The new community-focused update that‘s caught everyone’s attention has finally arrived in Axie Infinity.
The Axie Infinity Builder’s Program is a new update that aims to encourage creators and developers to create new experiences in the Axie Infinity metaverse — like mini-games and expansions — by awarding grants and incentives.
But for the non-developers and the average players, what does this mean? How can they benefit from this? What’s the point?
First, let’s talk about SLP, Axie Infinity’s main utility token. SLP can only be farmed or earned as rewards from completing in-game adventure quests and winning arena battles in Axie Infinity. Right now there is no other major way of earning SLP other than playing the game itself.
The Builder’s Program can change that by introducing new games that may reward SLP and still function within the Axie Infinity economy. Remember, games from the Builder’s Program will still be using the same NFT assets as the main game and will presumably run on the same blockchain network.
These new experiences could help diversify the Axie Infinity playerbase and provide new opportunities for Playing to Earn.
More games and experiences that will come out from the Builder’s Program will also mean more utility for the SLP token. Right now, SLP’s only utility is that it is used for breeding new Axies, and nothing else. Sure one can point out that several retail stores are accepting, or have accepted SLP, as a form of payment during the height of Axie Infinity’s popularity, but that mass real world adoption is still yet to happen.
Remember that for cryptocurrency, supply versus demand isn’t just an indicator for value,but the level of utility or use as well. The more uses for a token or coin, the better its value will likely be.
The Builder’s Program also allows for new burning mechanisms for SLP to help balance the economy and tackle the issue of oversupply and low demand. Should developers opt for monetization of their Axie Infinity metaverse projects, payments shall be done using SLP and AXS and a portion of the generated revenue must either be burned or be put in the community treasury.
Monetization programs aren’t all just for revenue though, as it can be through other community-driven experiences like PvPs, Competitive Leaderboards, and even new Tokens. Imagine having something like BabySLP which can then be converted into actual SLP! The possibility is there and is just waiting to be tapped.
But what new games can we expect? Right now the Builder’s Program is targeting small projects but it could possibly expand to bigger ones. Sample project ideas that Sky Mavis wants to see include:
- Tamagotchi
- Bomberman
- Tower Defense
- Racing
- Chess
- Platformers
- Trivia Games
- Neopets…
…and even education game titles. Now imagine if this becomes fully realized and we get something like an Axie Infinity Action RPG, or maybe an Axie Infinity MOBA? In fact a few of these projects that showcase possibilities for these new experiences already exist — like Axie Sushi and Flappy Axie.
While the Builder’s Program may seem like a small step, the possibilities are major in expanding the Axie Infinity experience.
It’s not just going to be more games, but more utility for Axie Infinity’s tokens as well.
Which, in time, can add value to the Play to Earn ecosystem.