Sky Mavis has confirmed that blockchain game Axie Infinity has broken one million daily active users.
As confirmed via Twitter, this figure is up from 350,000 DAUs in early July. Available on PC and mobile, 67 per cent of players are accessing the game via Android. The game is only available as a sideloaded APK file, not via the official Google Play Store.
This milestone follows the announcement that Axie Infinity generated more revenue during July than any other blockchain protocol or product.
The Ethereum blockchain generated $193 million in fees, while Bitcoin generated $23 million. By taking a 4.25 per cent cut for every NFT sale on its marketplace and fees from every breeding transaction, the Axie Infinity treasury grew by $207 million. Over the past 30 days, $735 million worth of Axie Infinity NFT has been traded, with lifetime trading volumes approaching $1 billion.
Significantly, however, these fees are not paid to developer Sky Mavis but instead go into what's called the Treasury, which is a community-controlled fund tasked with overseeing the game's long term future.
A new way to play
Axie Infinity launched on Ethereum blockchain in 2018 but recently switched to its own Ronin technology, due to the latter being cheaper and faster to use. This is one reason for the game's recent growth.
More generally, the game has built a strong community in countries ranging from the Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil as it allows players to earn cryptocurrency that can then be converted to local currencies.
Labelled play-to-earn, this mechanic has been further reinforced by organisations such as Yield Guild Games, which permits players to borrow the expensive in-game assets required to play, taking a cut of their earnings in return.
Three Axie NFTs are required to make a team that competes in turn-based PVP battles, with the winner earning an in-game currency called SLP. This can also be used to breed additional Axie NFTs.
The game's growing popularity has resulted in the price of the cheapest Axie NFTs rising to around $400 each, with one of its rarest (Mystic-class) approaching $100,000. This makes them one of the most expensive NFTs of any blockchain project.
Many big companies are now getting involved in the NFT market, with Marvel partnering with the mobile collectables app VeVe.
