What is an Initial Game Offering and How to Launch One People Want?
There are different and innovative approaches towards aspects of business, development and growth that people continue to embrace in the modern world. One of these that can be seen predominantly within the world of gaming is an Initial Game Offering (IGO). An IGO is an approach to video games that centres around crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is being used a lot more by smaller businesses as a means to bring an idea to fruition as opposed to relying on investment. It is an excellent way to bring investors and entrepreneurs together in a way that is both easy and efficient.
When you participate within an IGO, it will help to lower the barrier for retail investors to participate with a game. It will also grant gamers the opportunity to secure in-game tokens and assets pre-emptively before they are made accessible to the public. You tend to find that a lot of different blockchain gaming projects are using an IGO.
What is IGO?
An IGO, as previously stated, is a means by which blockchain game developers are able to crowdfund a game which is in its early stages. Investors are able to assist by way of helping the game come to fruition, but they may well also benefit from in-game assets before they are released to the public.
Similar to other projects that have been sourced as a result of crowdfunding, when a gaming company utilises an IGO, they are able to seek funding directly from its audience. Not only can this act as an effective means of investment but it is also beneficial in that companies can use this initial interest as a launchpad for their new game. There has been a reasonable amount of growth in this kind of development but especially within the blockchain gaming space.
Due to the increased popularity of cryptocurrency, a lot of businesses are trying to incorporate it more into what they do, and the gaming industry is no exception. Crypto gaming projects have seen a large rise in revenue recently and the low barrier offered by the likes of IGOs is what draws a lot of developers to them.
As more and more crypto games get made, the better the quality of these games becomes. This is in terms of graphics, gameplay and the whole functionality of them as well. You can get an idea of just how much these kinds of games resonate with their audience, as according to some research carried out by DappRadar, Blockchain games account for a grand total of 52% of the activity on decentralised apps.
Even though all the IGOs are seeking funding, the games are usually already under some kind of early-stage development. This is good as it means that people can see how the game looks or how it plays before they put any money into it.
How Does an IGO Work?
IGOs are similar to ICOs in the way they work, in that they are vehicles that get used as a means for raising capital for new projects. People who fund these projects will be given early access to game benefits as a reward for supporting the game whilst it was still in a stage of early development. Since many of these games tend to be crypto games, investors may also receive different tokens designed to be used in the game as a thank you for their interest.
The actual assets that get offered to people who invest in IGOs vary. Some will be able to get characters and skins, others might have access to weapons and others might get mystery boxes; the asset will depend on what kind of game it is and what the objective for players is. All these assets usually live on the blockchain in the form of NFTs (non-fungible tokens).
IGO Launchpads
With IGOs you also get launchpads. Again, these are an effective way to reduce the barrier to getting projects off the ground and make starting projects a lot more accessible for investors and developers. They are a great way for those developing the game to interact with their investors. They usually host a wide variety of different blockchain gaming projects that are in the early stages. Investors will purchase the crypto token which is local to that specific launchpad as a means to make contributions.
It will depend on what platform is being used as to how people use their tokens. Tokens will usually be locked in some kind of pool or stake, and can then be invested into the project. Those participants are then going to receive whatever benefit they are entitled to as a result of their investment. Some of the more popular launchpads that get used for IGOs include:
- GameFi
- Seedify Fund
- TrustPad
- BinanceNFT
How Should You Launch an IGO That People Want?
The best way to launch an effective IGO is to consider the above elements. People will invest in different IGOs because the game looks promising in its early stages and the rewards of that investment are positive. You should consider the different launchpads that you would like your IGO to appear on and look into the process of getting it on said launchpad.
Are IGOs Going to Take Off?
There are a number of reasons to believe that IGOs are not just going to live off a short-term burst of popularity. A lot of people are passionate about crowdfunding as they feel closer to the project as a result. There are also a lot of people passionate about gaming and if you combine the two then it is a recipe for success. The increase in the quality of cryptocurrency games is another reason why we will likely see more people getting involved in IGOs. Games already account for a large percentage of the usage of decentralised apps and we are unlikely to see this change.
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