According to a new report from Helika on Telegram games, engagement with NFTs and longer player sessions increased in Telegram’s gaming ecosystem during Q3 2024.

The number of unique wallets transferring NFTs surged from 200,000 to over 1 million during the quarter, per the report, with 600,000 wallets actively involved in NFT transactions within games.

Players also spend more time playing Telegram games. The report showed that average session lengths nearly doubled from 2.8 to 6.7 minutes, suggesting that improved game design keeps users engaged.

Regional data indicates a shift in Telegram’s gaming audience compared to other Web3 platforms, with 55.91% of players coming from Europe, in contrast to Asia and Latin America, where Web3 gaming traditionally thrives.

Increased engagement on Telegram games 

Per the report, Catizen completed its first airdrops, distributing 34% of its total token allocation, which included 150 million tokens distributed in September 2024 alone. The airdrop increased activity, reflecting its integration into Telegram.

In September, Binance listed Catizen on the Binance Launchpool, allowing users to farm the gaming bot’s native token ahead of trading.

Like Catizen, Gamee experienced a 300% increase in volume and transactions month over month, showing more players and engagement. X Empire attracted nearly 48 million players, with 18 million connecting their wallets to engage with the game’s features. 

According to the report, Rocky Rabbit had 30 million players, and Banana reached 10 million users by October. Wonton users surpassed 1 million within its first week. 

However, the report also highlighted challenges faced by developers as new games flood the platform. Small development teams struggle with limited marketing budgets and attracting users. Developers are expanding game genres and introducing a wider variety of experiences, such as simulations, RPGs, and puzzles, indicating that Telegram’s gaming ecosystem is evolving beyond simple, casual games.

If you’ve been on the online shooter video game portion of the internet over the last few days, then you’ve likely heard of Off the Grid, a brand new battle royale game that is picking up serious steam with players. Off the Grid has already topped the Epic Games Store’s list of the most popular free-to-play games, plus it’s commanding huge crowds on Twitch. In short: It’s a hit.

But what you might not know is that Off the Grid is a blockchain game built on Avalanche, with plans for a crypto token and the ability to mint rare items as tradeable NFTs. While these features aren’t yet fully implemented, it’s fair to say that Off the Grid has already made a bigger splash with mainstream gamers than any previous blockchain game—and the future looks bright.

Here’s what you need to know about Off the Grid, the current early access release, and the crypto and NFT plans ahead.

What is Off the Grid? 

Off the Grid is a new third-person battle royale shooter that has launched into early access on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC via the Epic Games Store.

Set in a fictional future where cybernetics can augment humans to make them even more deadly, you and two teammates will jump onto the sizable city map and fight it out against other trios to be the last ones standing, just like any good battle royale game.

However, Off The Grid touts itself as an Extraction Royale, adding in some extraction shooter style mechanics as well. In matches, you can find what are essentially loot boxes, and if you either hold them as you win, or manage to extract them at certain locations on the map, then you can use them to unlock cosmetic items or new weapons and skills for your loadouts.

Off the Grid is developed by Gunzilla Games, a studio co-founded by “District 9” and “Chappie” film director Neill Blomkamp—and as the studio’s chief creative officer, his style is strongly felt throughout the game.

The game is built around a future competition that essentially turns the battle royale premise into a televised competition between cybernetically-augmented humans. And unlike battle royale games like Fortnite and Apex Legends, Off the Grid promises 60 hours of narrative-driven gameplay, with cinematics that bookend matches and provide added flavor and motivation to the experience.

How do I play Off the Grid?

To play Off The Grid in early access, you simply need to download the free-to-play game on your chosen platform and boot it up, but it’s not quite as simple as it sounds. It’s available on the Epic Games Store on PC, as well as on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, and it can be downloaded freely on all of those platforms.

Once you have the game downloaded, you simply need to boot it up and play your first game. It’s pretty easy to pick up if you’ve ever played a battle royale before, and there’s already a ton of guides available on the web.

