The Web3 shooter game, Off The Grid (OTG), reported a surge in user engagement, reaching an all-time high of 207,450 unique active wallets (UAW) on November 12.
This surpasses the previous record of 205,000 UAW set on October 30, demonstrating consistent growth for the cyberpunk-themed title. The increase in players interacting with the game’s blockchain elements coincides with OTG’s recent third-place finish in DappRadar’s Boosted Rankings, a community-driven project ranking system.
Off The Grid: A Web3 Shooter Challenging Established Giants
Breaking into the competitive shooter genre is a daunting task, especially with established franchises like Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, and Fortnite dominating the market. Yet, Off The Grid, a third-person cyberpunk battle royale from Gunzilla Games, is attempting to carve its own niche.
Launched in early access on October 8 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, the game generated substantial initial interest. This was driven by influencer marketing, unique gameplay mechanics like the Cyberlimb system, and the incorporation of Web3 elements.
Despite public hesitancy towards Web3 integration in gaming, Off The Grid saw positive early reception. It briefly led the Epic Games Store’s “Most Popular Free-to-Play PC Games” list upon release, accumulating nearly 150,000 viewers and over one million hours watched on Twitch.
Supported by both sponsored and organic streams from prominent figures like Ninja, Timthetatman, and Shroud, the game’s active wallet count peaked at over 207k.
While long-term triumph is uncertain, Off The Grid’s strong early access performance has generated excitement among players and curiosity within the broader shooter community as the full launch date remains to be determined.
Active Wallet Growth and the Future of Off The Grid
Within the Web3 gaming sector, Off The Grid has drawn considerable attention, with some comparing its mainstream reach to that of Axie Infinity. Gunzilla Games, led by Vlad Korolev and Alexander Zoll, first revealed plans for a next-gen AAA shooter in 2020.
The company has since secured over $75 million in funding from investors such as Griffin Gaming Partners, Animoca Brands, and Jump Crypto. Beyond standard battle royale features, Off The Grid introduces new elements.
Its Cyberlimb system offers players equippable items like shields, movement boosts, and special attacks, adding a fresh layer to loot collection. Vertical gameplay is facilitated through jetpacks and ziplines, complemented by an extensive weapon customization system.
Plans for the full launch include expanding the player count from 60 to 150. The early access version utilizes a free-to-play model with a battle pass and content packs, but many features currently require an “OTG PRO” subscription.
A planned 60-hour campaign with PvE elements and cinematic interludes is in development, though its release format and pricing is undisclosed. OTG also enters the increasingly popular extraction shooter subgenre, where its blockchain integration comes into play.
Players can acquire in-game items known as Hexes, which contain tradable assets for the $GUN token. These Hexes can be extracted during matches or held until the end for victorious players. Interaction with these Web3 elements is optional.
While early access items will eventually transfer, the current version operates on a testnet, not the intended GUNZ blockchain. The community response to these features has been generally positive, attributed to Gunzilla’s approach of making them non-mandatory.
Streamers have largely expressed optimism about the NFTs, and player reviews on PlayStation and Epic Games Store currently average around 3.9 out of 5.
The Broader Web3 Gaming Sector
These Web3 elements tie into Gunzilla’s broader ambitions. GUNZ is a custom Avalanche subnet, featuring its own marketplace, chain explorer, non-custodial wallet, and companion app, all designed for white-labeling and sharing with other developers.
Gunzilla already utilizes the GUNZ chain for Technocore, a mobile drone game, and seeks to attract other development teams through its GUNZ SDK.
This is an ambitious undertaking, especially given the competition from other Web3 gaming companies with similar infrastructure goals.
Off The Grid’s Web3 focus also limits distribution, being absent from Steam and vying for attention in a saturated genre. The lack of Steam presence complicates accurate player count assessment.
Unique active wallets serve as an approximate measure, but actual player engagement with the wallet feature and potential multi-account farming are unknown.
Despite the potential synergy between blockchain and extraction shooters, the genre is becoming increasingly crowded.
Several upcoming titles, including Tencent’s Arena Breakout: Infinite and Delta Force, pose considerable competition.
While OTG’s UAW numbers peaked, they are an imperfect measure of actual player engagement. Performance issues and cheating reports also present challenges for the developers.
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