Axie Infinity: Origin is a much-anticipated release by Sky Mavis, as it promises to bring a whole new level of accessibility to the Axie ecosystem. In a recent announcement, the Sky mavis team has released details about the upcoming game update. Importantly, the Alpha test version should be out by the end of March 2022.
According to the announcement, Axie Infinity: Origin will offer a wide range of new features. Most of these are not part of the current version of the game. However, most importantly, Sky Mavis wants to push the adoption of the Axie Infinity platform even further. To achieve this, the team has decided to give all Origin players 3 free Axies. This virtually removes the entry barrier for newcomers. Importantly, these starter Axies are not NFTs, and players can’t earn SLP from using them.
This is a significant change to the way the Axie experience functions right now. Currently, a player needs to purchase 3 Axies in order to make a team and start playing. At the time of writing, the floor price for an Axie NFT is about 0.011 ETH, or about $33. This means a new player needs to invest around $100 to start playing. However, with Axie Infinity: Origin, the entry point will be completely free. This will potentially draw in an even bigger audience to the game.
Axie Infinity: Origin brings in new graphics and gaming mechanics
Aside from the major developments when it comes to attracting new players, the Sky Mavis team is also working on improving the game for existing community members. With Battles V3, the way players take turns in the game will change. Currently, players get the opportunity to wait out a turn, in order to conserve their energy or cards for later. However, with Origin there will be only sequential turns.
This means cards and energy will last for the given turn only, and players will have only one chance to use them up. Shaking up the gaming mechanics like this will bring an engagement boost to Axie Infinity. Gamers will have to carefully think about how to best use the cards and energy they get with each turn.
Aside from the major gameplay changes, Axie Infinity: Origin will also bring a major design revamp. The new release will feature a complete rework of the arena, and the card designs themselves.
Additionally, some card functionalities will change. While currently cards usually have both a defense and an attack value, with Origin, most cards will only have one of these. This might seem limiting at first. However, Sky Mavis has decided to now allow players to use all six characteristics an Axie possesses in order to bring in new combinations for team building.
Monitor Axie Infinity on DappRadar
DappRadar will continue monitoring Axie Infinity as the Sky Mavis team pushes to expand this ecosystem further. While the game started out as a simple turn-based battler, Axie Infinity has now become a whole universe of dapps and functionalities on the blockchain.
With the introduction of the Ronin sidechain, Sky Mavis has not only facilitated an almost gassless environment for the game, but also important DeFi products. Katana DEX and the RON token play a huge role in the success of the Axie Infinity brand. Now, with the launch of Axie Infinity: Origin, Sky Mavis is looking to expand the brand’s reach even further.
To learn more about Axie Infinity, Ronin, and the native tokens of the Axie ecosystem, check out the links below. Additionally, you can follow DappRadar on Twitter, and join our Discord community to learn the latest gaming and play-to-earn news first.
