Maniac Panda Games joins Cointelegraph Accelerator to boost competitiveness in Web3 gaming.

As the world of Web3 gaming grows, mainstream players who enjoy popular titles such as PUBG, Fortnite or Apex Legends are starting to take notice. However, there is still a technical understanding barrier before Web3 gaming can reach a broader audience. Players need gameplay elements that they are familiar with to warm to blockchain games that usually come with technical lingo like play-to-earn (P2E), nonfungible tokens (NFTs), or crypto wallets.

The gaming world has a history of blockbuster titles that initially started as an adaptation of literary work. Using books as a reference for worldbuilding is a tried-and-true method for game developers. An upcoming Web3 game applies the same formula by building a virtual world around a fantasy saga to create the familiar feeling of ‘becoming someone else in an alternate world’ for players.

Inspired by the fantasy Outer Ring saga of novels of the same name, written by Daniel Valdés-Araiz, CEO of the company, Outer Ring MMO is set in a lore-rich universe that has five species divided into four different factions, all fighting for control and resources. The game is an online multiplayer role-playing game (MMORPG) with extensive gameplay that ties in multiple components, including PvP, PvE, housing, and crafting in a vast, sci-fi-themed metaverse.

Using 3rd person perspective, players can compete against each other, engage with brands and in-game businesses in real-time, socialize and monetize the time spent in the game. Major esports club Team Heretics announced that they will take part in the Outer Ring MMO PvP experience.

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A defining characteristic of Web3 gaming is its user-centric economy, where players can own, trade, and monetize game-related assets. As blockchain technology enables the creation of economic infrastructure in Web3 games, native tokens or NFTs created on the same network can act both as an in-game item and a crypto asset that can be traded on different marketplaces. Similarly, the player-driven economy found in Outer Ring MMO enables users to generate in-game assets and items and then convert them to NFTs. Through this process, players can own those objects and generate value by selling them.

Outer Ring MMO is built as a part of the developers’ Galactic Quadrant (GQ) ecosystem. It would use the same GQ token as the governance currency, while Exocredits (EXO) will act as the in-game currency. Other games to launch within the same ecosystem already available to play in their early stages are the racing game RacerLoop, the trading card game Underground Waifus, and the gambling title CryptoDuels.

Developers at Maniac Panda Games, the gaming branch of Nexxyo Labs, a 300-employee Spanish studio, aim to seamlessly connect Web2 and Web3 gaming. The studio is looking to introduce Web3 gaming to the masses through their flagship AAA-tier game developed by former talent at Rockstar Games, Ubisoft, and Electronic Arts. Cointelegraph Accelerator selected Maniac Panda Games as a participant of the program with an aim to boost adoption in the Web3 gaming space.

Aside from Cointelegraph Accelerator, Outer Ring MMO has seen interest from organizations in a wide range of industries, including basketball club Baskonia-Alavés, movie theater chain Kinépolis, and decentralized finance app DexTools. All of them have sealed deals to tap into Web3 by the hand of Outer Ring and have their respective functional presence and integrations running within the game to interact with users and players. Following the closed pre-alpha release of Outer Ring MMO, which is slated for June 28, 2023, for PC and Mac operating systems, the team will continue to develop the game’s player-driven economy and expand the overall GQ ecosystem with more strategic partnerships.