Axie Infinity

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2018 video game

Axie Infinity

Developer(s)	Sky Mavis
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	Windows Android macOS iOS
Release	March 2018
Genre(s)	NFT Online game Strategy game
Mode(s)	Single player, PvP

Axie Infinity is a non-fungible token-based online video game developed by Vietnamese studio Sky Mavis, known for its in-game economy which uses Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies. It has been called 'a pyramid scheme that relies on cheap labor from countries like the Philippines to fuel its growth.'

Players of Axie Infinity collect and mint NFTs which represent axolotl-inspired digital pets known as Axies. These creatures can be bred and battled with each other within the game. Sky Mavis charges a 4.25% fee to players when they trade Axies on its marketplace.

In September 2021, most Axie Infinity players were from the Philippines.

Axie Infinity is built on the Ronin Network, an Ethereum-linked sidechain developed by Sky Mavis. The game's official Cryptocurrency is "Axie Infinity Shards/Token" or AXS for short. The game's secondary token, SLP, crashed in February 2022 amid a wider NFT and cryptocurrency crash, losing over 99% of its peak value. In March 2022, hackers compromised the Ronin Network, stealing approximately US$620 million worth of cryptocurrency from the project. The hackers were linked to Lazarus Group, funded by North Korea.

Gameplay

According to the company's website, Axie Infinity is a competitive game with an "idle battle" system derived from games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Idle Heroes. The game's setting is filled with creatures called Axies that players can collect as pets. Players aim to battle, breed, collect, raise, and build kingdoms for their Axies. The game has an in-game economy where players can buy, sell, and trade resources they earn in the game. Players earn rewards in the form of two cryptocurrencies, Small Love Potions (SLP) and Axie Infinity Shards (AXS). SLP is used to grow Axies, while AXS is used to play the game, support token sales, and secure the network.

Sky Mavis marketed the game with a "play-to-earn" model (also called "pay-to-play-to-earn" model) where after participants pay the starting costs, they can earn an Ethereum-based in-game cryptocurrency by playing. Axie Infinity allows users to cash-out their tokens every fourteen days. This model has been described as a form of gambling, and one with an unstable market that is overly reliant on the inflow of new players.

In February 2020, Sky Mavis estimated that a new player would need to spend around US$400 to meet this starting requirement. By August 2020, the cheapest Axie cost approximately US$307, although reports as of March 2022 suggest the floor price of an Axie has dipped to around US$20. Since the purchase of an NFT in the amount of hundreds of US dollars during the bullrun of 2021 was not possible for every potential player, the so-called Scholarship system was created, in which wealthier investors acquire NFTs and rent them to other players. This allows players who would otherwise be barred from participating in the game due to a lack of investment opportunities to participate in the game and thereby generate income, with the income being split between the two parties to varying degrees.

Players of Axie Infinity can also purchase virtual land and other in-game assets as NFTs. The record sale of a plot of virtual land was priced at US$2.3 million, as of 25 November 2021. Gameplay related to purchased virtual land was intended to be introduced by 2020, but this has been pushed back twice as of April 2022. The delays have prompted complaints from users coinciding with a sharp decline in the profitability of the in-game economy.

The popularity of the game has also led to the formation of new digital communities in connection with it. A study conducted by de Jesus et al. came to the conclusion that large parts of the player base also associate the game with the social ties it forges and are thus motivated to participate from a purely communal perspective.

Development and history

Development of Axie Infinity commenced in 2017, led by its co-founder and CEO, Nguyen Thanh Trung, alongside Tu Doan, Aleksander Larsen, Jeffrey Zirlin, and Andy Ho. Nguyen had previously spent money on the game CryptoKitties before he began work on his own blockchain-based game, combining elements of CryptoKitties with gameplay from the Pokémon series or Neopets.

In October 2018, the development team released Axie Infinity's first battle system. Development of the real-time card battle system and application commenced in March 2019, and an alpha was released in December 2019.

Sky Mavis launched Ronin wallet in February 2021, which in addition to speeding up transactions and eliminating expensive gas fees for gamers offers the opportunity to play Axie Infinity or any other dApp that run on the Ronin sidechain.

While the project had generated merely US$21 million in the first two to three years since its inception, it raised $485 million between July and August 2021 alone.

