We called 2023 as a year of releases foe web3 games, and so far, we are not disappointed! Here are just a few games to keep watch on in February!

Gala Games

Gala Games was on this list last month, and it looks like they aren’t slowing down any! Already full bore into bringing their new mobile acquisitions on board, Gala Games is also moving forward with replacing TOWN with GALA, and bringing their own blockchain, GYRI, more to the front as additional games are added to that ecosystem.

And both their film and music divisions seem to be increasing the pace of releases as well. Also, Gala Games promised to release an updated roadmap for every app that is part of their ecosystem. So look for those over the coming weeks.

Illuvium

Illuvium now has all three of their games, Arena, Zero, and Overworld, running in alpha tests. They’ve been releasing regular updates and bug fixes to Illuvium Zero, and we may even see a public beta for Arena. For a long time after their initial NFT sale, Illuvium had little to show. But now we’re seeing the result of that funding and Illuvium seems to be aiming to release everything all at once!

The Harvest

The Harvest entered into open beta this week. With the web3 MOBA scene still somewhat underdeveloped, there is room for more games to grow in this niche. And The Harvest has some interesting game mechanics in that the battles are between three teams rather than two, and with players building a deck of power-ups to use throughout the match. Will they be able to attract and hold enough interest to carve out their own spot?

The beta for The Harvest is available on Steam for easy download and patching.

Mega World

Mega World opens on the Binance Chain and brings cross-chain dependencies between the three cities. However, unless you’re a major player in the land game, there still isn’t much reason to play this game. So I think this new city opening will be a telling moment for the future of Mega World. Will they be able to generate and sustain enough new activity to keep an entirely new city going, while not letting the older cities decay further into empty wastelands?

I know that they are hoping for their citizen-based, virtual world gameplay to bring in new players. But that still seems to be far away.

New FPSes

The FPS genre seems to be one of the fastest growing in web3 gaming these days. I guess it’s relatively easy to throw something together in Unreal Engine and then tweak it to give it your own style and flavor.

We have recent releases from FORA and Project Red, as well as other upcoming titles such as MetaLands and Citizen Conflict. On top of that we have already existing FPS games such as Forge Arena, and ev.io, who just won the best FPS award at the Gam3r’s Award event!

And of course there are others I haven’t mentioned. The FPS category for web3 gaming is growing by leaps and bounds and definitely an area to watch for interested gamers!

The post Play to Earn Games to Watch in February appeared first on Play to Earn.

It was a long time ago that The Harvest went into closed beta. And though we expected an open beta to follow soon after, instead it has been a long six months. Now the wait is over and everyone can get down to working with their team to harvest the most resources while fighting off other teams trying to accomplish the same goal!

Players can download The Harvest on Steam. It’s only available for Windows PC. And though the game is listed as early access, just click the request access button to enable the download. The open beta is free to play. Players don’t need to own any NFTs or game tokens.

The game requirements are relatively minimal — Windows 7+, 30GB of disk space, and 6GB of RAM.

What is The Harvest?

The Harvest is a web3 enabled, MOBA shooter with a third person perspective. The game pits four teams of three players against each other. During matches, each team tries to control key points on the map to gather Essence.

Left by some unknown, ancient civilization, Essence is the most valuable, known resource. Warriors from civilizations across the galaxy come to the planet of O’Ree-Jin to fight over Essence extractors.

Players can also harvest Essence from fallen enemy players and NPC monsters that will appear around the map, or even steal the stored Essence from other teams! Matches are quick — only ten minutes long.

Players customize their characters via NFT cards. They start with a base Hero, and then choose eight cards to form their deck for the game. When a player levels-up during a match, they draw two cards, picking one as a power-up while the other is discarded. Cards both increase a player’s stats as well as adding an additional passive or active effect.

These cards provide special attacks and other abilities. Players will be able to upgrade cards to level 10 by combining multiple copies and paying a fee in EOL (Essence of Life), the game token. There will also be Premium cards, which is any card of level 11 or higher. These cards have a different border, are rarer, and all have a limited supply. Also, these higher level cards have randomized stat bonuses as they level up, making each one different.

The Harvest will also include skins, emotes, and other cosmetic items. It will feature seasonal, ranked rewards and three additional tokens besides Essence — Ore, Ancient Coins, and $HAR, or The Harvest Token.

The Harvest is on both Solana and Binance Chain. Players can purchase NFT packs for The Harvest at the Binance NFT store. These packs cannot be opened yet. Each box contains 40 ability cards with one guaranteed legendary, one guaranteed shiny, and four guaranteed epics.

