Introduction
A growing industry
The gaming and esports industries have grown to monumental proportions in recent years. It’s estimated that in 2020 the videogame industry generated $155 billion in revenue and that by the year 2025, the industry will generate more than $260 billion in revenue. However, the value chain is disproportionately one-sided; the pillars of the gaming industry are its players, and they are kept out of the loop.
An unequal industry
Players invest in games and derive no genuine value from the products. With every new project comes new purchases and increasing expenditures for the players, but the assets that are accumulated do not hold intrinsic value, and players never truly own them. This is an old-fashioned approach to company-customer relations as it creates a power asymmetry between the two parties. This is where the true essence of blockchain technology and GameFi are revealed.
The GameFi realm
The concept of GameFi refers to the combination of blockchain technology, the principles of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), and gaming. This core concept was developed as a reaction to the traditional gaming industries and the vision to build new ecosystems that empower players. Despite the strength of the vision and the readiness of the community, the GameFi industry still does not empower players, and the power structure of games is left unchanged.
Pioneers of gaming and esports 3.0
XBorg is a gaming and esports 3.0 ecosystem where players, fans, and communities are empowered to compete, meet, own, and grow their wealth while having fun. With communities, technologies, investments, and the underlying blockchain technology, XBorg reshapes the power structure of gaming by putting gamers at the center.
XBorg is pioneering PlayFi, which is a set of blockchain technologies that empower players and reimagine GameFi. Examples are: Gaming Digital Identity, Decentralized esports, Initial Team Offerings (ITOs), quest marketplace, and a social network for gaming are all being implemented. This allows players to own their data and achievements while becoming a vital component of the gaming value chain.
Mission and values
Mission statement
XBorg is pioneering the future of gaming and esports, founded with the mission to democratize GameFi and empower players globally. The aim is to give back control to the players so they may thrive, own and control the value they generate. The XBorg ecosystem is here to:
- Dismantle the power asymmetry of traditional gaming.
- Leverage blockchain technology to empower players.
- Facilitate a borderless ecosystem that allows players to experience and derive the actual value they generate.
Values
XBorg strongly believes in the ability of blockchain technology to radically redefine current power structures and empower individuals in all sectors. XBorg is guided by three core principles:
- Empowerment — people should have power and control over their lives, both real and virtual.
- Inclusivity — equal access to opportunities and resources.
- Competitiveness — push each other to greater heights.
About SwissBorg
XBorg is the gaming arm of SwissBorg, a wealth management organization based in Switzerland that provides an accessible and secure platform for cryptocurrency exchange, currently home to 700,000 users.
The XBorg ecosystem
Verifiable gaming activity
Leveraging blockchain technologies, XBorg has pioneered the first Soulbound Tokens (SBTs) that verify players’ performances on-chain and developed the first gamer CV. Currently, there is no way for a player to prove their achievements, and there is no efficient way for esport teams to scout players. This SBT solves this concern and aligns the two communities.
Gaming social network
The infrastructures of Web2 facilitate the social part of gaming, though at the cost of privacy and security. On the other hand, though offering privacy and security, Web3 ecosystems neglect the social aspect entirely, leaving players with two complex options. XBorg is offering a solution to this shortcoming by creating an ecosystem where players can find one another and build meaningful connections, unbounded by the limitations of either Web2 or Web3 platforms. XBorg achieves this by utilizing the Lens protocol’s social network. The social network will have the following features:
- Discover like-minded players based on their lens profile data and SBTs
- Form gaming social DAOs and monetize the content.
- Place a bet on tournaments and communities.
- Integrate on-chain tournaments.
- Enable player scouting and member recruitment
Quest marketplace
In traditional gaming industries, there are the players and the developers, and these segregated consumer-producer dynamics have left many players dissatisfied with the products that they invest in. That is why XBorg introduces a quest marketplace. This will be a hub where developers can issue quests such as beta testing, and players can issue requests such as patches to gameplay. The goal is to bridge these once separate parties and develop a coherent ecosystem where genuine value can be generated.
Decentralized esports teams
Leveraging the gaming social network, players are able to create decentralized esports teams and gaming communities, with built-in governance systems. These DAOs are more accessible, financially inclusive, and transparent than traditional esports teams and guilds. Players are able to utilize Initial Team Offerings (ITOs) to fund their ideas and fractionalized advertising to monetize their brands.
Here is a visualization of the process:
Content creation
XBorg is dedicated to offering thorough content across all areas within the Blockchain and GameFi sectors.
GameFi analysis: There is a lack of quality content when approaching crypto games, and XBorg is filling this content gap. XBorg produces weekly GameFi analysis content that explores all levels of crypto games and offers necessary information for individuals considering exploring new projects. XBorg has released the first game rating system on which the organization bases its analysis upon.
