Zynga Announces New Web3 Game, Sugartown | GAM3S Grid Weekly

🔥 Top headlines from this week’s digest:

• FarmVille Dev Zynga Announces Web3 Native Game - Sugartown

• Champions Ascension Goes Live on Steam

• Hunters On-Chain Launches on iOS and Android

• Wildcard Reveals Wildfile SBTs; Tracks and Records In-Game Progress

• Star Atlas Unveils SAGE Labs: New Space Economy Simulation Game

• NewZoo Report: $187.7B Revenue, Growth Factors, and Industry Trends

• Futureverse and Outlier Ventures Launch Base Camp Accelerator

• Animoca Brands Partners with AWS as Official Activate Provider

📝 FarmVille Dev Zynga Announces its Web3 Native Game - Sugartown

Zynga, the studio behind FarmVille and other massively successful titles, is entering the web3 gaming world with its first native web3 game, Sugartown.

What’s Going On Here? 

Renowned mobile game developer Zynga, a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, has made a monumental entrance into the Web3 gaming arena with the launch of Sugartown. In a historic move, Zynga becomes the first major mobile game developer to create a Web3 game from the ground up.

What Does This Mean?

Sugartown introduces players to a captivating realm where in-game rewards are the heart of the experience. The narrative revolves around three farm animals who unintentionally open a portal to Sugartown from another dimension, bringing in enigmatic creatures known as Ora's. These beings transform Sugartown into a bustling hub of entertainment and excitement.

To step into Sugartown, players utilize their Ora NFTs as tickets. Through staking Oras, they gain valuable energy required for playing games and earning Sugar, the in-game currency unlocking exclusive rewards. Zynga's Vice President of Web3, Matt Wolf, expressed the company's commitment to innovation, emphasizing their dedication to bringing fresh experiences to the gaming world.

The launch of Sugartown unveiled the opportunity for players to mint their own Oras, an integral part of accessing the game's free-to-play mini-games. The promise of an ever-evolving experience tailored to Zynga's player community, in partnership with Forte, a prominent player in web3 game infrastructure, echoes a commitment to compliance, licensing, and sustainable economic opportunities for players.

Why Should I Care?

Zynga's strategic move into the Web3 gaming space with Sugartown marks a milestone in the industry. As the first major mobile game developer to create a web3 game from scratch, following in the recent footsteps of Ubisoft and SEGA for PC, Zynga is setting the stage for an era of innovation.

Sugartown's announcement, cleverly unveiled through a targeted marketing campaign on platforms like Twitter and Discord, has stirred up enthusiasm within the gaming community. This leap by Zynga not only stands as a precedent for other major mobile game developers to follow but also ushers in a new era of gaming where web3 technology reshapes the way players interact with and enjoy their gaming experiences on mobile and PC.

Read the full report breakdown here

✍️ Reviews of the Week

We relived football’s greatest moments on the field then built our decks and ventured into dangerous dungeons in our two featured reviews:

🎮 Fresh Games

From an iconic entry into the web3 gaming from SEGA to a trip down the late 13th century historical fights in Turkey, check out the latest games added to our platform!

🎙️Conversation of the Week

This week we spoke with Jeremy Horn - Co-Founder at Overworld and Xterio to learn more about how they’re building better tech for better games starting with Overworld.

Overworld is an upcoming free-to-play, cross-platform sandbox RPG that emphasizes social experiences, collective storytelling, utility-driven collectibles, and immersive multiplayer gameplay. Set in a rich fantasy world, players can forge their destiny as a ruthless lord, noble knight, or proud explorer, with their actions shaping the course of history.

What You Need to Know About Xterio:

• Veteran-Led Game Development: Xterio is a free-to-play-and-own game developer and publisher founded by industry veterans. They are committed to creating deep and rich gaming experiences driven by player ownership, focusing on creating memorable and fun games.

• Community-Centric Approach: Xterio values community feedback and actively seeks thoughts and suggestions from players. They believe that the best gaming experiences are crafted by listening to the community, making them an integral part of the development process.

• Blockchain Integration: Emphasizing player ownership, Xterio leverages blockchain technology in their games. Items, characters, and more can be owned by players, and they can trade them on the Xterio Marketplace. This approach enhances the gaming experience by providing secure and transparent transactions.

• Diverse Gaming Portfolio: Xterio offers a wide range of games, including MMOs, RPGs, strategy games, and more. They combine elements from Web 3.0 and traditional gaming platforms, offering unique features like Play and Earn (P&E) design, allowing players to own in-game assets and earnings, all leveraging blockchain technology to create digital collectibles.

🎧 Listen to the full conversation recording here

📺 Video: Why Minecraft Refuses to Die

In this week’s video, we take a look at why Minecraft continues to lead the gaming industry despite being over a decade old with no AAA polished graphics; tune in to find out what web3 games can learn from this and more 👇

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Until next time, happy gaming!