The crypto and NFT gaming space is busier than ever lately, what with prominent games starting to release, token airdrops piling up, and a seemingly constant array of other things happening at all times. It’s a lot to take in!

Luckily, Decrypt’s GG is all over it. And if you need a quick way to get caught up on the latest moves around crypto video games, we’re happy to present This Week in Crypto Games.

Our weekend roundup serves up the biggest news from the past week, along with a few other tidbits you might have missed. We also showcase a few of our original stories from the week.

Biggest news

Off the Grid's major moves: After entering early access in October, Avalanche-based battle royale shooter Off the Grid’s hype has cooled a bit. But on Wednesday, the game received its biggest update yet, reworking its aiming system, adding a notable performance boost, and tweaking weapon performance.

This update, the patch notes claim, is in preparation for an upcoming ranked mode being added to the game. The most noticeable update was the improvement to scoped weapons, now they have a much more natural feel than in previous builds. On top of this, the meta got a major shakeup with weapons receiving major buffs and nerfs.

And then on Friday, developer Gunzilla Games revealed exclusively to Decrypt's GG that it will launch a GUNZ Foundation under the advisement of Delphi Ventures. The Foundation will oversee the mainnet launch of the GUNZ L1 network, as well as the upcoming GUN token, which is targeted for a Q1 2025 rollout.

Oh, and one more thing: Off the Grid's December content addition is called the "Crackhead Christmas" pack. Soak it all in with the trailer below.

TapSwap and Tomarket: The makers of tap-to-earn Telegram game TapSwap announced last week that its long-awaited TAPS token launch and airdrop will take place in late January, following months of speculation. The token will launch on The Open Network (TON).

One Telegram game that won't launch on TON, however, is Tomarket. Last week, the developers made a late switch to the Aptos blockchain, barely a week before the planned launch.

This move sets the stage for the game’s hotly anticipated TOMA token launch, which has been the primary motivator bringing in 50 million users to the game. Players have been progressing in-game in the hopes of getting a healthy airdrop of TOMA, and the launch is now set for December 20.

Ubisoft launch and mint: Gaming giant Ubisoft confirmed its upcoming game Captain Laserhawk: The G.A.M.E. will launch on December 18 via Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum. To celebrate, it launched a free NFT mint tied to the game, giving out 10,000 total NIJI Warrior ID Cards.

Set in a dystopian world inspired by the Netflix animated series "Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix"—which is based in part on a game in the Far Cry game franchise—the competitive, top-down multiplayer shooter will feature characters from hit series Assassin’s Creed, Rayman, and Beyond Good & Evil.

ICYMI

• Neon Machine, the creator of Shrapnel, appointed a new CEO and revealed fundraising in progress.
  
• Mobile shoot ‘em up game Zoppel launched in alpha on Ethereum layer-2 scaling network Skale.
• Crypto gaming ecosystem Treasure launched its own Ethereum layer-2 chain, leaving Arbitrum.

• The builders of original tap-to-earn game Notcoin revealed a new rewards sharing platform.
• Battle royale shooter ‘OverTrip’ hit the Epic Games Store.
• Ethereum Name Service partnered with Ubisoft to provide ENS subdomains for NIJI Warrior ID Card holders.

• Role-playing game Aurory: Seekers of Tokane is launching its festive update this week.
• SocialFi game Fantasy Top is set to return with a second version, after raising $4.25 million.
• Crypto strategy game Apeiron debuted on iOS and Android last week.
  
• NFT project Doodles has taken over PlayStation Music with a playlist for console owners.
  

• Mobile strategy game Heroes of Mavia launched staking for its MAVIA token on Saturday.
• Gomble Games, the crypto division of 111%, announced a new IP hub for game developers.
• Guild of Guardians launched its Shield Breaker event with new dungeon challenges and other additions.
• Holders’ of the Ancient and Mythic Seeds from AI-fueled crypto metaverse game Today could claim their portion of the LIMBO token on Tuesday.
• Avalanche-based first-person shooter Shatterline launched its first in-game season with up to $40,000 in prizes.

• Telegram game Farm Frens confirmed that its airdrop allocation will be based on total NUTS, DIRT, and DUNG earned over each player’s history.
• The Beam Network will launch a node sale on December 17, with rewards in BEAM and other tokens.
• Also, Beam Ventures looks to raise up to $150 million to invest into crypto games.
• Immutable announced that it onboarded over 250 games in 2024.
• Mobile MOBA game E4C: Final Salvation—which is built on Sui—is available in closed beta until December 24 globally, except in India, where it has fully launched and will be available indefinitely.

GG spotlight

Here are a few of our original stories from this past week that we think are well worth a weekend read:

Edited by Andrew Hayward