The gaming industry is constantly evolving thanks to rapid innovations and technological advancements. The emergence of highly advanced 3D creation tools, immersive reality, and community-focused gaming platforms has made gaming one of the most dynamic and disruptive forms of entertainment. In recent years, alongside the growth of traditional gaming, Web3 has also been on the rise.
Since 2020, hundreds of Web3 games have been created, establishing this new sector as a strong contender within the broader industry. Technologies like in-game tokens, NFTs, and blockchain have unlocked significant opportunities in ownership, security, and the creation of virtual economies, further enhancing the already lucrative traditional gaming space.
However, Web3 gaming faces several critical challenges. While it is gradually entering the market, issues such as a lack of experience, unsustainable business models, and low-quality game offerings have hindered its ability to achieve widespread success.
A gaming studio combatting these underlying issues is Gunzilla Games, a AAA game developer behind the recently launched battle royale 2.0 title Off The Grid. This month's project review will dive into the Gunzilla Games ecosystem and review the current state of Web3 gaming and its evolution.
The review will also explore on-chain statistics and Web2 and Web3 gaming market trends. Finally, the article will provide a detailed overview of the project’s fundraising efforts and team and analyze its strengths and challenges.
Current State of Web3 Gaming
In April 2024, the global Web3 gaming sector launched over 3,356 games across major blockchains such as BNB Chain, Polygon, Ethereum, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Base, and more. This number is relatively small compared to the global gaming industry, particularly to platforms like Steam, which released over 12,000 games in 2023.
Furthermore, when looking at how many Web3 games are currently active, there are only around 670+ games, which shows that the success rate of a Web3 game is currently less than 50%, but this also means there is a lot of room for new projects to take market share and stand out within this space.
In terms of Web3 gamers, the average number of daily active gamers has surpassed 4.49 million as of mid-October 2024, marking a significant increase from the previous bull cycle in 2021, during which there were less than 1 million daily users on average. For comparison, the current most played battle royale game Pub-G had an all time player count of 3.2M, and the global online gaming sector is predicted to have over 2.6 billion gamers globally, showing that there is still a lot of room to grow in Web3 gaming.
What Is Gunzilla Games
Gunzilla Games is an independent AAA video game developer and publisher. They are known for the recently launched battle royale game Off The Grid and the gamer-first blockchain, GUNZ.
The company was founded in March 2020 by CEO Vlad Korolov and CSO Alex Zoll, who were also the creators behind Warface, a game that holds a Guinness World Record for the most concurrent online players, with over 150 million gamers playing it over time. Since its inception, Gunzilla Games has aimed to make gaming fun again by bridging the gap between Web2 and Web3. The team has grown substantially in the first year, with over 188 team members spread across Frankfurt, Kyiv, and London.
The team comprises talent from top studios like Ubisoft, EA, Warface, and EA Sports NHL. They also include an Audio Director from HBO's show Chernobyl, and the Lead Art director of Call of Duty, among others.
In 2021, the team made a pivotal announcement with Hollywood director Neill Blomkamp joining as their Co-founder and Chief Visionary Officer. Blomkamp is known for his work on titles such as District 9, Elysium, and Chappie. Finally, the team has worked with Grammy award-winning composer Lorne Balfe to create the soundtrack for Off The Grid.
Product Deep Dive
The Gunzilla Games ecosystem has several key components and products:
These products include:
- Gunzilla Games - The game development studio
- Off The Grid - Gunzilla’s Flagship Battle Royale Game. Now available for Early Access on PlayStation, Xbox, and Epic Games.
- GUNZ Blockchain - Powering the gaming ecosystem
- GUNZ Blockchain Scanner - A visual blockchain scanner providing transparent insights into all on-chain activity
- GUNZ Mobile Wallet - Non-custodial wallet embedded into the GUNZ ecosystem
- GUNZ NFT Marketplace - Mobile and Desktop marketplace for all GUNZ titles and their in-game assets
- Technocore - The mobile companion game to Off The Grid
- OTG Companion App - Matching gamers and their stats
- Gunzilla Validator Network - The network that mints all in-game items and validates transactions
Gunzilla Games: Gaming Studio & Publisher
Gunzilla Games is the overarching company for all its products, serving as the primary studio and publisher for its games. With its proprietary blockchain, GUNZ, the studio can develop high-quality games in-house, like Off The Grid. In addition, the team's strong focus on talent, technology, and top-notch production will allow them to help external game developers publish their games. This will enable Gunzilla Games to expand its reach far beyond its own creations and compete with top game publishers such as Ubisoft and Tencent.
Off The Grid: Flag Ship Game
With a focus on building the next-generation business model in blockchain gaming, Gunzilla Games announced Off The Grid in May 2022. It is a battle royale third-person shooter and the first Web3 game that just recently launched its Early Access game on PlayStation, Xbox, and Epic Games.
The game is set in a dystopian cyberpunk future on Teardrop Island. Players shape the story and gameplay and craft, customize, and trade their in-game assets, ultimately surviving the cover corporate battles of the future. Along with the game's graphics and high-quality visual experience, players can loot top-notch weapons, HEXs, and removable limbs as well as create personalized characters.
