Since its launch in March 2018, the Axie Infinity online game based on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has become a worldwide phenomenon, celebrated as one of the most successful crypto projects ever.
AXS, Axie Infinity's token, had soared from a few cents a token to $164.90 by November 2021. The huge success of Axie Infinity in 2021 allowed tens of thousands of gamers to make a living just by playing.
Then, in March, North Korea was believed to fund a cybercrime attack on Axie Infinity. In spite of the loss, the company did not suffer a fatal blow.
The share price of Axie Infinity (AXS) is down 92.3% since its peak to just about $12, but Sky Mavis, the game's parent company, continues to remain strong.
Aleksander Leonard Larsen, Chief Operating Officer at Sky Mavis believes that Axie Infinity's success is a result of a number of factors:
“I would say that rather than the Axie classic game being the real secret sauce, the community was always the secret sauce of Axie.”
As a result of the success of Axie Infinity, The Sky Mavis team is now working on its next game titled Axie Origins, which will apply the lessons learned from what Larsen sometimes refers to as “Axie classic.”
Larsen stated that, in retrospect, it would have been better if we had been a bit more careful with the [token] inflation,” but that overall Axie Classic was a “great learning experience.”
“If you look at just the newest user numbers, and just how many people discovered the game, now we have the opportunity to build on top of that, as we’re releasing the next games.”
As a result of the loyal community of gamers the company has built up over the years, Larsen believes that the company is in a great position to take crypto by storm again. As long as Sky Mavis is able to create an appropriate game, the existing gaming community of Axie players creates a "networking effect" of in-built fans.
When asked about the $620 million Ronin attack, Larsen expresses regret over what happened:
“Looking back, I wish we had more validators, and we had been more secure. We’ve taken it to heart, it’s a big learning experience.”
The company will now strive to restore trust from its users and improve the security and robustness of its system. A second objective has been achieved with the addition of Google to the company's list of validators, something Sky Mavis believes will improve the network's security.
As of now, the company is focused on launching Axie Origins, a game that promises to offer improvements over its predecessor, such as improved gameplay mechanics and a free-to-play model.
