Explore the thrilling universe of new Web3 games set to revolutionize the gaming landscape in 2024
With many analysts forecasting 2024 to be a landmark year for the blockchain gaming industry, an exciting wave of web3 gaming titles that have been eagerly awaited and previously announced are gearing up for their official launch, fueled by an increasingly positive sentiment pervading the broader Web3 space.
These games promise heightened player enjoyment and an immersive experience underpinned by transparency, security, and the potential for real-world earnings, all thanks to the power of blockchain.
With that in mind, let’s start the year with a list of existing and upcoming Web3 games that players and investors might want to monitor in 2024.
Shrapnel
In 2021, Neon, one of the leading Web3 gaming companies, successfully raised over $10.5 million to fuel the creation of what looks set to be one of the most popular Web3 games, Shrapnel.
Many feel this ambitious project will redefine the Web3 gaming landscape, moving away from the traditional focus on visual aesthetics and collectability to deliver an immersive triple-A gaming experience.
Currently, on pre-alpha playtesting, Shrapnel is a first-person extraction shooter set in a dystopian near future, leveraging Web3 technologies like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and GameFi and built on Unreal Engine 5’s Avalanche subnet.
Its innovative gameplay occurs in a future world where a catastrophic asteroid collision with the moon has led to Earth being bombarded by lunar meteorites. Amidst this chaos, players compete to control a valuable substance that has shifted the power balance.
With a comprehensive suite of player-creation tools, Shrapnel fosters a community where players can create unique items and game modes, adding to the replay value of this already highly anticipated title.
Illuvium
Another of the best upcoming Web3 games is Illuvium, a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) engineered on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain by the Illuvium DAO.
It offers a rich, open-world role-playing game (RPG) adventure where players seek to hunt and capture deity-like creatures called Illuvials.
The game, currently in early access and playable through the Epic Games Store, features 3D worlds, characters, and gameplay modes that aim to cater to various player preferences.
In Illuvium, players crash into an alien world, taking on the role of a hunter who must explore, capture beasts, and unlock the mystery of the cataclysm that shattered the land.
The game is developed on Unreal Engine 4 and boasts detailed regions and environments that distinguish it from previous titles by other web3 gaming platforms.
It also introduces players to collectibles, items, and native creatures (Illuvials), all in the form of NFTs, which are integral to gameplay. The NFTs offer competitive advantages and can be traded via IlluvDEX, the game’s decentralized marketplace.
Blocklords
Blocklords, a medieval strategy game for PCs, is another one of the most anticipated upcoming crypto gaming projects.
The game has been under development by MetaKing Studios since 2019. It showcases the intricacies of crafting a fully decentralized, on-chain game economy.
It features several playing styles, including farming, fighting, ruling, and resource management, allowing players to carve their own paths and shape the world with their decisions and skills.
David Johansson, a former Hollywood and free-to-play game director, conceptualized the game, envisioning it as a massively multiplayer online (MMO) medieval metaverse that blended the best features of grand strategy games while empowering players to create and own their characters and backstories.
The game is deployed on Ethereum-based layer 2 blockchain Immutable (IMX), and despite currently being in the development phase, the early community beta launched in 2023 has garnered success among its 5,000 players, indicating promising potential for the full release.
While still being refined, the game’s developers have stated that it offers a variety of features, including progression and dynasty systems, an in-game store, turf wars, and both player-vs-environment (PVE) and player-vs-player (PVP) modes, among others.
The game uses Web3 technology, enabling players to trade, buy, and monetize their in-game experiences, with heroes functioning as tradable digital assets outside the game, adding an economic interaction layer to the gaming experience.
Gas Heroes
Gas Hero is a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game from Find Satoshi Lab, the creators of STEPN, MOOAR, and DOOAR. The game is playable via web browsers and mobile phones.
Described as a Web3 social and strategy game, Gas Hero uses a unique tree-like world structure where players compete for power, glory, and wealth.