HyperPlay, a Web3-native game launcher with a built-in crypto wallet, has announced its early access release.
The online game launcher was built in partnership with crypto wallet provider MetaMask to integrate players’ crypto wallets with game libraries like the Epic Games Store, GOG (formerly Good Old Games) and its own HyperPlay Store.
The new platform, created by former MetaMask operations chief Jacob C.eth, does not charge developers any commission, but instead plans to rely on cryptographic services such as exchanges and bridging to monetize the platform. Users of the platform’s newly launched alpha version can create new MetaMask wallets within its interface, and even import their existing wallets via the “Import” button.
JacobC.eth said in an interview with Cointelegraph that this wallet can be superimposed on top of the game, allowing users to quickly confirm transactions while playing the game.
According to a March 1 announcement, HyperPlay launched its platform with 21 Web3 games, including The Sandbox, Another World, Bionic Owl, DeFi Kingdoms, and Moonblasters. Additionally, it connects to the Epic Games and GOG stores, allowing players to use it to publish games they own from these other platforms. The platform’s founder told Cointelegraph that a new game aggregator is needed because Web3 games are being deplatformed and overtaxed by big stores, as he explained: “Today, Web3 game developers are being deplatformed by Apple, Steam, Google, and those legacy Web2 stores are also forcing the developers’ to accept 30% taxes on every in-game action that happens in their economies, so we wanted to create a more competitive market between game stores.”
He also argued that the platform could provide players with a universal wallet that doesn’t require them to alt-tab out of the game every time they make a transaction, saying: “We built Hyperplay as a native desktop application that allows the player to pass their wallet into every game that they play, and we want to make interoperability, permissionless extensibility, and great UX the default for Web3 gaming.” JacobC.eth emphasized that HyperPlay is in alpha and may be unstable. The team hopes to gain feedback from playtesters and improve the product as it heads toward a future full public release.
Gaming transactions accounted for nearly half of all blockchain activity in January, according to a recent DappRadar report. However, Web3 games are still struggling to gain mainstream adoption due to complex onboarding processes. Square Enix recently announced that it will make a major investment in this field, because it believes that blockchain technology is critical to the future of the gaming industry.
