"Black Myth" sweeps the global gaming community, while Web3 games are also embracing the "domestic trend."

Author: 0xFacai, BlockBeats

On August 20, 2024, the highly anticipated domestic AAA title "Black Myth: Wukong" officially launched, attracting over 1.4 million online players at its peak, ranking fourth in Steam's all-time highest concurrent players. Not only in the Chinese region, but "Black Myth: Wukong" has also maintained its position as the top-selling product on Steam globally, and today, the YouTube live streaming homepage is almost entirely filled with streams of "Black Myth."

As the first true AAA title, "Black Myth" received relatively high scores from foreign media such as IGN right from its debut, leading countless Chinese players to exclaim, "Finally, I don't have to search for cultural and historical materials online while playing games." Clearly, the emergence of "Black Myth: Wukong" has sparked a "domestic wind" in the international gaming industry. Following its success, domestic single-player games such as "Monkey King: White Ape Awakening," "Shadow Blade Zero," and "Code: Jin Yi Wei" have gained greater attention in the industry, and this domestic trend is also blowing into the Web3 gaming field. Taking advantage of the heat surrounding "Black Myth," BlockBeats has compiled a list of noteworthy "domestic Web3 games."

"Tencent System"

At the end of last year, amidst the declining narrative of GameFi, a small number of well-crafted games suddenly emerged, rekindling the industry's interest and contemplation regarding Web3 games. Most of these game genres are concentrated in FPS, board games, and casual competitive fields. In addition to a profound understanding of game development, strict control over product details, and mature considerations in track selection, these projects share an important commonality: they are all created by former Tencent employees.

In 2021, the news that "Axie Infinity's revenue surpassed Honor of Kings" swept through the gaming circle, attracting Tencent's attention. Subsequently, Tencent's internal Web3 business rapidly developed, leading to the emergence of infrastructure for trust chains, chain game experiments, and other businesses, making Tencent a leader in exploring Web3 directions among major companies. During the "big company layoff wave," many talented developers from Tencent with gaming production experience transitioned to Web3, and after more than a year of development, some of their games have begun to emerge.

Matr1x Fire

Matr1x Fire is an FPS shooting mobile game under the Web3 cultural entertainment platform MATR1X, focusing on PVP multiplayer competition and PVE casual gameplay. The team currently consists of 7 core members, most of whom come from former Tencent CODM (Call of Duty Mobile) / PUBGM (Peacekeeper Elite) teams, as well as Cross Fire mobile teams, primarily composed of members from former Tianmei Studio and Photon Studio. This indicates that the team is very skilled in developing shooting mobile games and has experience in developing and scaling large games in the Web2 domain.

According to official data, MATR1X FIRE has surpassed 3 million global game users, primarily distributed in regions such as Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, Turkey, Thailand, and the CIS. Additionally, MATR1X FIRE has already opened for download in some regions on the Apple Store, such as Singapore and Hong Kong.

The Matr1x Fire project is well-funded, having publicly raised over $20 million, with investors including Hana Financial Investment, HashKey, Amber Group, Folius Ventures, SevenX, Find Satoshi Lab, Jambo Ventures, and the latest top North American gaming fund, Makers Fund.

Mahjong Meta

In August last year, the Web3 Mahjong game Mahjong Meta, based on the Ethereum network, announced the completion of $12 million in financing, with Dragonfly, Folius Ventures, and Find Satoshi Labs (the parent company of StepN) among the investors. Mahjong Meta is a Web3 gaming platform dedicated to Mahjong esports and serves as an on-chain Mahjong theme park for all players. The core team consists of experienced professionals from leading gaming companies such as Tencent, NetEase, and Lilith.

Unlike shooting esports games like Matr1x, Mahjong belongs to the broader category of board game entertainment, making it more capable of embracing long-term users. "For example, a player who starts enjoying card games at 25 is likely to continue playing until they are 60 or even 70 years old. By incorporating some esports mechanisms, it becomes very suitable for long-term operation, enhancing the overall gaming experience through new seasons."

According to data provided by the team, Mahjong launched its Beta test in May 2023, attracting over 15,000 players and completing over 490,000 matches in the following two months. Its game NFTs achieved nearly 500 ETH in total trading volume on Opensea.

After officially launching, the Mahjong team remains very busy. They have completed CV recordings with well-known Japanese voice actors such as Kobayashi Nao and invited many domestic and international artists to create and select scenes and BGM for the game. During the Beta testing phase, many Japanese players reached out to the team to inquire about the titles and composers of the game's background music. "It's these experiential details that many players are very sensitive to, so I personally focus on many small aspects. We hope to present a complete narrative loop to players that is coherent in all aspects."

