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Game Shrapnel: Review and Beginner's Guide (raised $37M)

Steven

Nov 9, 2023 — 5 min read

NFT Gaming is taking off in 2023, with Shrapnel - a triple-A game featuring compelling gameplay - successfully raising $37M for development on Avalanche, leaving a distinct mark within the community.

In December 2023, the game will allow players to join its Early Access version. To participate, players must purchase EXTRACTION PACKS (essentially tickets for Early Access) available at three price points: $20, $50, and $100.

What is Game Shrapnel?

Shrapnel is a science-fiction extraction shooter game that allows players to truly own their in-game assets. It's a free-to-play multiplayer game suitable for both solo and group play styles.

Designed for shooting enthusiasts, Shrapnel offers a player-centric environment akin to Roblox but tailored for adults. Shrapnel aims to be the first 3D AAA FPS game on the blockchain, delivering an immensely engaging gaming experience.

The game also heavily emphasizes user-generated content (UGC) potential, hoping to empower gamers to create their own in-game items using Shrapnel's technology, which can then be minted as NFTs.

Gameplay

1. Operator Classes

Players can choose from three classes: Assault, Survivalist, or Infosec. Each class can progress based on its own skills, unlocking a variety of abilities and specialized equipment to enhance gameplay.

Each class's weaknesses can be complemented by the strengths of others, fostering diverse strategies and emphasizing cooperative gameplay.

NFT Openrator is a unique NFT collection representing five characters in Shrapnel's upcoming comic series.

Benefits of owning NFT Openrator:

Early access to the game
Exclusive in-game assets
Airdropped tokens and rewards through in-game tasks
Access to future whitelists
A Digital Comic Book as an NFT

Additional Info:

Minting price of NFT Openrator: 0.05E on June 14, 2022, currently tradable on Opensea.
Supply: 10,000 NFTs.

2. Gear and Crafting

Shrapnel features a crafting system allowing players to create gears that suit their playstyle, including gears collected from previous versions.

There are four types:

Weapon: NFTs or crafting documents to create NFTs for sale on the marketplace.
Armor: Craftable NFTs for protection and sale.
Consumables: One-time use items like grenades and medical kits, not NFTs.
Technology: Non-NFT features that enhance gameplay, like night vision or map interaction support.

3. Player-Created Tournaments

Players can host their own tournaments within Shrapnel, setting rules, terms, and promoting them. These high-stakes competitions provide opportunities for creators and competitors alike to earn rewards.

4. Missions

All players can participate in goal-oriented missions related to extraction gameplay, content creation, and have the chance to earn $SHRAP tokens as rewards.

Creator

Player-created content is key to the Shrapnel experience.

Tools for professional-level creators are built using the same Unreal technology as the game, allowing quick creation of Shrapnel-related content. Players can mint this content as NFTs, trade them on the Shrapnel Marketplace, and earn rewards based on their popularity.

Base Assets: Shrapnel's team creates a collection of basic assets; creators gather these to craft vanity items.
Vanity: Five categorized vanity materials with limited supply help creators craft limited-edition NFTs for exclusivity and sale on the marketplace.
Map: Players can create custom maps using base assets provided by Shrapnel to develop exciting content.

Tokenomics

Name: Shrapnel
Token: $SHRAP
Token Standard: ERC-20 implemented on Avalanche
Total Supply: 3,000,000,000 Tokens

Allocation of $SHRAP tokens:

33% for Community Rewards
27% for Team and Advisors
8.5% for Ecosystem Fund
3% for Market Making and Liquidity
1.5% for Public Distribution
7% for Strategic Token Holders
20% for Seed Token Holders

Token Unlock Schedule:
Details for ecosystem fund and community rewards unlocking may change in the future.

$SHRAP tokens were listed on major CEXs such as Bybit, Bitget, and Kucoin on November 8, 2023, with 4.5% of tokens (equivalent to 135,000,000 tokens) in circulation out of the total 3,000,000,000 tokens.

Development Team

Shrapnel's team comprises industry veterans who have held significant positions in leading gaming companies.

Mark Long, former CEO of Meteor (Hawken) and Zombie Studios (Blacklight, America's Army, Spec Ops), with 27 years of experience producing over 32 games across all platforms, brings extensive expertise to the project.

Funding Rounds

Shrapnel has completed three funding rounds:

Round 1: Raised $10.5M in November 2021.
Round 2: Successfully raised $7M in April 2022 through private token sales.
Round 3: Raised $20M in October 2023 in a Series A round, led by Polychain Capital.

Most early investment rounds featured Polychain Capital, along with other major funds like Griffin Gaming Partners, indicating strong support and a clear developmental path. By Series A, Shrapnel had raised $20M.

Roadmap

Shrapnel's roadmap has been progressing well, divided into sections on their website: done, underway, and planning. Early access to the game is set for the near future.

Epic Games Store Listing

The Epic Games Store has announced its listing of Shrapnel, making the game easily accessible to players.

This move, along with the listing of Illuvium in late November 2023, demonstrates Epic Games' support for NFT games.

Conclusion

Shrapnel is an exciting blockchain game with substantial investment and an experienced team poised to make a significant impact on the upcoming blockchain gaming industry.

Josh Rosenthal, Partner at Polychain Capital, commented: "It's fascinating to see the Shrapnel team push the envelope in gameplay while transcending boundaries in player experience and ownership through blockchain technology."

Jocy Lin, Co-founder Partner at IOSG Ventures, stated: "As a crypto-originated fund, we are very excited about Shrapnel's potential in leveraging blockchain to redefine traditional extraction gameplay."

Currently, early registrants on Shrapnel have received over 1250 tokens via airdrops, with Shrapnel also giving away over 9 million tokens to the community through CEX token transactions like Bybit.

Shrapnel is an innovative game project, offering creative potential. To access Early Access in December 2023, simply hold EXTRACTION PACKS or participate in events hosted by influencers on platforms like X and Discord.