Epic Games will host its first game on Web3 – Grit

Gaming giant Epic Games will host its first game on Web3. The game is called Grit and is based on western stories. The news was announced by Gala Games, a producer of blockchain games.

According to Gala Games, Grit is a Battle Royale game, that is, it combines exploration of environments and survival. The Wild West was the environment chosen to host the game’s adventures. In it, players face clashes and firefights, and can team up with other players and squads.

The game will be the first of a close partnership between Gala Games and Epic, as announcement released on Monday. With this, Web3 games will be available on the same platform as major releases from Epic, such as the game Fortnite.

Web3 tries to reach the general public

The partnership between the studios marks another attempt by Web3 game developers to reach larger audiences. On the other hand, the big studios want a slice of the blockchain gaming market, which is growing at an exponential rate.

According to a report by the DappRadar in April, the activity of these games grew 2,000% in the first quarter of 2022. In terms of values, the market moved US$ 2.5 billion in the same period, 152% more than in the first quarter of 2021.

But despite this growth, the market faces challenges when it comes to mass adoption. For example, game stores are still reluctant to host Web3 games. As a result, most games fail to reach the mass audience.

In this sense, the studios adopted opposite positions. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said he is open to games from Web3 games, which justifies the company’s decision.

On the other hand, Epic Games’ competitor, Valve, went in the opposite direction. Owner of the famous game platform Steam, Valve has banned the distribution of games that use blockchain technology.

More legitimacy

Epic Games has been taking a pro-gaming blockchain stance since October, when it released NFT game hosting on its platform. However, John Osvald, President of Games at Gala Games, hopes the partnership will bring even more legitimacy to this market.

“Web3’s easy access to games is a turning point for gamers who haven’t yet seen how digital ownership can enrich the gaming experience,” added Osvald.

One of the factors that keep players away from the market, in addition to the lack of “legitimacy, is the cost of reproduction. In this sense, the costs associated with the configuration and purchase of exclusive avatars, which can be quite high depending on the network.

In the case of Grit, the problem also persists. The game has a collection of 10,000 NFTs that represent the pistols used in the game. Each NFT cost US$600 last week, but the price doubled and reached US$1,200 on Tuesday.

Public sales of NFTs will begin on June 9 and the floor price will be even higher: US$1,500 per NFT. In short, a value that is not affordable for most players.