Explore the rebranded Hytopia, a blockchain-powered game, and its Hychain Guardian Node sale. Build, play, and stake in this decentralized gaming universe.
When Minecraft made the controversial decision to prohibit NFTs in one of the gaming world's giants in 2022, it sent shockwaves through the blockchain community, especially impacting the NFT Worlds project. Fast forward two years, and the rebranded Hytopia is gearing up for its own impressive debut, ready to challenge the dominance of Web2 gaming.
Operating within a customized Minecraft server, NFT Worlds had successfully minted and sold exclusive in-game land chunks as NFTs on Ethereum's scaling network Polygon. These NFTs fetched substantial sums, reaching tens of thousands of dollars' worth of ETH on secondary marketplaces, amassing a staggering $163 million in trading volume before the ban was enforced.
NFT Worlds faced skepticism from some quarters, with critics suggesting that it was inevitable for Minecraft to restrict third-party creators from monetizing in-game content. However, pseudonymous NFT Worlds co-founder ArkDev, in an interview with Decrypt’s GG, emphasized that the game's end user licensing agreement (EULA) did not explicitly prohibit the use of crypto technologies on third-party servers at the time.
ArkDev claimed that he had prior communication with Microsoft's EULA team, stating that Microsoft had shown curiosity about their technology usage with no red flags raised. However, the situation changed abruptly when Microsoft went silent, offering no notice of the impending ban. "They just wouldn't reply to us anymore," ArkDev recalled. "We were like: OK, cool. I guess we’re just getting a backhanded smack in the dark. We’re not even aware of what’s going on."
Undeterred, NFT Worlds decided to pivot.
Since then, the project has shifted its focus, moving away from relying on centralized giants with closed ecosystems. The rebranded game, Hytopia, is on the verge of release, accompanied by the launch of its own chain, Hychain, for other game studios to build upon, complete with its own token.
Hytopia is set to mark a significant milestone with the launch of a Hychain Guardian Node sale. Following a similar model to Xai, a layer-3 gaming chain on Ethereum scaling network Arbitrum, Hychain aims to leverage Arbitrum tech and empower node key owners with potential rewards.
🎉 HYCHAIN Node Key Sale Starts Tomorrow 🎉
You'll be able to mint your nodes at: https://t.co/qSWUds5ZBU
Whitelist Mint/Sale: March 2nd @ 2pm PST (10pm UTC)Public Mint/Sale: March 3rd @ 2pm PST (10pm UTC)
— HYCHAIN (@HYCHAIN_GAMES) March 1, 2024
Hychain is initiating the sale of NFT-based Guardian Node keys, starting at a price of 0.1 ETH (approximately $340), with the price gradually increasing over time as each tier of keys is sold. A total of 50,000 keys will be available, and network software operators stand to receive a share of 250 million TOPIA reward tokens over the next three years, along with 25% of all network transaction fees.
Similar to Xai’s Sentry Nodes, Hychain Guardian Nodes play a crucial role in monitoring the network and verifying the state when challenged. While their current utility is somewhat limited, an upcoming Arbitrum network upgrade in the next three to six months is expected to enhance their significance, supporting Hychain’s growth.
Xai’s Sentry Nodes key sale generated substantial revenue for the network, and Hychain's sale aims to replicate this success.
ArkDev sees this as an opportunity for users to invest in supporting the network, receiving rewards for actively contributing to the chain. He believes this approach helps align all incentives surrounding the network.
Following the node sale, the beta launch of Hytopia is imminent, scheduled for early April. Described as a blend of Minecraft and Roblox, Hytopia will offer a familiar blocky, pixelated voxel vibe with enhanced flexibility for gameplay and creation. Players can design and share their own games and worlds, with Hytopia becoming freely accessible to everyone after the beta period—no NFT required.
Concerning those who invested in virtual land during the NFT Worlds era, the value proposition in Hytopia has shifted. Instead of scarce land, NFT owners will enjoy various perks focused on developers and content creators in Hytopia, including lower fees for selling in-game content, better visibility for created games, and TOPIA staking rewards. While ownership of NFTs is not a prerequisite for creating content in Hytopia, it offers significant advantages for serious builders.
🎉 MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT 🎉
1⃣ HYTOPIA Chain (@HYCHAIN_GAMES) will onboard partner games, powered by $TOPIA
2⃣ HYCHAIN migrates to using Anytrust, collaborating with @arbitrum
3⃣ MetaFab merges into @HYCHAIN_GAMES
4⃣ Coming HYCHAIN node sale, inspired by @XAI_GAMES
Thread 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/K7oG6XJdfG
— HYTOPIA (@HYTOPIAgg) January 11, 2024
Despite its inevitable association with Minecraft, ArkDev envisions Hytopia as a pioneering model for in-game item trades, potentially disrupting the black markets prevalent in Web2 titles. By facilitating these trades within the game through blockchain, developers can receive a share of sales, a concept that could influence Web2 developers to explore this technology seriously.
ArkDev expressed, "We think that's where the really big opportunity is, and we think that once it's proven, it’s going to be where we see a lot of Web2 traditional games come in and start to build on top of that model."