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Axie Infinity is an Ethereum-based, Pokemon-inspired blockchain game where players can compete head to head by battling axies, playable NFT characters within the Axie Infinity ecosystem. The project is featured on the Ronin blockchain, a sidechain off of Ethereum, and utilizes a dual currency system to power its in-game economy. These two cryptocurrencies are the AXS governance token and the SLP utility token.

Project Origins

Axie Infinity was founded in 2018 by Vietnamese game developer Sky Mavis. The core team behind Sky Mavis and Axie Infinity includes Trung Nguyen (CEO), Aleksander Leonard Larsen (COO), and Jeff Zirlin (Growth Lead).

The inspiration for Axie Infinity came from the team's desire to create a more engaging, player-centric gaming experience. They aimed to build a game that allowed players to truly own their digital assets and be rewarded for the time and effort they invested in the game. This vision led to the development of a play-to-earn (P2E) model that has since become a driving force in the GameFi industry.

The project's early success can be attributed to its innovative gameplay, which combined elements of traditional gaming with the emerging world of blockchain and NFTs. As Axie Infinity gained traction, the game's economy grew, allowing players to earn real-world value through the in-game tokens AXS (governance token) and SLP (Smooth Love Potion, the utility token).

Axie Infinity's focus on creating a sustainable, player-driven economy attracted a diverse player base from around the world. In particular, the game became popular in countries like the Philippines, where players saw it as an opportunity to earn an income during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team behind Axie Infinity has continually expanded and improved the game, introducing new features, partnerships, and developments. Today, the project stands as a leading example of how blockchain technology and the Play-to-Earn model can revolutionize the gaming industry.

GameFi Industry Overview

GameFi is a specific sector of this metaverse economy, and it is arguably the biggest one. In many ways, gaming is making the metaverse feasible. This is because of the combination of two technological fields having revolutionary growth.

Those fields are:

• Advancements in gaming technology
• The emergence of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies

Gaming itself has developed at a tremendous pace over the past several decades. From the original release of the original Atari gaming system to today’s modern gaming consoles and PCs, the gaming industry has seen revolutionary growth.

This has been possible due to some major technological advances in:

• Computer Processing Power
• Graphics Capabilities
• Overall Internet Speeds

As computers have gotten more powerful, semiconductor technology has improved, and graphics have gotten more realistic, gaming as an industry has become increasingly more life-like and immersive.

GameFi requires a combination of gaming and finance to establish blockchain-based gaming micro-economies that are based on player participation and ownership. This is made possible through the blockchain’s distributed ledger technology that allows ownership to be determined on-chain over currencies and NFTs.

Play-to-Earn (P2E) Model

Each GameFi project has slightly different economics, but nearly all are some form of the “Play-to-Earn” (P2E) model. P2E allows users to earn rewards for contributing and using Axie Infinity.

Axie Infinity uses a dual token system for its functionality. Those two tokens are:

• Axie Infinity Shard (AXS)
• Smooth Love Potion (SLP)

Rewards in Axie Infinity come from its native token AXS. It serves as the governance token for the platform, is used in on-chain incentives, and can be used for transactions within marketplaces. The other in-game ERC-20 is SLP, a token that can be burned and used for breeding new Axies.

Source: Xangle

In terms of real playability and the P2E aspect of Axie Infinity, the SLP token is awarded to players for:

• Participating in “adventure mode”
• Winning battles against other axies