The early access version contains just one mode (Extraction Royale) and the single, but very large map, though the future full release is expected to pack more modes and content.

Where does crypto come in?

In the initial early access build, there’s no obvious crypto integration. But it’s apparently humming along in the background, and there’s more coming on the horizon.

Off the Grid is being built on GUNZ, a dedicated L1 (or subnet) on the Avalanche blockchain network. Currently, GUNZ is on testnet and the network’s GUN token has yet to go live on mainnet, but those moves are on the horizon. Items in the game are denominated in GUN, which you can also earn by completing missions, however it’s effectively an in-game currency for now since the token isn’t live on mainnet.

However, the game is racking up some serious numbers on the GUNZ testnet, with millions of wallets created during the first week of early access, along with millions of daily transactions. We haven’t gotten full clarity yet from Gunzilla Games on how this works, but it appears that a testnet wallet is created when a user starts playing the game.

Eventually, when the GUNZ network launches its mainnet, Gunzilla has said that players will be able to mint items as unique NFTs, which can be traded and sold on marketplaces and within the game itself. Gunzilla created the GUNZ network to let other developers utilize the tech, as well, so the ambition is for the GUN token to be usable across multiple games in the future.

When will Off The Grid launch? 

There’s no word on when the full game release will come, but for now the early access launch appears to be going down well. Gunzilla Games enlisted (aka paid) major streamers like Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Seth “Scump” Abner to play the game for hours and hours during the launch week for their sizable audiences, and that investment appears to be paying off with buzz.

We’ll see whether Off the Grid can hold onto that initial momentum as the game evolves and expands in the near future, and whether mainstream gamers take kindly to the ability to mint and trade NFTs and utilize the future GUN token.

Edited by Andrew Hayward

In an unexpected turn, prominent Telegram crypto game X Empire—previously known as Musk Empire—has launched a new mini-season ahead of the airdrop, offering players another chance to rack up a share of tokens before the launch.

It’s unexpected because on Monday, X Empire shut down its game—described as ending its initial mining phase—ahead of the planned token launch and airdrop, which are now expected to come in the back half of October.

But with the new “Chill Phase,” X Empire players will be able to continue tapping their avatar—be it Elon Musk-inspired or otherwise—and unlock various upgrades. However, all character progression has been reset, which means it’s effectively like starting the game over again during this shortened play period.

The “Chill Phase” will let players compete to earn a slice of an additional 34.5 billion tokens, which were newly carved out for players from the total token supply. In a Telegram announcement, the developers said that rewards for the initial phase have been calculated, and that any progress made (or not made) during the Chill Phase will not affect those allocations.

As before, 70% of the planned total supply of 690 billion X tokens is still assigned to the initial mining phase. Now, an additional 5% of the supply will be allocated to “Chill Phase” players, coming from the 30% of tokens originally allocated to “new users and next phases.” 

The late shift comes ahead of the token generation event on The Open Network (TON), where the entire 75% of the supply will be offered to eligible players. This is expected to take place in “the second half of October,” with an exact date being announced in the coming days.

“This phase will be very short and will only last a couple of weeks,” X Empire posted on social media. “Whether to participate or not is entirely up to you. We love you either way.”

The Elon Musk themed tap-to-earn game ended its mining phase on Tuesday, claiming to have attracted almost 48 million players. Those players also minted 570,000 NFT vouchers that enabled pre-market trading for the X token before its official launch.

These NFTs that represent 69,000 X tokens apiece are currently trading for approximately 3.5 TON ($19). This figure has largely remained stable since the tokenomics were announced. Pre-market trading can be particularly risky, however, as traders speculate on the price of a soon-to-launch token despite a number of unknown factors.

September was a big month for Telegram games coming to the end of their tap-to-earn cycles, with Catizen, Rocky Rabbit, and Hamster Kombat all releasing tokens. As these games look to reinvent themselves to keep players interested, it appears that X Empire will continue to stay in the pre-airdrop phase for at least a while longer.

Edited by Andrew Hayward