Economy
Last updated
Last updated
In gaming, economic trends have highlighted challenges for developers, and the incorporation of blockchain technology makes this slightly more difficult. Previously, if developers needed to make iterations to the game, it would only affect the players in-game experience. Now, however, making iterations will affect the gameplay and potentially the monetary value associated with an NFT asset.
The majority of P2E games that have not survived can be broken down into having one or a combination of the following issues:
Token rewards - players would participate or complete the required tasks to receive token rewards, with the majority looking to sell instantly. The only benefit of not selling these tokens, was the speculation that reinvesting back into the ecosystem would provide a larger return, at a later date. With the ultimate goal being profit, not entertainment, it is near impossible to outrun this constant sell pressure.
Only playing to earn - players would spend their time in the games which yielded the best returns. The focus was on value extraction, not enjoyment. Therefore when a new game arrived with a better short-term earning model (regardless of gameplay), players would soon transition across.
Pre-purchasing of NFTs - games that required assets to be bought upfront, created a high barrier to entry and cost players anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand.
Asset inflation - through different functions and speaking generally, players had the capacity to mint unlimited new assets into the ecosystem. As soon as the demand for the project slowed down and the supply continued to increase, the assets became practically worthless.
Onboarding - projects relied on the onboarding of new players to maintain their economy, but once the influx of players stopped, the economy crumbled.
To address the issues above and maintain a thriving economy, the following mechanisms have been designed to ensure the sustainability of the ecosystem, including:
NFT rewards - the focus is on asset ownership rather than dependency on a singular function of emitting 'tokens as rewards' only.
Improved gameplay - players are rewarded with new NFTs, which provide them with a greater variety of assets to choose from when entering a match. As a result, the more they play, the more assets they acquire, improving their overall in-game experience.
Free-to-play - removes the barrier to entry of pre-purchasing the game or assets prior to playing.
Fair launch - no pre-sale of NFTs, meaning everyone has a equal opportunity from the beginning.
Maximum supply - there is a limited supply of each NFT asset.
Interoperability - all assets can be used across any Thalon title.
User-generated content - through the customisation of maps, players are rewarded for improving the gameplay experience for others in the ecosystem.
To maintain a robust token price, there must be both utility and demand. Creating a long-term sustainable economy is a priority and a few ways this will be achieved is through:
Maximum supply - $THL has a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens - no more $THL tokens will come into existence.
In-game utility - $THL is needed for players that use in-game production boosts and in the upgrading of land. Having utility for players to buy, hold and spend tokens in-game creates purpose and demand for the $THL governance token.
Staking - $THL holders can lock up their tokens, providing liquidity to the open market. In doing so, stakers will receive additional $THL tokens as an incentive. Staking increases liquidity and reduces the market supply, resulting in fewer tokens circulating on the open market.
Revenue Distribution - Fees that are collected in $ETH from the marketplace, from match wagering, loot box claims and more, will be sent into the Thalon Vault. Periodically the $ETH collected in the vault will purchase $THL off the open market and distribute it back to holders.
Deflationary - With each $THL transaction, a small % will be permanently burned, slowly decreasing the total supply.