To learn more about The Harvest, visit their website, follow them on Twitter, and join their Discord chat.

You can also watch our video review to learn more and see some in-game action from the closed beta. In addition, DeQuest has a section that introduces players to The Harvest.

The post The Harvest Launches Open Beta appeared first on Play to Earn.

More than 100 web3 projects encouraged their communities to vote for their projects in the GAM3 Awards of 2022 contest. This resulted in over 40,000 community members voting on their favorite projects and content creators resulting in a total of 250,000 votes across the 16 different categories. Thirty-two projects were filtered out of all the votes and below are the winners of each category on December 15th:

• Game of the Year: Big Time ()
• Most Anticipated Game: Shrapnel ()
• Best Graphics: Star Atlas ()
• Best Action Game: Superior ()
• Best Mobile Game: Thetan Arena ()
• Best Adventure Game: Big Time ()
• Best Casual Game: Blankos Block Party ()
• Best RPG: Illuvium ()
• Best Shooter Game: MetalCore ()
• Best Strategy Game: Gods Unchained ()
• Best Card Game: Gods Unchained ()
• Best Multiplayer: Game: EV.IO ()
• Best Esports: Game: EV.IO ()
• People’s Choice Award: League of Kingdoms ()
• Games’ Choice Award: The Harvest ()

As for the content creator award, twenty-three web3 gaming content creators received nominations until the final voting day. But who took the prize home was Brycent, a Twitch streamer.

Besides being an awards event, many web3 games shared some alpha with their community members. An example of this was the project Blocklords. During the stream, they showed some gameplay for the first time ever.

This was a major event in Web3 Gaming. Justin Kan, Founder of Fractal, shared his thoughts and commented: “We are excited to partner with Polkastarter Gaming on this event, it is truly a step in the right direction for the industry, and the first of its kind in web3 gaming!”

Last Thoughts

The GAM3 Awards this year were one of the most expected events in the web3 gaming industry. A lot of enthusiasts took their time to vote on their favorite games. But, even though I agree with some of the awards, I am not sure it reflects accurately the best projects out there.

The projects who won are the ones that got the highest amount of votes. So, did the winners win because their product is the best in a specific category, or did they win because they have the largest community? Are GAM3 Awards about quality or about marketing and hype?

I can give you a few examples. Star Atlas won an award in the ‘Best Graphics’ category while they only have a very limited demo out. On the other hand Phantom Galaxies also has AAA graphics, maybe even better than Star Atlas’! It also has a lot of content, voice acting, quests, multiple areas to explore, gathering, combat, and different classes. Overall, it is light-years ahead of Star Atlas when it comes to development and quality and they did not win anything while both games fall into the Sci-fi, MMORPG genre. Maybe the graphics shown in Star Atlas demo are a bit better, but it is just a demo in a tiny area while Phantom Galaxies also has mind-blowing graphics in a much vaster area, where players can do a lot more than just walk around.

Personally, I think this is not fair and I also think that the awards should be distributed based on established criteria and not votes. Votes just represent which project has more hype and the largest community and is not directly related to the quality of a project.

When it comes to the number of people voting I think it is a positive sign. It indicates that there are more and more people interested in web3 gaming and that the industry is growing by the day.

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The Harvest players already have their hands on Mystery and Legendary boxes from the first set via various sales and events earlier this year. However, the boxes cannot be opened yet. And they won’t, until mid-October or so.

This first Ability NFT set, called the O’Ree-Jin Collection, includes a little over 200,000 cards total (170,000 Rare, 30,000 Epic, and 15,000 Legendary). with 72 different cards available. Each hero has a set of 18 Premium cards from this collection — nine rare, six epic, and three legendary.

The O’Ree-Jin collection also includes Shiny cards. And these are not just cosmetic. Shiny card owners can pick the main attribute that the Shiny card will enhance! These main attributes include Attack, Defense, Armor Penetration, Evasion, Critical, and Cooldown Reduction.

Mystery Boxes hold 10 random cards with Rare being the lowest level rarity. Legendary boxes contain 40 cards with guaranteed rarities. Each Legendary box holds 34 rare, 4 epic, 1 legendary, and 1 shiny (random rarity) cards.

Unfortunately, the opening of Mystery and Legendary boxes will have to wait. The team wants to make sure that they feel the Ability cards are sufficiently balanced before locking them in. The team will make all cards available for playtesting during the beta.

Public beta expected to start in mid-October

What are Ability Cards?

Ability Cards are special bonuses used to increase a Hero’s power or give them a new ability during a match. Players build a deck of eight Ability Cards before a game, and then use them when they level up in-game. The Harvest features a set of free to play, common cards. Every player receives a set of 15 common cards for each hero (60 total cards).

