By Ember Sword’s reckoning, the MMORPG genre is in decline thanks to insidious monetization practices like lootboxes and pay-to-win items. So what do you do about it? Leverage the “power” of the blockchain, which is totally not insidious and is an absolutely trustworthy monetization model! Don’t ask questions on how money appears from the digital space! Take their word for it!
Yes, Ember Sword is here to cure the ills of the genre by utilizing blockchain in order to rake in cash without exploiting players, apparently. Developer So Couch Studio’s blockchain earnings come from the game’s cosmetic marketplace, which lets players trade cosmetic equipment for PIXEL, the game’s funny money. These “on-chain” cosmetic items are generally earned by completing endgame PvP and PvE feats and come in a finite supply in order to make them more collectible. Items traded in this way include a blockchain transaction fee that the developer gets directly. Ember Sword will also feature an optional monthly subscription and consumables promised not to enter pay-to-win territory.
As for the game itself, it promises a wide variety of activities for the PvP and PvE player including open PvP, various crafting and gathering professions, PvE questing, and even land ownership and collective player Kingship establishments. Characters in Ember Sword are classless, with their weapon type determining the skills they use.
A release date on Ember Sword is not available currently, but expect to play it on PC and in your browser at some point or another. And why wouldn’t you? After all, the game’s website quotes Charlie Waldurger as calling it “a downright cool game that people are going to love.” And if you can’t trust a well-known household name like Charlie Waldburger, who can you trust, am I right?
