW UPDATES

• Funtico will be launching its inaugural game, Heroes of Citadel, on the Steam platform. Described as an RPG with an adventurous mix, players can anticipate an engaging journey within the game.

• Star Heroes, a multiplayer web3 space shooter designed for esports, has revealed the initial phase of its significant airdrop scheduled for 2024. To participate, individuals can register on the platform and will subsequently receive instructions via email for the next steps.

• LitLab Games has revealed that CyberTitans, their blockchain autobattler, will undergo a series of balancing updates on February 5th, aiming to ensure fairness for all participants. These adjustments come in response to community input gathered during the ChainGPT Special Season, initiated with last month's Patch 2.0.0 release. The developers plan to tweak 4 Titans and 7 Synergies to foster a balanced competitive environment. The update will primarily target the Arctic Synergy, along with modifications to the Khepri Titan and Indomitable Synergy.

• The Mocaverse is expanding, hinting at the future launch of a MOCA token and unveiling a novel rewards mechanism that includes Shards. Shards represent a fresh component within the Moca ecosystem, obtained by players through a gamified referral process. Essentially, players are encouraged to register friends for Moca IDs using their referral codes, encouraging these new users to engage with the ecosystem and accumulate Realm Points. Shards are generated every hour from a collective pool, making early participation beneficial. These mining cycles last for 14 days before the Shard pool is refreshed.

• With the start of February, Devikins, the blockchain game, has announced its recent developments and future strategies. Among these is a temporary suspension of the breeding feature, intended to refine and balance the gameplay. An assessment of embryos and breeding processes will be conducted to guarantee fairness and boost the uniqueness of current Devikins.

NEW SEASON AND BETA TESTING

• Parallel, the sci-fi game and trading card game (TCG), kicked off its new season on February 1st. This season, marked as Season 1, introduces several updates, including a new Battle Pass featuring two new playable cards. Additionally, Battle Pass Cosmetic Upgrades from Season 6 will conclude on February 7th. The update also brings support for The Core in-game, adjustments to Prime Emission, implementation of Match Avoidance Penalty, bug fixes, and more.

• Wild Forest, the card RTS game, has announced a significant update on January 31. The team has labeled these updates as exciting, and here's what players can expect:

1. Premium Battle Pass Quest Tracker

2. Updated Unit Abilities

3. Unit Level and Rarity On-Screen

4. Easier Spotting of Unit Groups

5. Faster, Smoother Gameplay

6. Resolution of Match Result Calculation Issue

7. Easier Reward Collection with a Tap

These improvements aim to enhance the overall gaming experience for Wild Forest players.

• The Rare Era of Season 7 in Axie Infinity Origins, which began last month, has concluded, ushering in the Epic Era. This new phase brings updates, its own leaderboard rewards, and additional bonus prizes. The Epic Era started on January 31st and will continue for two weeks, featuring a prize pool of 18,900 AXS and 13,732,070 SLP. This prize pool is twice the size of the rewards offered in the season's initial Era. Players have the opportunity to win a portion of these tokens by securing a spot in the top 20,000. Moreover, the top 40,000 players will be eligible for bonus rewards, including crafting materials to aid in their success in the forthcoming Mystic Era.

• The team behind the blockchain farming simulator CropBytes has released the litepaper for their new game, Conquest, a PvP world-building game currently accepting beta registrations. The beta for this web3 game within the CropBytes ecosystem is scheduled to launch at the end of this month, marking the first of two phases in the game's release. The initial phase will offer players the chance to engage in strategic PvP gameplay, during which they can earn Essence Points. These points will be valuable in the second phase, focusing on the world-building aspect of this sequel to one of the longest-standing blockchain games.