Game Ember Sword sells $203M NFT Land to gamers, now what?
Ember Sword, a blockchain game built on Immutable-X by Bright Star Studios, draws inspiration from legends like World of Warcraft, Runescape, and Guild Wars.
First introduced in 2021, the game has yet to officially launch, but in 2023, details began to emerge about its development progress and potential official release later in the year.
Here's what you need to know about Ember Sword to enhance your gameplay and earnings:
What is Ember Sword?
Ember Sword is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) set in a vast fictional universe owned and developed by players.
Players can create characters, choose a home nation, and venture into a mysterious world armed with selected weapons to battle monsters, bosses, and other players. Alternatively, players can explore as regular citizens, engaging in "earning a living" activities such as weapon crafting and skilled craftsmanship.
Exploring the Ember Sword World
The world of Ember Sword consists of four nations: Solarwood, Duskeron, Edisau, and Sevrend, each offering distinct regions for character creation.
Each nation comprises three territories: Kingship, Wilderness, and Outlaw. The Outlaw territories, situated on the borders between nations, harbor rare resources and high-level monsters, making them dangerous for explorers who may encounter hostile forces.
Players must compete for control of areas that yield valuable collectibles.
NFTs in Ember Sword
Ember Sword features two main asset types: cosmetics and land. Players can acquire these through quests or purchase them from others on the marketplace.
Bright Star Studios raised $203M by selling 40,000 Ember Sword land NFTs on Polygon in 2021, marking one of the largest sums raised for a blockchain game project.
Types of Land
Ember Sword offers four types of land:
- Regular plots
- Settlement plots
- Town plots (a town comprises four linked plots)
- City plots (a city comprises sixteen linked plots)
Owners of Regular plots earn titles such as "Sir" or "Lady" and can develop campsites, NPC houses, monster spawns, and resource deposits. Settlement, Town, and City plots allow construction of additional facilities for player use, facilitating trade and commerce within their domains.
Cosmetics
In Ember Sword, cosmetics include interfaces, avatars, and emoticons, enhancing character aesthetics but not strength.
Cosmetic items are limited in quantity, with new releases monthly via PvP and PvE activities or through player-to-player transactions using EMBER tokens. Monthly updates ensure cosmetics remain coveted collectibles with detailed ownership histories.
Conclusion
Ember Sword has evolved quietly over two years, securing substantial investments yet maintaining a lower profile compared to other blockchain games.
Loren Roosendaal, Bright Star Studios' founder, estimates that 70%-80% of NFT Land purchases stem from individual gamers and groups such as streamers, virtual real estate firms, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) like Yield Guild Games.
Initially backed by $700,000 from Play Ventures and subsequent investments from notable firms, Ember Sword's success amidst the NFT and Metaverse boom reflects its potential to reshape perceptions of blockchain gaming.
In Q2 2023, Ember Sword launched an Alpha Playtest to gather community feedback, signaling further updates and announcements from its development team.
Ember Sword's journey exemplifies a burgeoning era where digital worlds merge with decentralized ownership, setting new standards for interactive gaming experiences.
