ALPHA, BETA, AND NEW SEASONS

• Paradise Tycoon, the island life simulation game, unveiled its Beta version, which introduces a Multiplayer mode, allowing players to collaborate and build together. The update comes with numerous new resources and buildings, a 360° view with free camera rotation, access via Immutable Passport, and building materials and blocks to unleash creativity.

• LitLab Games has unveiled patch 2.00.03 for their Web3 autochess game, CyberTitans, marking the beginning of the Monsoon Season and incorporating various enhancements. This update includes numerous bug fixes and improvements such as an enhanced tutorial and new animations for Titans. Additionally, modifications have been made to the Shop, Profile History, Customization, and Competition interfaces. The update also improves the visual aspects, especially in terms of particles and lighting, with a notable enhancement in the particle effects for Titan Powers.

• Coinbase is inviting gamers to explore the web3 card-battler game, Parallel, by offering free in-game items and currency. With Parallel now in open beta and gaining popularity for its unique gameplay, Coinbase is leveraging its partnership with Base, the Ethereum L2 scaling solution, to draw new players. Newcomers to Parallel can expect to receive $5 in Glints, the game's in-game currency, along with two packs of non-NFT cards. These incentives are accessible via the "explore" page on Coinbase for retail traders and through promotional social media posts from Base.

• The 2024 S1 Season of BurgerCities has kicked off, running for approximately three months and featuring a total prize pool of 300k $BURGER, distributed across three competitive leaderboards: Tower Challenge, Equip Manufacturing, and Hero Power. The season is structured around these leaderboards, each with a dedicated 100k $BURGER prize pool. Spanning over three months plus an additional six days, the season includes a three-day pause after each month. Participants engaging in these categories are not only competing on the monthly leaderboards but are also contributing to their standings on quarterly leaderboards, accumulating points through their gameplay activities.

GAME UPDATES

• DOGAMÍ Academy, a popular dog racing game, is now available on Google Play and the iOS App Store. After a successful early access period with more than 5 million races run in just four months, the game has launched its free-to-play version for the wider public. This launch aims to broaden its audience, targeting over 1 million players worldwide.

• Ubisoft is partnering with the Ethereum-based NFT card game Cross the Ages. This collaboration will see the introduction of in-game cards themed around Ubisoft's acclaimed Watch Dogs franchise. Watch the teaser trailer showcasing the iconic vigilante hero Aiden Pearce from the first Watch Dogs game has been released, to see what's to come.

• Axie Classic has introduced a guild system, which enables players to invite friends and acquaintances, allowing them to collectively build and grow their guilds in Axie. By doing so, players can earn rewards and work together to establish a successful guild in the Axie Classic universe.

• On February 29th, Splinterlands, a pioneer among blockchain TCGs, announced a significant update following the end of its ranked play season, introducing a revamp of its ranked battle system. A key feature of this update is the removal of league limits, transforming all leagues, except the Novice league, into mere indicators of a player's current rating range. This means leaderboards are gone, except for the Champion leaderboard. The update also removes the maximum level restrictions for cards and eliminates penalties for playing with low-level cards. With leagues now indicating rating ranges, players lose the option to choose whether to advance to the next league, leading to a matchmaking system that pairs players based on similar ratings. Additionally, the SPS reward pool has been restructured; it is no longer divided among the leagues but is consolidated into one pool for the Modern format and another for the Wild format.

• Aurory, a gaming studio focused on creating immersive free-to-play games, recently announced the closure of one of its titles, "Aurory Tactics'' on April 30 due to ongoing issues with cheating and fixed matchmaking, despite the team's efforts to address these problems. While the closure is unfortunate, the studio aims to shift its focus to other titles, particularly highlighting the popular RPG game "Seekers of Tokane."

COMMUNITY EVENTS AND TOURNAMENTS

• The sci-fi metaverse Alien Worlds, through its Galactic Hubs program, has introduced Target Community Grants aimed at deepening community involvement by encouraging enthusiasts to contribute to the existing narrative. Interested participants can craft a story ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 words, anchored in the established lore and incorporating key elements like Trilium. Submissions can be made through a specified Google form - here - accessible via the official announcement. Accepted stories will be added to a content library, and contributors will be rewarded with a Galactic Hubs grant.

• MOBOX has implemented significant updates to the original version of Dragonverse, phasing out most of its features before the game's closure on web3. In The Burning Ceremony, MODragon holders can burn Gems, Stones, and MODragons for rewards. This event offers participants a chance to win not only $ETH but also $MBOX, the platform's native token. More details about the event will be disclosed next week.

