Axie Infinity
Blockchain game with play-to-earn model and NFT axolotl pets.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Axie Infinity is a blockchain game developed by the Vietnamese studio Sky Mavis, with development starting in 2017. It is known for its in-game economy that uses Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies and has been called a pyramid scheme that relies on cheap labor from countries like the Philippines to fuel its growth. Players collect and mint non-fungible tokens (NFTs) representing axolotl-inspired digital pets called Axies, which can be bred and battled. The game is built on the Ronin Network, an Ethereum-linked sidechain developed by Sky Mavis, and its official cryptocurrency is Axie Infinity Shards (AXS).
- field
- Blockchain gaming / cryptocurrency
- nationality
- Vietnamese (developer Sky Mavis)
- known_for
- Play-to-earn model, NFT-based digital pets, Ronin Network hack
- founded
- 2017 (development started)
- peak_daily_players
- 2.7 million
- largest_hack_loss
- US$620 million
Lore & Background
Axie Infinity was developed by Sky Mavis, led by 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 beginning work on his own blockchain-based game, combining elements of CryptoKitties with gameplay from the Pokémon series or Neopets. Adventure mode was released in early 2018, and an alpha of the real-time card battle system was released in December 2019. Sky Mavis launched the Ronin Network in April 2021 to speed up transactions and eliminate expensive gas fees.
Reader's Guide
Axie Infinity's significance lies in its pioneering of the play-to-earn model, where players could earn Ethereum-based cryptocurrency by playing, though it required a high initial investment—around US$400 in February 2020. The game became a major source of income in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some full-time users earning above the national monthly average by July 2021. However, the model faced criticism as potentially exploitative, with scholars renting assets from guilds and paying commissions as high as 75%. The game's legacy is marred by the crash of its secondary token SLP, which lost over 99% of its peak value in February 2022, and the March 2022 Ronin Network hack, where US$620 million was stolen by North Korean-linked Lazarus Group. By April 2023, the price of Axie Infinity's cryptocurrency token had fallen 99% from its all-time high, and daily players dropped from 2.7 million to about 250,000. The Philippine Department of Finance clarified that income from playing is taxable, and the game has been described as a pyramid scheme and a form of gambling.
Did You Know?
- The game's secondary token SLP crashed in February 2022, losing over 99% of its peak value.
- In March 2022, hackers linked to North Korea's Lazarus Group stole approximately US$620 million from the Ronin Network.
- As of June 2021, some people in the Philippines treated Axie Infinity as their main source of income.
- Sky Mavis removed references to 'play-to-earn' from its websites as its tokens plummeted in value.
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