The value of the game's associated token, Smooth Love Potion (SLP) (formerly known as Small Love Potion by the community), crashed in February 2022 amid a wider NFT and cryptocurrency crash, losing over 99% of its peak value. Sky Mavis attempted to stabilize the price by introducing new features to the game, but these attempts were ineffective. The low exchange value of SLP has caused a massive exodus of players, leaving guild leaders without their cheap third-world labor force to grind on their behalf. Sky Mavis removed references to "play-to-earn" on its websites and marketing as its tokens plummeted in value.

After reaching a market capitalization of several billion dollars, the project lost a large part of its players in 2021 and 2022. The reduced interest in the game was caused by several factors according to Delfabbro et al.:

A decrease in revenue made by the players due to the general drop in prices on the crypto market together with the high entry costs of the game
A loss of interest in the cryptomarkets due to repeated market downturns during that period
A price drop of Axie NFTs to as low as US$6 due to an overproduction and consequently an increased supply of Axies on the market.

On 23 March 2022, hackers compromised the Ronin Network, stealing approximately US$620 million in Ether and USDC. A total of 173,600 Ether and 25.5 million USDC tokens were stolen in two transactions. It took the company six days to notice the hack. The hack currently sits as the largest-ever breach in the cryptocurrency sector by dollar value. It further damaged the value of SLP. On 8 April 2022, Sky Mavis said it expected it would be able to recover some of the funds, but it would take several years. The company raised additional venture capital and reimbursed all users affected in the hack. On 14 April 2022, the FBI issued a statement that the Lazarus Group and APT38, which are North Korean state-sponsored hacker groups, were responsible for the theft. Accordingly, the US Treasury has sanctioned the cryptocurrency address. Some of the cryptocurrency has been laundered through a cryptocurrency tumbler known as "Tornado Cash".

Aleksander Leonard Larsen, one of the co-founders of Sky Mavis, announced at the beginning of 2023, that the game's development would in future move towards a Play and Earn concept instead of a Play to Earn concept in order to focus on the entertainment aspects of the game rather than any monetary considerations to playing it.

Axie Infinity as an alternative source of income in low-income countries

Play-to-Earn games like Axie Infinity have at times been considered a viable source of income in low-income countries such as the Philippines. The Philippines, Brazil, Venezuela, and Argentina are among the countries from which the majority of players come and where the income generated by the game has been higher than the average income of the country, with the volatility of the tokens earned being a fundamental problem in the appropriation of Axie Infinity as an alternative source of income.

A study conducted by Francisco et al. in 2022 concluded that most Filipino players spent one to four hours a day playing the game and that the return on investment was achieved within one to three months. The game's popularity in the Philippines stemmed from the economic hardship caused by the pandemic, during which many residents lost their original source of income. The main motivation behind playing the game was primarily to receive approximately the same amount of income within a few hours a day as with full-time employment.

In the Philippines, the prohibitive cost of entry led to both individuals and gaming guilds renting out assets to allow new players meet the minimum requirements. These new players, known as "scholars", are often required to meet a quota of in-game earning to continue using the rented assets, and must pay the owners a commission. These commissions vary greatly but can be as high as 75%. The resulting dependency of lower-income individuals has often been compared to Sharecropping.

The Philippine Department of Finance clarified that income from playing Axie Infinity is taxable, and suggested that the SEC and BSP may classify its cryptocurrency as a currency or a security.

Comparison to Physical Trading Card Games (TCGs)

Axie Infinity has been likened to a digital Trading Card Game (TCG), drawing parallels to the traditional physical TCGs. Just like in physical TCGs where players and collectors can trade cards in the real world using platforms like eBay, digital TCGs offer a similar trading experience but in a digital format. It is worth noting, however, that while trading in-game items for real-world money is often prohibited by the developers through their Terms of Service (ToS) in MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games), the concept of real-world money digital TCG trading can also be applicable to MMORPGs.

One argument in favor of enabling player-to-player trading in digital TCGs is that it fosters competition among traders, resulting in better prices for players. This competitive environment can potentially lower the overall cost for players compared to alternative models where trading is restricted or absent.

By incorporating blockchain technology, Axie Infinity takes the concept of digital TCGs to the next level, introducing the possibility of true ownership and scarcity of in-game assets. Through the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), players can have verifiable ownership of their digital cards, which adds an additional layer of value and collectibility to the game. This decentralized approach to ownership has garnered significant attention and support from enthusiasts and experts who see blockchain as the future of card games.