Abilities have different effects and are associated with specific heroes. Ability cards also have an Essence Bar. Players earn Essence while playing, and can then spend it to level up a card. When an Ability card levels up, it increases the numerical stats for its effect(s). Premium cards can reach as high as level 25, while Common, or free cards, are locked at level 10. Above level 10, players must also spend $HAR tokens when leveling up cards.

Common cards can upgrade to uncommon rarity at level 10. These converts them into a tradeable NFT.

What is The Harvest?

The Harvest is a MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) in development on the Solana blockchain. On a planet once populated by an advanced civilization, exists a powerful substance known as Essence. As with anything of value, conflict arises over who gets access to the Essence!

In The Harvest, players group up in teams and try to gather the most Essence during a match. Essence is collected from finite sources scattered around the map, by killing other players, and by stealing it from other teams’ bases!

Players also gain experience when gathering Essence, and can level up five times during a match. Each level allows the player to slot in a new Ability and begins using it right away. Players select a ‘deck’ of abilities before the match starts, then choose Abilities from that deck.

In addition to the PvP aspects, The Harvest also has PvE in the form of bosses. Players can fight and kill bosses for extra experience and Essence, though the Bosses become more difficult as the game progresses. Check out our video review to see some gameplay in action!

The post Learn About The Harvest Ability Cards appeared first on Play to Earn.

Unfortunately, there are only a couple of days left now (apologies for the late article!). But on each of those days, you have a chance to win two Ability NFTs for The Harvest. In what they are calling the ‘Golden Week’, The Harvest is handing out double the rewards to all players who win matches this week.

The Golden Week began on August 22nd and runs until August 26th. For every match won, players receive two Ability NFTs. Ability NFTs cannot be used in-game yet. In fact, the actual NFTs won’t even be revealed until October. But, they’re still free — as long as you win!

Joining a match requires registering on the Harvest website, and joining voice chat on their Discord. Matchmaking is not yet implemented, so all games are started through Discord first. The Harvest team asks that each player only registers for one match per day.

The Harvest plans for an open beta in October. At the same time, the Ability cards will be revealed and players can begin building their game decks.

Also, on August 26th, the team plans to drop a sale for 500 Legendary boxes. Each box contains 40 cards, with 34 rares, 4 epics, 1 legendary, and 1 shiny. The first offering of these boxes sold out in five minutes, so you’ll have to be quick! Watch their Twitter and Discord for details on the sale.

What is The Harvest?

The Harvest is a MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) in development on the Solana blockchain. On a planet once populated by an advanced civilization, exists a powerful substance known as Essence. As with anything of value, conflict arises over who gets access to the Essence!

In The Harvest, players group up in teams and try to gather the most Essence during a match. Essence can be collected from finite sources scattered around the map, by killing other players, and by stealing it from other teams’ bases!

Players also gain experience when gathering Essence, and can level up five times during a match. Each level allows the player to slot in a new Ability and begins using it right away. Players select a ‘deck’ of abilities before the match starts, then choose Abilities from that deck.

In addition to the PvP aspects, The Harvest also has PvE in the form of bosses. Players can fight and kill bosses for extra experience and Essence, though the Bosses become more difficult as the game progresses.

The game is free to play, though those with NFTs will be able to use them for extra, in-game bonuses. Some are passive, some are specific to certain classes.

The Harvest will feature two tokens, $HAR, and $EOLD. HAR will be the governance token, and EOL the in-game token. Many mechanics in the game, such as leveling up cards, will require EOL.

The Harvest Gameplay Video Review

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In a short amount of time, The Harvest managed to get significant PR, partner with huge investors like Fractal, and engage a large community of tens of thousands across Twitter, Discord, and their YouTube channel filled with great videos. The game is also streamable on Twitch.

Their game is fascinating, and we can say it since we tried it first-hand! 

Although some mechanics might be a little buggy or nonsensical right now, the team is actively working on fixing every detail promptly. The game right now is very different from what it was even just one month ago.

After the first NFT mint on the 7th of July, the team will focus its roadmap on new heroes, better management of the map, and new PvE mechanics.

They also announced they will release new matchmaking possibilities, and most likely we will see a private tournament platform inside the game very soon.

To learn more about the game, check out our previous post here.

The post The Harvest Alpha Gameplay Video Review appeared first on Play to Earn.

The Harvest is being developed at breathtaking speed, with live playing sessions every week. Guilds and GameFi platforms are also joining in the hype, providing tournaments with cash prizes up to $2000 for the winners.

