In the last couple of days, you might have seen some of the biggest streamers on Earth jumping into an ‘extraction royale’ named Off the Grid. At first blush, Off the Grid is reminiscent of Fortnite, but it’s set in a cyberpunk-themed world and leans more into a realistic aesthetic than Epic Games’ legendary battle royale.
To give a little context, Off the Grid is an all-new extraction royale that’s financially backed by crypto and exists on the blockchain, given that there’s a peer-to-peer trading platform in place that operates similarly to an NFT ecosystem.
Recently, creators like Ninja, TimTheTatman, and Scump have jumped onto Off the Grid with their respective streaming partners, exploring everything this next-generation extraction royale offers. It’s a combination of the typical extraction shooter and battle royale model.
In each match, 150 players land on one of many maps intent on being the last player or team alive. As they explore the map, they’ll pick up ‘Cyberlimbs’ to enhance and augment their character, while taking advantage of a whopping 300+ weapon combinations that they’ll use to take down the world around them.
It’s available in early access on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series XS, and PC, and despite being on the cards for at least a couple of years, it has flown relatively low under the radar. It’s only now that this marketing campaign has started that Off the Grid is gaining mainstream attention.
It’s an ambitious project, that’s for sure. It’s backed by Neill Blomkamp, the visionary director and screenwriter, and it has an intriguing origin story that runs in the background of the game. In the last year or two, the developer, Gunzilla Games, has been bolstered by almost $100 million of investments from various crypto and blockchain-based firms, thanks to the game’s focus in that area.
Despite that connection, which might make some gamers a little wary, the team has stressed that these elements are optional:
Gunzilla assures gamers that they will never sell NFTs directly to their player community, nor will they hide progression or any game features behind a monetized paywall, the trading is entirely optional.
Gunzilla believes that the GUNZ platform has the potential to radically change the core gaming experience for players, and those not interested in trading are able to completely skip this feature and simply enjoy the full game for free without any limitations.
On the surface, Off the Grid looks like an impressive shooter with some innovative elements that could do really well in the gaming world. It has started off strong with a solid marketing campaign, and it has already forged partnerships with some of the biggest names in the streaming world, which is pivotal to the success of any game.
Are you going to give Off the Grid a try? Let us know on the Insider Gaming forum.
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