Overall, Axie Infinity's digital TCG model presents an innovative and potentially cost-effective way for players to engage in card trading, leveraging the advantages of blockchain technology to enhance ownership and market dynamics within the game.

Criticism

Axie Infinity has received criticism focusing primarily on the game's high financial barrier to entry, questions about the project's long-term durability including accusations of a ponzi or pyramid scheme, as well as possible negative effects of the game on the players' mental health.

Barriers of entry

In order to play Axie Infinity one needs to purchase at least three Axies in the form of NFTs for the price of several hundred Dollars at the peak of the project. As a result, depending on the market situation, Thus the possibility of playing the game may, depending on the market situation, be tied to a significantly higher price than traditional video games, the price of which is usually limited to less than US$100. Despite the creation of the so called scholarship-system this circumstance alone could – as has been put in an article published by Culannay et al. – deter potential players who are not versed with regard to blockchainbased technologies. At the same time, Delic and Delfabbro point out that the monetization of such games prioritizes a player's financial capacities over their actual skill, thus increasingly excluding individuals of lesser means from playing the game or in the least putting them at a disadvantage:

(...) when players can pay money to improve their in-game performance, skilled play may no longer be the sole determinant of player success. It also means that income and affordability could potentially advantage wealthier players and make the game less accessible to lower income groups.
— Amelia Delic and Paul Delfabbro, Profiling the Potential Risks and Benefits of Emerging “Play to Earn” Games: a Qualitative Analysis of Players’ Experiences with Axie Infinity

A player also needs to familiarize themself with the basics of dealing with blockchain technologies before making an initial investment into the game and before being able to play it. In addition to that, the earlier an individual invests in and starts to play the game to more of an advantage said individual has over those who have started at a later date, since the chances of high winnings become smaller the later one enters the game.

Longevity of the project

One potential problem with the game that has been raised repeatedly in research is the fact that its popularity may be of limited duration. According to the critics, this would be due to the fact that video games usually have a limited lifespan until they are eclipsed by newer and possibly better games.

With regard to the longevity of the project, there have also been repeated accusations of a Ponzi- oder pyramid-scheme in the past. Axie Infinity lacks long-term economic durability according to some of its critics due to the fact that it has to rely on players continuing to invest in the game. The in-game economy would largely depend on the existing number of actively involved players:

Like the majority of P2E models, AI relies on players financial input/output to regulate the value of the in-game currency. In other words, the games economy is influenced by the number of players investing into AI (...)
— Paul Delfabbro et al., Understanding the mechanics and consumer risks associated with play-to-earn (P2E) gaming

Various critics have accused Axie Infinity's basic economic design of being based on a speculative bubble. According to this, the game drags players into a kind of gig economy where they have to invest more and more to make a profit. Andreas Hackethal of the Goethe Business School has referred to the concept as Pump and Dump, maintaining that players are only willing to spend money and time playing the game because of their hope that the prices will increase and speaking of a pay-to-earn rather than play-to-earn game. Bernd Richter of the Fidelity National Information Services considers the game to rather be a pyramid scheme. The game has also often been described as a kind of Ponzi-scheme.

Potential psychological distress of players

Games like Axie Infinity are often associated with psychological problems on the part of their players. In this context the main point of argument is the suspicion that players might play the game primarily for monetary reasons rather than for the purpose of entertainment: The extrinsic motivation to play outweighs the pure entertainment factor. According to critics, this leads to a sunk-cost-fallacy where players primarily play the game due to the fact that they have already invested a lot of money and time into it. Furthermore, the combination of financial speculation and videogame is said to potentially worsen the condition of gambling addicts involved in the game.

Further points of criticism

Apart from the already mentioned points, further things have been pointed out by critics:

According to De Jesus et al., while the Scholarship Program, through which wealthier NFT owners lend their NFTs to other players to share the resulting proceeds, is monitored by leading members of the Axie Infinity community, it is not subject to any form central control, so NFT owners could retain the proceeds without paying the so-called Scholars.
NFTs like the ones used in the game could lead to a high-risk speculative bubble.
The servers of the game could become overloaded, leading to a loss of SLP Tokens during the session.