"Shengda System"

Due to its early agency of the Korean phenomenon MMORPG "Legend," Shengda Network is regarded by many as the "founding father" of the domestic online gaming industry, pioneering business models such as point cards + in-game currency that are now widely adopted. Perhaps influenced by the characteristics of the games it operates, Shengda, as a pioneer in the domestic online gaming industry, has always shown a keen interest in exploring virtual worlds and in-game economies. With the emergence of popular narratives like the metaverse and Web3, both internal and external veteran figures have shown a strong interest in these areas. Unlike Tencent Entertainment's style, the "Shengda System" explorers prefer to enter this new blue ocean from their expertise in MMORPGs.

Seraph: In the Darkness

Seraph is a blockchain-based dark fantasy ARPG developed by Actoz, with gameplay and visuals similar to traditional dark-style loot ARPGs. Actoz was the developer behind the original "Legend" game that helped Shengda rise to prominence. Founded in 1996, Actoz is a well-known publicly listed online gaming company in South Korea, having launched popular online games such as "MapleStory" and "Millennium," and operated classics like "Dragon Nest." In 2004, Actoz was acquired by the Chinese company Shengda Games for $91.7 million, becoming Shengda Games' Korean holding company.

Joseph LIM, the producer of Seraph, has 20 years of experience in game development and operations, having participated in well-known game projects such as "Legend," "Bloodshed Jianghu," and "Dragon Nest." Technical Director Victor KWON has over 20 years of experience in game development. Alan CHU, the Technical Director responsible for the blockchain module, previously handled cryptography and security business at Amazon and Google. Additionally, veteran token economics expert Ken CHOUNG is responsible for overseeing the game's economic system design.

The early story and some later dungeons of Seraph can be played for free, allowing players to enter the game at zero cost and experience Seraph in a pure Web2 online gaming manner, even earning a small amount of in-game currency from dungeons. After completing the main storyline, players can unlock the Mystery of Depths, where they can team up for adventures, divided into multiple levels with difficulty varying based on the number of players.

In June of this year, the Seraph preseason was released, with significantly increased participation data. The game's CMO, Yezi, stated, "Over 60,000 players participated, with more than 30,000 owning advanced game characters, and over 10,000 users made purchases. During this testing phase, we achieved $3 million in fiat revenue, and we are able to allocate over $1 million for token buybacks according to the terms of our white paper."

MetaCene

The founding members of MetaCene primarily come from traditional Web2 gaming companies such as Shengda Games and Blizzard, with the most notable name being Tan Qunzhao. As one of the co-founders of Shengda Games, Tan Qunzhao is considered one of the pioneers of online gaming in China. During his tenure at Shengda, the company launched well-known large-scale online games such as "Legend World," "Dragon Nest," and "Aion." The belief that "AI and Web3 will revolutionize the gaming industry" has led Tan Qunzhao to re-enter the field, launching blockchain games through the development of new technologies.

MetaCene is an MMORPG that presents a surreal post-apocalyptic society where survivors interact with various NFTs to redefine civilization. In April 2023, MetaCene made its official debut at the Hong Kong Web3 Carnival, where Tan Qunzhao mentioned that a new player-centric gaming era is on the horizon. MetaCene showcases a surreal post-apocalyptic society where survivors create a new virtual society through communication, cooperation, and conflict, redefining civilization.

The game features three core gameplay elements: co-play, co-create, and co-govern, and is divided into three chapters: Source of the Flame, Domain of the Apocalypse, and Spirit of All Things. These chapters progress sequentially, not only unfolding the story of the MetaCene game but also indicating a new evolutionary trajectory for the metaverse. Through innovative PVE and PVP gameplay, robust technical infrastructure, guild DAO governance, a sustainable economic system, and in-game editing, the game centers on entertainment, governance, and creation by players.

In March of this year, MetaCene announced the completion of $10 million in Series A private financing, led by Folius Ventures and SevenX Ventures, with participation from The Spartan Group, Mantle Network, Animoca Ventures, Longling Capital, Comma3 Ventures, IGG, and others.

MetaCene began its first test in August 2023, followed by a second test in November of the same year, achieving 170,000 on-chain interactions, with over 6,000 on-chain asset holders, an active player ratio of 83%, a next-day retention rate of 75%, and a 14-day retention rate maintained at 50%. The third test began in March this year, and the fourth non-deletion test started at the end of July, offering up to $3 million in in-game earnings.