Pixels Crypto Game Fuels Resurgent Ronin Blockchain

This
year’s
bull
market
has
seen
a
resurgence
of
many
crypto
narratives
from
yonder
cycles,
including
crypto
gaming.
In
that
sector
the
Ronin
network
–
whose
game
Axie
Infinity
reigned
over
the
last
gaming
moment
–
is
back
again.

Since
the
start
of
2024,
Ronin’s
user
base
has
ballooned
over
700%,
according
to
Token
Terminal,
growing
faster
than

Solana’s
meme
coin-fueled
DeFi
landscape
as
well
as
TON,
the
on-chain
home
for
messaging
app
Telegram’s

mounting
crypto
efforts.

A
single
game
has
fueled
Ronin’s
resurgence:
Pixels.
The
low-fi
farming
game
sees
players
set
up
plots
of
digital
land
and
embark
on
quests
in
order
to
earn
digital
currencies.
In
the
past
month
it
has
seen
1.25
million
unique
users
plug
in
and
play,
per

DappRadar.

Beneath
the
numbers
a
wave
of
energy
is
flowing
into
Pixels
that
matches
the
mania
surrounding
Axie
Infinity.
In
the
Philippines
in
particular,
play-to-earn
gaming
has
returned
as
a
viable
way
for
people
to
make
a
living,
according
to
the

New
York
Times.
Its
popularity
has
defied
expectations,
said
Jeffery
Zirlin,
head
of
growth
for
Sky
Mavis,
the
company
behind
the
Ronin
blockchain.

“Some
people
thought
crypto
gaming
would
only
take
off
when”
the
industry
had
studio-quality
video
games,
he
said
in
an
interview
with
CoinDesk.
Instead,
the
top
title
pumping
energy
into
the
sector
is
a
somewhat
nostalgic
pixelated
farming
game
–
hardly
a
masterpiece
like
Red
Dead
Redemption
II.

Unlike
Axie
Infinity,
Pixels
was
not
built
by
Sky
Mavis
for
the
Ronin
network.
It
started
life
on
Polygon
and
moved
to
Ronin
last
October,
before
the
current
bull
run
caught
on.
Back
then
Pixels
had
maybe
3,000
daily
active
users,
said
Zirlin.
Now,
it
can
see
as
many
as
750,000.

Those
numbers
still
are
a
fraction
of
the
energy
Axie
Infinity
had
at
its
height.
Still,
Zirlin
said
Ronin
has
an
even
bigger
user
base.
He
said
Ronin
has
12.7
million
wallet
downloads.
All
those
people
are
at
least
ready
(from
an
infrastructure
standpoint)
to
buy
the
NFTs
that
can
accelerate
gameplay
in
Pixels.

Notably,
they
don’t
have
to.
Pixels
differs
from
Axie
in
that
it
does
not
require
users
to
be
crypto-ready
from
the
get-go.
They
can
set
up
their
wallets
and
start
earning
later
on.

Zirlin
said
Ronin
and
Sky
Mavis
continue
to
bet
on
crypto
gaming
despite
its
“seasonality.”
Like
most
everything
in
this
industry,
gaming
does
well
(really
well)
during
bull
markets
and
can
pitter
off
during
bears.
He
said
the
company
is
equipped
to
handle
the
turns
and
is
in
fact
built
for
it.

“If
you
plan
like
that
there’s
no
real
negative,”
he
said.