The Harvest Gameplay

In the game, you fight with your teammates from different civilizations against other players to take control of the universe’s essence. Essence is shared amongst all team members.

There are various essence harvesting locations on the map. Since extractors have a finite amount of essence, players standing inside their field of impact will continue to collect that essence until it is completely depleted.

During the session, players can kill each other. If the player kills an enemy, he will take the essence of his dead body. 

The most effective way to gather essence, however, is to conquer an enemy team base. The team base is where the essence collected is stored. Players can assault the bases of other teams and steal their harvested essence.

Team members will immediately be notified if someone is stealing essence from their base, and they will be able to recall the base. This mechanic makes the game very fast-paced, although the map is quite big.

Gathering essence helps players gather experience points, which will make their hero level up. Heroes can level up 5 times during a game. When the hero upgrades to the next level, the player can choose one card (representing an ability) to attach and start using it right away.

Cards can give your hero new skills or enhancements. While some cards are general and may be connected to any hero, others are hero-specific, such as shields that may only be offered to support classes.

Alongside PvP objectives, The Harvest offers several PvE components inside its map. During the game, players can fight bosses and gain buffs or extra essence for their team. In the future, PvE will acquire substantial meaning during the gameplay. 

The further the game progresses, the harder the bosses become to defeat, and the bigger the danger, the greater the rewards. These bosses can be compared to the “jungle” in most MOBA games.

The developers want to include more mechanics in the upcoming editions. As a brief spoiler, one will likely be the map automatically decreasing to draw people to the centre, à la Fortnite, to speed up the game and prevent players from wandering around a large area.

Play The Harvest For Free

Free players will receive a few minor benefits in the game. You do need to know how to aim accurately because The Harvest is ultimately a shooter game, despite your perks and powers.

The good news is that you can start playing The Harvest right now.

The community is very active and hosts a “Play AND Earn” event daily on their discord channel. Interested players can sign up for upcoming play sessions and earn free NFT cards they will then receive in their wallets once minted.

You will need to enter a voice channel in order to play. The game is still in pre-alpha and doesn’t allow for practical matchmaking.

However, the team is very helpful and will help you set everything up. You can register for the next session here. 

If you become particularly good, make sure to check their announcements on Discord. That’s where they post all tournaments with cash prizes.

The Harvest NFT Assets

The Harvest game will include five main NFT types: cards (premium or common), boosters, decks, skins, and battle tags. Although not technically NFTs, heroes are also a big component in The Harvest, and there are currently 4 available. 

Some cards will be provided by default to everyone since they’re required during the gameplay. However, NFT cards will have better and stronger abilities.

Cards represent abilities, and they feature a rarity and level. Cards can be upgraded and might have a maximum number of uses. They could also come with shiny elements such as glossy images or impactful special graphics.

Although the cards, which offer an exciting gameplay style and in-game bonuses, are by far the most significant NFT kind, everything in The Harvest will be owned by players, and it’s likely that more NFT types may be produced in the future.

The first NFT mint for the cards is on July 7th, and you can read more information here. 

The Harvest Tokenomics

Two tokens will be available in The Harvest: $HAR and $EOL. No token will be released prior to the game going live, the development team has been adamant.

They’re deep believers of the “game-first” approach and clearly stated they believe a project can’t launch a successful token before they develop and release a fun, engaging game. 

Due to their ideology on this, we don’t have many details on tokenomics. What we do know is that they’re developing it on Solana, but will push it cross-chain as soon as possible. 

$HAR will be the governance token, while $EOL will constitute in-game rewards. Every big mechanic in the game, such as levelling up cards, will require a portion of $EOL to happen.

They have a PhD working with them on developing a sound, long-lasting internal economy. You can keep yourself posted by reading their whitepaper, on the tokenomics side, a few times per month.

Closing thoughts on The Harvest Game

In a short amount of time, The Harvest managed to get significant PR, partner with huge investors like Fractal, and engage a large community of tens of thousands across Twitter, Discord, and their YouTube channel filled with great videos. The game is also streameable on Twitch.

Their game is fascinating, and we can say it since we tried it first-hand! 

Although some mechanics might be a little buggy or nonsensical right now, the team is actively working on fixing every detail promptly. The game right now is very different from what it was even just one month ago.

After the first NFT mint on the 7th of July, the team will focus its roadmap on new heroes, better management of the map, and new PvE mechanics.

They also announced they will release new matchmaking possibilities, and most likely we will see a private tournament platform inside the game very soon.

The post Introducing The Harvest: MOBA Shooter Enrolling Alpha Testers appeared first on Play to Earn.