References

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De Jesus, Shealtielle Blaise Dimapilis; et al. (2022). "A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences and Challenges Faced By Axie Infinity Online Gamers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic". International Journal of Psychology and Counseling. 12 (1): 394. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.18856454.v1.
Francisco, Ryan D.; Rodelas, Nelson C.; Ubaldo, John Edison T. (2022). "The Perception of Filipinos on the Advent of Cryptocurrency and Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Games". International Journal of Computing Sciences Research. 6: 1014. doi:10.25147/ijcsr.2017.001.1.89.
Delic, Amelia J.; Delfabbro, Paul H. (2022). "Profiling the Potential Risks and Benefits of Emerging "Play to Earn" Games: a Qualitative Analysis of Players' Experiences with Axie Infinity". International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. doi:10.1007/s11469-022-00894-y. Individuals residing in third-world countries appear to benefit most from the PTE structure, with the potential to attract incomes far greater than the national average wage
Culannay, Roger Charles; et al. (2022). "Analysis on the Factors that Influence the Investment on Online Crypto Games". International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education. 3 (1): 150.
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Delic, Amelia J.; Delfabbro, Paul H. (2022). "Profiling the Potential Risks and Benefits of Emerging "Play to Earn" Games: a Qualitative Analysis of Players' Experiences with Axie Infinity". International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. doi:10.1007/s11469-022-00894-y. Similar to the rental system evident in Cryptokitties, scholarship programs involve wealthy players known as 'managers' lending their Axies to 'scholars'. This allows gamers, particularly those of a poorer demographic, the opportunity to play for free. In return, the managers obtain a portion of the scholar's gaming income by devoting their capital (their NFT or Axie) to obtain a return on the labour of others. Such schemes theoretically offer opportunities for those who may not have the funds to pay for the entry cost into the game. However, a potential risk of these schemes is that they might lead to a form of exploitation in which people from less-advantaged countries provide a cheap form of labour and many hours of effort to benefit those with the wealth to afford the NFTs. (...) Similar concerns have been raised about the so-called practice of 'gold farming' in which young people have been observed playing games in factory like conditions to earn in-game rewards which are sold for profit by the management of the operation (...) Respondents that resided in third-world countries or had poor gaming knowledge were identified as most at risk of unfair scholarship splits
de Vera, Ben O. (23 August 2021). "DOF: Axie Infinity players must pay income tax from trading "pets"". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
De Jesus, Shealtielle Blaise Dimapilis; et al. (2022). "A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences and Challenges Faced By Axie Infinity Online Gamers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic". International Journal of Psychology and Counseling. 12 (1): 391. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.18856454.v1.
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Culannay, Roger Charles; et al. (2022). "Analysis on the Factors that Influence the Investment on Online Crypto Games". International Journal of Arts, Sciences and Education. 3 (1): 145.
De Jesus, Shealtielle Blaise Dimapilis; et al. (2022). "A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences and Challenges Faced By Axie Infinity Online Gamers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic". International Journal of Psychology and Counseling. 12 (1): 396. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.18856454.v1.
Servando, Kristine; Saysonk, Ian (25 August 2021). "The jobless turn to crypto video game for financial relief". Bloomberg. Retrieved 27 February 2023. But the Axie frenzy has also bred criticism that the platform is propped up by new money drawn to a get-rich-quick premise. Vanessa Cao, founder of venture-capital firm BTX Capital, said the Axie model is "fundamentally unhealthy and unsustainable." "Players need to spend hundreds of dollars upfront just to play," she said. "It's a wrongful concept. You can't ask people to pay before even having any idea what the game is about."
Delic, Amelia J.; Delfabbro, Paul H. (2022). "Profiling the Potential Risks and Benefits of Emerging "Play to Earn" Games: a Qualitative Analysis of Players' Experiences with Axie Infinity". International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. The first important issue is whether requiring players to buy NFTs contributes to concerns regarding the increasing monetization of gaming. As these authors point out, when players can pay money to improve their in-game performance, skilled play may no longer be the sole determinant of player success. It also means that income and affordability could potentially advantage wealthier players and make the game less accessible to lower income groups.
De Jesus, Shealtielle Blaise Dimapilis; et al. (2022). "A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences and Challenges Faced By Axie Infinity Online Gamers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic". International Journal of Psychology and Counseling. 12 (1): 400. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.18856454.v1.
