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The sentiment on blockchain gaming may be down — but not in the MATR1X camp, which is capturing the flag in both game quality and user numbers.
MATR1X is a crypto gaming ecosystem that hosts video games and NFT collections. After a successful year, it debuted its native governance token, $MAX, in early August 2024.
The MAX token generation event took place on August 5, 2024, with tokens distributed to MATR1X NFT holders and platform participants.
In the first 15 days of trading, MAX nearly doubled in price, highlighting the hype around blockchain gaming projects like MATR1X.
In this article, we discuss the MATR1X platform and the future of the crypto gaming sector.
What is MATR1X?
MATR1X is a crypto gaming ecosystem that hosts video games and non-fungible token (NFT) collections. The platform aims to combine gaming, esports, and blockchain technology.
MATR1X uses blockchain to issue in-game currency and items, and blockchain enables open market trading and ensures that players are in full control of their in-game assets.
MATR1X ‘s flagship video game is a first-person shooter (FPS) called MATR1X FIRE, currently in beta testing as of August 2024.
In 2024, the platform added a 5v5 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game called Evermoon (also currently in beta testing) and a role-playing game (RPG) called CASTILE to its collection.
The MATR1X platform also has NFT collections that give holders special benefits such as priority access to its games, token airdrop privilege, and platform profit sharing.
According to DappRadar’s blockchain gaming sector report, MATR1X was the top web3 gaming platform in terms of average daily unique active wallets (UAW) during the second quarter of 2024.
Only play-to-earn game Pixels (~534,000) attracted more average UAW than MATR1X (~374,000) during the quarter.
Can Blockchain Gaming Make a Comeback?
Since the hype-driven bull run of 2021, the blockchain gaming industry has endured a prolonged slump that has left supporters wondering whether crypto and gaming are a good fit.
However, gamers are noticing the benefits of blockchain technology.
Take the football video game EA FC 24 (previously the FIFA video game series), for example. Players spend substantial amounts of time and effort earning the in-game currency FC Coins and collecting football player cards.
When a new EA FC version is published every year, players cannot transfer their FC Coins balance and player cards to the new version of the game.
With crypto games like MATR1X FIRE, in-game tokens and items will be accounted for on a public blockchain. Furthermore, composability within a gaming ecosystem will allow items to be used across various games.
Blockchain gaming continues to attract the crypto-native crowd. According to DappRadar, the sector contributed 28% of all decentralized application (dApp) activity in the second quarter of 2024.
The next step would be to focus on the gaming experience instead of crypto-economics to attract the mainstream crowd, who are spoilt for choice when playing high-quality games on Playstation, Xbox, and other gaming consoles.
How to Play MATR1X FIRE?
To play the MATR1X FIRE mobile game, you must download it from the App Store or Google Play.
As of August 2024, the MATR1X FIRE mobile game was only available to beta testers.
To download MATR1X FIRE, you must first install the TestFlight app from the App Store on your iPhone. Scanning the QR code available on the official MATR1X FIRE website will initialize the download on the TestFlight app.
To start playing the test version of MATR1X FIRE, you need a “Genesis Character” that can be obtained through a seven-day login and other platform quests.
What is MATR1X FIRE Game?
The MATR1X FIRE game is an FPS inspired by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) in which two five-person teams compete.
There were rumors that MATR1X FIRE would be a hero-based Valorant crypto game. However, footage of MATR1X FIRE on YouTube showed gameplay closer to CS:GO.
Players do not need any initial investment to play The MATR1X FIRE as it operates in a free-to-play model.
MATR1X FIRE has an in-game token called FIRE which can be used for character upgrades, case opening, and weapon casting.
FIRE exists on the Polygon blockchain. As of August 20, 2024, the FIRE token was trading at $0.66. Data on CoinMarketCap showed that it was the 709th largest cryptocurrency in the world, with a market cap of $23.4 million.
On-chain data compiled on Dune Analytics showed that the number of unique wallet addresses holding the FIRE token has grown from 3 on January 24, 2024, to over 16,000 on August 20, 2024.
MAX Token Analysis
MAX is the utility and governance token of the MATR1X platform. It exists on the Ethereum (ETH) and Polygon (POL) blockchain.
The main use cases of the MAX token are:
- Staking
- Governance
According to MATR1X, the MAX token will also enable holders to participate in the MATR1X Launchpool and become eligible for token airdrops from projects on the MATR1X platform.
MAX has a total supply of 1 billion tokens. The token is allocated in the following manner:
Key Takeaways
| Allocation | Percentage of total supply |
|---|---|
| Team and Investors | 30% |
| Platform maintenance and development | 27.6% |
| Ecosystem – initial liquidity and ecosystem growth fund | 16% |
| Community | 10% |
| Airdrops to NFT holders | 9.4% |
| Early bird activity | 5.5% |
| Advisors | 1.5% |
As of August 20, 2024, the MAX token price was about $0.31. MAX was the 552nd largest crypto with a market capitalization of over $41 million.
Only 16.3% of MAX’s total supply was in circulation at the time of writing.
The MATR1X platform token price increased more than 84% in the first 15 days of its debut in August 2024. On August 6, 2024, the MAX token hit an all-time high of $0.4787.
MATR1X Platform Team & Investors
The MATR1X platform is developed by MATR1X, a Singapore-based company co-founded by Mike Li, Haden He, and Rui Zhao.
In September 2022, MATR1X raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by crypto investment firm HashKey Capital. Amber Group, SevenX Ventures, and Hana Financial Investment also participated in the round.
MATR1X raised an additional $10 million in an extended Series A funding round in November 2023.
In December 2023, OKX Ventures made an undisclosed investment in the company.
In February 2024, Animoca Brands made a strategic investment in MATR1X.
The Bottom Line
MATR1X is a promising crypto gaming project that is taking a tried-and-tested approach to publishing games based on successful franchises, such as FPS games Valorant and CS:GO and MOBA games such as Dota 2.
We will only be able to fully assess the potential of the MATR1X platform when MATR1X-developed gaming titles are released from beta testing.
As of now, the low circulating supply of MAX tokens may be a concern for MATR1X investors.
