Pudgy Penguins has celebrated a remarkable milestone with its new battle royale game, Pudgy Party, amassing 500,000 downloads within just two weeks of its launch. Players have expressed their appreciation for the game’s seamless integration of Web3 elements, noting that the experience does not compel them to purchase tokens or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) right from the start. One gamer, Spike, emphasized the game’s quality in a post on X, stating, “I’ve played 300+ Web3 games, and it’s safe to say @PlayPudgyParty is nothing short of a masterpiece.”
The success of Pudgy Party aligns with insights shared by several blockchain and gaming firms, which suggest that a critical strategy for bringing gamers into the Web3 space is to make blockchain technology ‘invisible.’ Since its launch on August 29, the game, co-developed by Pudgy Penguins and Mythical Games, has received high praise for its engaging multiplayer mobile experience. According to its official account, Pudgy Party has officially surpassed 500,000 downloads on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
The game features familiar Pudgy Penguin characters engaging in fast-paced mini-games, coupled with optional Web3 functionalities like item ownership and trading through the Mythical Platform marketplace. Zorin, the founder of Empirex, shared that he successfully introduced his sister to the game, remarking, “This is exactly how you onboard new users, make it fun to play.” Another player, Spike, highlighted the game’s enjoyable core loop, which features engaging progression and collection mechanics that encourage continued play.
Despite the PENGU token experiencing a decline from its peak in July, it has rebounded nearly 20% in the past week, currently trading at $0.03292. CEO Luca Netz revealed plans for future expansions, including new maps and gameplay enhancements, partnerships with major brands and influencers, as well as a million-dollar tournament set for Q4 featuring PENGU rewards.
In stark contrast to Pudgy Party’s success, the blockchain game Pirate Nation is set to shut down this week, just shy of celebrating three years since its launch. The developers cited insufficient audience engagement as the reason for the closure, claiming that “running two chains no longer makes sense from a dollars-and-cents business perspective.” Although the main game is shutting down, remnants of it will persist within the Proof of Play Arcade, with Founder’s Pirates NFTs evolving into identity NFTs.
Community reactions to this closure have been mixed. Some gamers have raised concerns that the shutdown undermines the concept of on-chain games, arguing for the possibility of open-sourcing such games to allow them to live on indefinitely, while others, like Paul Somi, the founder of Somnia Network, acknowledged the difficulty of game development and the tough decisions that must sometimes be made.
Pirate Nation joins a growing list of blockchain-based games that have faced shutdowns, including Tokyo Beast and Age of Dino, both of which discontinued operations shortly after their launches due to challenges related to operational costs.
In a different vein, the developers of MapleStory Universe announced a significant reduction in hacker activity within the game. Following enforcement actions against around 20,000 “abnormal” accounts, hackers have been struggling to exploit the game effectively. To enhance security, they have implemented a Credit Level System, which imposes stricter penalties on users violating game rules. The long-standing game, which transitioned to a blockchain version on Avalanche in mid-May, has battled hacking issues over the months, prompting apologies from its executive producer for previous communication gaps regarding these challenges.
In yet another success story, Meta Toy DragonZ SAFA, a newly released Web3 collectible RPG from blockchain firm MARBLEX, has quickly climbed to the top of Google Play’s “Popular Chart,” reaching the number one spot just ten days post-launch. Players collect and nurture toy dragons while sending them on challenging missions, demonstrating that the appeal of fantasy-based games remains robust. MARBLEX has also announced plans for additional game titles later this year, including projects involving Monopoly-style gameplay and action RPG elements.
Additionally, the Blockchain Game Alliance recently extended the deadline for its survey, allowing industry professionals until October 3 to contribute their insights into the evolving landscape of blockchain gaming. Meanwhile, the game Diamond Dream Match, combining elements of high-end jewelry with digital collectibles, has also gone live on the Apple and Google Play app stores, highlighting the continuing expansion of the blockchain gaming sector.