^ Delfabbro, Paul; Delic, Amelia; King, Daniel L. (26 September 2022). "Understanding the mechanics and consumer risks associated with play-to-earn (P2E) gaming". Journal of Behavioral Addictions. 11: 722 f. doi:10.1556/2006.2022.00066.
De Jesus, Shealtielle Blaise Dimapilis; et al. (2022). "A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences and Challenges Faced By Axie Infinity Online Gamers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic". International Journal of Psychology and Counseling. 12 (1): 398. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.18856454.v1.
Delfabbro, Paul; Delic, Amelia; King, Daniel L. (26 September 2022). "Understanding the mechanics and consumer risks associated with play-to-earn (P2E) gaming". Journal of Behavioral Addictions. 11: 722. doi:10.1556/2006.2022.00066.
Short for Axie Infinity.
^ Mannweiler, Antonia (28 January 2022). "NFT-Game Axie Infinity: Spiel des Lebens". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 27 February 2023.
De Jesus, Shealtielle Blaise Dimapilis; et al. (2022). "A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences and Challenges Faced By Axie Infinity Online Gamers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic". International Journal of Psychology and Counseling. 12 (1): 397. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.18856454.v1.
De Jesus, Shealtielle Blaise Dimapilis; et al. (2022). "A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences and Challenges Faced By Axie Infinity Online Gamers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic". International Journal of Psychology and Counseling. 12 (1): 392. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.18856454.v1. Cf. Delic, Amelia J.; Delfabbro, Paul H. (2022). "Profiling the Potential Risks and Benefits of Emerging "Play to Earn" Games: a Qualitative Analysis of Players' Experiences with Axie Infinity". International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction: Theme 4 — Mental Health and Wellbeing Outcomes.
Delfabbro, Paul; Delic, Amelia; King, Daniel L. (26 September 2022). "Understanding the mechanics and consumer risks associated with play-to-earn (P2E) gaming". Journal of Behavioral Addictions. 11: 722 f. doi:10.1556/2006.2022.00066. A potential psychological risk associated with highly monetized games is that the motivation for gaming may switch from intrinsic enjoyment or challenge, to a predominant focus on the monetary outcome of the activity (...) The effects of high extrinsic motivation within a video-gaming context are well documented, and associated with greater problem gaming (...) poorer self-control and maladaptive gaming behaviors (...). Emerging research indicates these effects may be intensified within a P2E setting (...) Grinding may therefore increase the frequency and duration of play and create greater risk of harm associated with excessive gaming. Cf. Delic, Amelia J.; Delfabbro, Paul H. (2022). "Profiling the Potential Risks and Benefits of Emerging "Play to Earn" Games: a Qualitative Analysis of Players' Experiences with Axie Infinity". International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. Money and the financial component of AI was a frequent topic of discussion. The first subtheme "Incentive" indicated gaming behaviour was highly reward-driven and extrinsically motivated. Therefore, whilst players did find some enjoyment from AI, this was secondary to the financial incentive. (...) Despite the current popularity of AI (...) players frequently reported a dislike for gameplay and that they were largely playing for extrinsic rewards.
Delic, Amelia J.; Delfabbro, Paul H. (2022). "Profiling the Potential Risks and Benefits of Emerging "Play to Earn" Games: a Qualitative Analysis of Players' Experiences with Axie Infinity". International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. These kinds of purchases have been associated with sunk cost effects, where players feel obliged to continue gameplay due to prior investment of time or money
Delic, Amelia J.; Delfabbro, Paul H. (2022). "Profiling the Potential Risks and Benefits of Emerging "Play to Earn" Games: a Qualitative Analysis of Players' Experiences with Axie Infinity". International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. The second issue (harm) relates to whether these games and strongly monetized structures may be more appealing to higher risk gamblers, who are already experiencing issues relating to internet gaming disorder
De Jesus, Shealtielle Blaise Dimapilis; et al. (2022). "A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences and Challenges Faced By Axie Infinity Online Gamers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic". International Journal of Psychology and Counseling. 12 (1): 398. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.18856454.v1.
De Jesus, Shealtielle Blaise Dimapilis; et al. (2022). "A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences and Challenges Faced By Axie Infinity Online Gamers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic". International Journal of Psychology and Counseling. 12 (1): 398. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.18856454.v1.
De Jesus, Shealtielle Blaise Dimapilis; et al. (2022). "A Qualitative Analysis of the Experiences and Challenges Faced By Axie Infinity Online Gamers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic". International Journal of Psychology and Counseling. 12 (1): 400. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.18856454.v1.

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