NFT course: The NFT market is chaotic and hazardous for new users, with little to no starting points for individuals curious about the space. XBorg is developing a leading NFT course that offers users all the necessary guidelines when approaching an NFT project. This information is particularly crucial to GameFi since crypto games are usually developed around in-game NFTs.
Tokenomics
The XBorg ecosystem is powered by a collection of currencies, each with different varying values and utilities. The ecosystem supports the $XBORG token, a non-transferable reward token XP, the Prometheus NFT, and SBTs. The following sections highlight the exact importance and utility of each within the ecosystem.
$XBORG
Utilities:
- Staking: Index to treasury funds paid out through staking yield.
- Ecosystem value transfers: Used for value transfers within the ecosystem. Including but not limited to the social network, bounty and quest hub, and fractionalized NFT advertisements.
- Governance: The token can be used to issue and vote on a variety of proposals.
Supply: Finite, with a total supply of 1,000,000,000 (1 Billion).
Network and standard: Ethereum (ERC-20) and bridged to L2s.
Estimated launch date: Q1 2023
Token distribution:
Token release schedule:
XP
XP is the non-transferable reward token of the XBorg Ecosystem. The XP token cannot be sold or acquired in the primary or secondary marketplaces. The only method of XP acquisition is through community-related actions and contributions. Its principal utilities include the following:
- Boosted staking.
- In-ecosystem status.
- Facilitates the acquisition of unique achievements NFTs.
- Offers eligibility for receiving unique perks and airdrops.
Supply: Infinite
Network and standard: Polygon (Non-transferable tokens)
Estimated launch date: Q1 2023
Currently, the XP system has not been deployed within the XBorg community, and instead a parallel token known as ENERGY is used to reward community members. Following the TGE and the launch of the ecosystems tokenomics, all accumulated ENERGY will be converted into XP.
Prometheus
Prometheus is XBorg’s Genesis NFT and is developed in order to offer the ecosystem’s earliest backers seamless access to XBorg’s primary technological offerings. Its principal utilities include:
- Vested XBorg Token Airdrop
- Seed Round Dealflow
- Exclusive Xplorer Club
- Early Protocol Governance
- XBorg Dapp Early Access
- XBorg Dapp Premium
- Frictionless Staking
Check out the official SwissBorg Announcement
Roadmap
To build upon and honor the achievements of some of the greatest pioneers and explorers, and to remain true to their mission of pushing boundaries, XBorg’s roadmap is divided into three epochs characterized by a prominent figure. The roadmap showcases Yuri Gagarin, the first human to venture into space. Katherine Johnson, the figure that battled adversities of earth, in order to calculate man’s first journey to the moon. Neil Armstrong the first human to set foot on the moon.
GAGARIN
- Gaming Digital Identity - Web3 and Web2 games
- Soulbound token-gated communities
- Contributor Digital Identity- Proof of concept
- Genesis NFT collection
- First VC investments
- Key partnerships with esports teams, large crypto ecosystems, and influencers
- Merchandise
JOHNSON
- GameFi hub quests
- Web3 Dapp
- Digital identity Dapp
- On-chain league; token-gated tournaments
- Web3 merchandise (Phygital)
- Sub organizations deployed
ARMSTRONG
- Social network
- Decentralized esports teams and ITOs
- On-chain betting and player wagering
- Token-generation event and Public sale
Team
Louis Regis: Founder and CEO | Linkedin | Twitter
Joao Goncalves: Gaming lead | Linkedin | Twitter
Hakim Messahli: Community growth lead | Linkedin | Twitter
Sam Sheikh: Investment lead, GameFi Analyst Lead, and Partnerships | LinkedIn | Twitter
Connor Kirsten: Growth and Partnerships lead | LinkedIn | Twitter
Partners
Community gaming, the all-in-one esports competition platform, offering cutting-edge infrastructure to key industry stakeholders. Through its seamless UX, plus highly scalable and efficient blockchain payment technology, the platform equips players, guilds, competition organizers, and game developers with the tools they need to create, facilitate, and participate in esports tournaments.
Ultra, a next-generation blockchain-based PC game distribution network. To build a strong gaming ecosystem that aspires to give power back to developers, link developers and influencers to their communities, restore rights to gamers, and reward them for their active involvement on the platform, Ultra is utilizing blockchain technology.
Zilliqa, a public blockchain designed to tackle the issues of scalability and throughput facing many cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Polkastarter Gaming, a leading Web3 gaming platform that is removing the friction for gamers entering Web3 gaming.
Skyweaver, built with the foundations of asset ownership and founded by leading blockchain organization Horizon Blockchain Games, is a crypto Trading Card Game (TCG) that strives to be the leading TCG in the industry, providing some of the most polished gaming experiences of its genre on the blockchain.
Authored by Saam