MINTS HAPPENING

• The Machines Arena, a top-down hero shooter, has enhanced its gaming experience by enabling the minting of Heroes' Skins on the Ronin Network. Players now have the opportunity to mint their favorite skins, bringing them to life as tradeable assets on the Mavis market.

• MetaDOS, a cross-platform and free-to-play-to-own battle royale game, launched its free mint event on March 5. During this event, the game's Genesis Chest, which had a total supply of 2,222, was available for free minting. Minters were guaranteed to receive one of nine legendary skins, and they also gained access to various benefits, including Tournament Access, upcoming mint whitelist, item drops, and a Token Airdrop.

• Battle Derby, a multiplayer car combat game, held its Battle Derby Pass mint on Magic Eden. The battle pass offers various utilities, including earning $TOG tokens, 3D in-game assets with unique mechanics for scholarships and rental programs, unique metadata, privileged access to the Triple O Games ecosystem expansion, plus future surprises and experiences.

• StarHeroes, a multiplayer web3 space shooter for esports, has introduced the minting of Tournament Map Shards. The shards are priced at approximately 0.006 ETH each. Buyers or minters of these Map Shards will have the chance to receive an airdrop of the game's token, $STAR. Additionally, they will become shareholders in the esports tournament, which boasts a prize pool exceeding $1.3 million.

GAME TOKEN UPDATES

• Apeiron is rolling out its ecosystem token $APRS on the Ronin Network from March 12th to March 15th, marking one of the initial token offerings on Ronin. Central to the game, $APRS serves various purposes, including governance, allowing token holders to shape the game's development. This setup mirrors the dynamic observed in blockchain games such as Axie Infinity, where the $AXS token plays a similar role.

• Neon Machine, the developer behind the blockchain shooter game Shrapnel, has revealed a significant change to the SHRAP token release timetable, reducing the quantity of tokens to be distributed in April by 75%. This decision is designed to elongate the distribution period for team and investor tokens. However, the distribution of tokens from the community reward pool and ecosystem fund will continue as previously outlined.

• LiquidX Studio, creators of the Pokémon-inspired game Pixelmon, have successfully secured $7.1 million through a community pre-sale for their forthcoming $MON token, tied to the Mon Protocol IP governance platform. This pre-sale, which was initially announced in January, took place over a 48-hour period starting from February 26th at 9 AM EST / 10 PM SGT, and concluded on February 28th at the same time. A total of 62,092,000 $MON tokens were made available during this event, accounting for 6.2% of the total token supply. Participants were required to buy tokens in specified quantities, with each lot containing 2,888 $MON tokens priced at 0.096 $ETH. The number of lots an individual could secure was determined by the rarity of their Pixelmon and Golden Trainer NFTs.

FUNDING AND PARTNERSHIPS

• ChronoForge, a multiplayer action RPG built on Immutable X, celebrated the successful closure of its strategic investment round. RIFT Foundation led the investment, contributing to a total funding of $3 million USD to support the growth and development of the ChronoForge ecosystem.

• Readygg, a web3 gaming platform and developer, secured a total of $4 million USD. Delphi Digital and Momentum 6 led the funding, with participation from Merit Circle, ZBS Capital, Token Metrics, Purechain Capital, and others. The project also welcomed Shawn Layden, former chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment, as an advisor.

• StadiaX, a web3 games publishing platform, is partnering with Murasaki, a Hague-based game and media studio specializing in Japanese Games and IPs. This collaboration is focused on creating innovative and engaging digital assets and experiences within the web3 ecosystem. The integration of Murasaki Gaming's expertise in game development will contribute to the StadiaX platform's growth and offerings.

• Animoca Brands Japan, in collaboration with KDDI Corporation, has entered into a partnership to accelerate the adoption of web3 technology, solidified by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). As a strategic arm of Animoca Brands, Animoca Brands Japan aims to enhance interoperability, allowing players to immerse themselves in web3 gaming, culture, and entertainment more seamlessly. This collaboration has also facilitated the integration of two key platforms within the web3 community: Mocaverse and αU (Alpha U).

• Basketballverse has unveiled an exciting collaboration with Mo Bamba, the dynamic center for the Philadelphia 76ers, marking a significant milestone for both the gaming and sports sectors. This partnership aims to elevate the virtual gaming landscape by blending the thrill of basketball with the digital world, offering an engaging mix of live multiplayer action and blockchain technology.