Will ‘Off the Grid’ Take Crypto Games Mainstream?

Off the Grid is the talk of the gaming world right now—but can it stay on top?

Last week, the battle royale game (launched in early access) quickly became the top free title on the Epic Games Store, with 148,000 viewers watching the countless streamers playing it on Twitch. Developed by Gunzilla Games, players are dropped into a reality show-style online shooter experience, kitted out with robotic limbs that give them powerful abilities.

What many players don’t know, however, is that Off the Grid is actually an Avalanche-based crypto game. In its current early access state, the crypto elements have not been fully implemented—but the game’s GUN token is in the works, and there are plans for in-game items to be minted as NFTs and traded on a marketplace.

Here at Decrypt’s GG, of course, we’re all over the crypto gaming space. Our Managing Editor Andrew Hayward and reporter Ryan S. Gladwin sat down for a chat about Off the Grid’s initial impact, how it could impact the gaming world going forward, and whether it can maintain the hype.

Ryan: Throughout my time of reviewing and previewing crypto games, I’ve often felt games are trying too hard to be the crypto version of an already established title, rather than truly innovating. This, I believe, has stunted the growth of the industry. Why would I play the Web3 version of a game when I can just play the real deal?

Off the Grid, on the other hand, adds interesting and unique mechanics to the battle royale genre. I believe the cyberlimb mechanic—being able to swap out your arms and legs for robotic limbs with fun abilities—is the core reason why this game is connecting with players so much. We’ve yet to see another game in the genre allow players to access such a wide range of abilities that are so easily swappable.

Apex Legends comes close with its characters having distinct abilities, but being able to mix and match in the heat of battle is just so much fun.

Andrew: Yeah, I’m still coming to grips with the jetpack and the limbs and all of the stuff that makes Off the Grid more than just another battle royale clone, but it certainly gives the game a unique flavor beyond the cyberpunk vibe. I still suck at the game, but that doesn’t surprise me. I don’t have the hours to pour into it!

But just look at some of the highlights that we rounded up earlier this week from influencers and streamers. No doubt, Off the Grid already has that viral it-factor that propels games like this into the spotlight. Whether it stays there will depend a lot on how quickly it adds content and evolves, and how much polish it gets, but it already has so much potential.

Ryan: Speaking of polish, as a PC player I’ve struggled with how poor the game’s performance and optimization is. With a 12th-gen Intel i5 processor and an RTX 4070, I have to play on extremely low settings and at a reduced resolution just to keep my frames from dropping below 30 fps. If I’m having to do this with a pretty good computer, then I worry the game will turn away the more casual audience it so desperately needs.

Another criticism is that I feel like both landing shots and being damaged isn’t quite obvious enough to the player. When my shots find their target, I want that hit marker to slap and make me feel like I’m really doing damage—that’s currently lacking. Equally, I’ve taken in-game damage and not really realized how serious the danger was, leading me to die without putting up a fight. But that’s something a lot of early access games don’t get right at this stage.

Andrew: That’s the downside of early access, right? It’s a badge they can slap on a game when it’s mostly there, but not quite. In this case, I feel like Off the Grid is strong enough to persevere amid these initial hitches and flaws. Optimization will surely come, along with other tweaks and upgrades. And luckily, my experience has been much smoother playing on PS5 so far.

Even if Off the Grid has arrived in this limited form and needs more polish, it’s still dramatically more fully-formed and ready to roll than most crypto games that insist on “building in public.”

Like, I totally get it: That’s the decentralized ethos, right? But now I’m thinking back to games like Deadrop and Shrapnel that have been building gradually over time, with NFT buyers and supporters getting a slowly evolving experience that hopefully one day adds up to something special. Off the Grid, meanwhile, kept a relatively low profile and then boom, you’ve got a AAA game that’s making a seismic impact. This could change everything for crypto games.

Ryan: Totally agree, first impressions matter! Just look at Cyberpunk 2077, it shipped as a mess and most people never wanted to revisit it after it was fixed. It took years of extra work to get it to the place it was supposed to be at launch.

This is the first time we’ve seen a Web3 game break out of the industry bubble, and we’re already seeing people open up to the idea of crypto gaming as a result. This could be the breakthrough moment for crypto gaming. But—and it’s a big but—the implementation has to make sense. If Off the Grid introduces a system that feels exploitative or pay-to-win, then it may do irreparable damage to crypto gaming.

I hope that Gunzilla keeps it simple, just allowing for skins to be traded on the marketplace. The worst case scenario is they create an economy that incentivizes whales to hoard all of the most powerful weapons, making it unenjoyable for regular gamers.

Andrew: Along with potentially shaking up the concept of building in public, Off the Grid could also seriously impact the way crypto games approach the launch of tokens and NFTs. So often, we’ve seen small teams sell NFTs or do a play-to-airdrop campaign around a token, and then presumably—well, hopefully—invest the gains into building out or polishing the game.

Off the Grid didn’t do that. The token isn’t live yet, and the NFT functionality is still on the horizon, though apparently they did sell some nodes that are currently earning rewards for owners on testnet. In any case, it’s fair to say that Off the Grid didn’t put its crypto foot forward yet, and we’ll see whether that ultimately ends up being a positive overall.

I do think it’s a positive for perceptions, at least. That said, I still can’t get Gunzilla Games to clarify the crypto integration plans for us, and as we see other crypto games announce console launch plans that don’t include blockchain elements, I’m left wondering why Gunzilla isn’t saying more there. Partially, I think it’s to focus on gameplay and not alienate Web2 gamers. But I also wonder if they’re still trying to navigate things with Sony and Microsoft.

No doubt, the hype has cooled from last week’s surely expensive marketing barrage, which is already bringing out doubters over whether Off the Grid has staying power. That’s unavoidable, but it’s also a valid criticism. From what I’ve played and how gamers have reacted, I do think Off the Grid can be a major player, and I’m looking forward to seeing how its success ripples across the wider game industry—not just crypto games.

Edited by Stephen Graves