Watch the Official Cinematic Trailer OFF THE GRID | Early Access Trailer - 4K
The game offers an array of weapon combinations that surpass those found in other Battle Royale games. The rarity of weapons in Off The Grid adds another layer of depth to the gameplay. Each weapon is visually distinct and possesses unique stats, making them valuable and sought after.
The limited number of each weapon available across Teardrop Island encourages competition among players to acquire these rare items. Additionally, players can trade weapons and their modifications in the game's marketplace, enhancing the strategic element of managing in-game assets.
Since its Early Access launch, Off The Grid has gained significant traction from both the gaming community and the general public. It has received a glowing review from Forbes and rave reviews from top gamers like Ninja, Scump, and Timthetatman on Twitter. As a result, the game has become one of the Top 3 most streamed games on Twitch.
Furthermore, Twitter influencer Piers Kicks stated that Off The Grid has surpassed 1 million hours watched, which is a remarkable achievement compared to the 678,000 viewers that Apex Legends peaked at during its launch in 2019.
GUNZ Blockchain
Along with its flagship game, Gunzilla Games has also developed its own blockchain built on the Avalanche subnet, called GUNZ. GUNZ is the first-ever platform to be seamlessly integrated into a AAA game, allowing players to turn their in-game assets into tradable NFTs within the GUNZ marketplace.
The GUNZ blockchain supports Off The Grid and has made significant strides since the Early Access launch, reaching over 5.9M registered wallet addresses and 57M+ total transactions.
GUNZ Mobile Wallet
The GUNZ Wallet is the official wallet for all projects built on the GUNZ blockchain. The team has built a simple and user-friendly interface to allow users to store and manage all $GUN tokens and NFTs. The wallet directly connects with the GUNZ marketplace, allowing people to make in-app purchases and buy items like skins, limbs, and other customizable accessories.
GUNZ NFT Marketplace
The GUNZ marketplace allows Off The Grid players to trade the in-game assets that they earn by looting and extracting HEXs. When writing, the marketplace had reached a total trading volume of 191K+. For reference, before the early access launch, the total trading volume was 12K.
Fundraising & Partnerships
The first round, announced in August 2022, secured $46M in funding to develop GUNZ. Republic Capital led the round, which included contributions from Griffin Gaming Partners, Animoca Brands, Jump Crypto, KuCoin Labs, Morningstar Ventures, and others.In March 2024, the team raised another $30M to support the release of Off The Grid ahead of its launch on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. The round was led by CoinFund and Avalanche Blizzard Fund, with participation from Republic Capital and Morningstar Ventures.
In addition to the above, the team also sold several additional millions worth of validator nodes, bringing the total amount raised by Gunzilla Games studios to over $90M, representing the biggest fundraise in Web3 gaming history.
Gunzilla Games also announced a significant partnership with Delphi Ventures, a leading crypto venture capital firm. Delphi Ventures has become the largest validator of Gunzilla Games’ gamer-first ecosystem and blockchain platform, GUNZ.
Analysis
Strengths
- The launch of Off The Grid Early Access has already reached new heights, not just in the Web3 gaming space but also among traditional AAA shooters—surpassing the success of other big titles like Apex Legends. If the game continues on this trajectory, it is set to take a large portion of the AAA market share and seamlessly onboard millions of users to the blockchain.
- The team has integrated Web3 elements into the game without players realizing that a blockchain supports the game’s marketplace. This allows players to seamlessly own and trade in-game assets without the typical challenges of Web3 transactions.
- Blockchain gaming can significantly enhance the gaming experience and asset ownership. Gunzilla's goal with OTG and GUNZ is to provide players with real ownership of their in-game assets while enjoying the gameplay. GUNZ is also a potential solution for other games developed by Gunzilla Games or external developers.
Challenges
- The AAA gaming industry faces challenges due to the high development and marketing costs. AAA games often require budgets of tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars, and marketing campaigns can be quite expensive. This creates a high level of risk for developers, as a game that fails to sell well can lead to significant losses.
What’s Next for Gunzilla Games
As mentioned, the team has released Off The Grid Early Access, which is available on PlayStation, Xbox, and Epic Games globally. This makes it the first mainstream blockchain-enabled game to launch on console. In the upcoming months, the team will continue to develop the game in the current Early Access version.
To stay updated on all new initiatives and big announcements, follow Gunzilla Games, Off The Grid, and GUNZ on all socials.
Learn More About the Gunzilla Ecosystem
Gunzilla Games
🌐 Gunzilla Games Website: gunzillagames.com/en/
🐦 Gunzilla Games Twitter: https://x.com/GunzillaGames
🤝 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/gunzilla-games
Gun by GunZ
🌐 Gun by GunZ Website: gunbygunz.com/
🐦 Gun by GunZ Twitter: x.com/GUNbyGUNZ
🕹️ Discord channel: discord.com/invite/gunbygunz
Off The Grid:
🌐 Website: gameoffthegrid.com/
🐦 Twitter: x.com/playoffthegrid
🕹️ Discord channel: discord.com/invite/offthegrid
📹 YouTube channel: youtube.com/@playoffthegrid
