Introducing the First AAA Web3 MOBA — Starfall Arena
Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) is a genre of online games where players battle it out in teams to destroy their opponent’s base. A fan-made mod of Warcraft 3 called DotA created the classic MOBA genre. DotA attracted a dedicated fan base and set the stage for future games in the genre.
MOBA has become one of the most popular gaming genres due to its competitive and team-based gameplay. In Web2, Riot Games entered the scene in 2009 with League of Legends, a game that borrowed from DotA’s gameplay and introduced the free-to-play model to the genre. This approach led to massive success, bringing in millions of players and generating huge revenue. The game is widely popular even after a decade and has over 153 million active players (30D) as of writing.
Later in 2015, Tencent acquired Riot Games and proposed creating a mobile version of League of Legends. However, the plans were dropped. TiMi and Moonton recognized an opportunity and developed their mobile MOBAs: Honor of Kings and Mobile Legends. These games kept the familiar gameplay of League of Legends and amassed millions of active players. Honor of Kings claims to have over 100 million daily players, and Mobile Legends has over 73 million active players (30D) as of writing.
Web2 MOBAs have a very loyal Web2 base, with players investing hours upon hours into the games to hone their skills, compete in matches, and climb up the rankings.
Now in 2023, Starfall Arena is poised similarly to the winners of the past with a couple of technological unlocks. With blockchain technology, Starfall is enabling incentive alignment and true in-game asset ownership, adding a new layer of engagement and meaning to the widely loved MOBA gameplay experience.
Starfall Arena is the first AAA Web3 MOBA built by the creators of Heroes Evolved. The talent behind the game hail from some of the biggest Web2 gaming studios. Starfall Arena is aiming to deliver a fast-paced Web3 MOBA that is catered to gamers where the players truly own the assets.
The game consists of 5v5 battles in both casual and ranked modes. Starfall Arena laid an emphasis on the gameplay, narrative and high-quality graphics and has all the things from a traditional Web2 MOBA.
Unlike most common Web3 games, Starfall Arena doesn’t feature a Play-to-Earn or Pay-to-Win model. Instead, a Web3 layer is designed on top of it with a meta-game. This optional game extends the MOBA into Web3 with the help of NFTs and massive multiplayer battles where the stakes are high and skillful players get rewarded.
This unique approach of Starfall Arena keeps the Web3 aspects aside and removes pay-to-win for casual and pros in ranked modes. The tokenomics of Starfall Arena is being designed to ensure a consistent return on value to the holders and Web3 players.
Starfall Arena is launching on Arbitrum Nova, a new Ethereum scaling solution designed specifically for Web3 gaming. Arbitrum Nova is a perfect match for Web3 MOBAs and can process high transaction volumes faster and cheaper. We are excited to be a part of this emerging Web3 gaming ecosystem and learn and seize opportunities from it.
Taking Starfall Arena to Web3 With Mirage
Starfall Arena’s game team and Mirage have partnered together for more than a year to build a path-breaking Web3 MOBA. With a dedicated team of web3 developers, Mirage helped with the following:
- Writing & publishing smart contracts of Starfall Arena on Arbitrum Nova
- Launching Starfall Arena’s first NFT collection on Arbitrum
- Developing a custodial wallet to ensure a simple onboarding experience for players
- Creation of a custom marketplace for players to buy & trade Starfall Arena’s assets
- Design of Starfall Arena’s tokenomics
Going forward, Mirage will continue to support Starfall Arena’s ongoing web3 LiveOps, using our powerful SDKs and Mosaic platform. Starfall Arena assets will also be listed on Mirage Plaza — providing Starfall Arena’s players with great visibility to trade their assets. Mirage is also supporting Starfall Arena in its upcoming token launch, where Mirage is leveraging its deep Web3 partnerships and network.
Starfall Arena is a game that Mirage is extremely proud of and we are committed to the long-term success of this partnership.
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