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Play-to-earn (P2E) games really came to the fore amid the Covid-19 pandemic, when lockdowns kept people safe at home but ravaged their livelihoods. Soon, many began relying on these games to make ends meet, supercharging the industry.
Sky Mavis’ Axie Infinity, a Pokémon-inspired P2E game centered around battling digital monsters called axies, is probably the most well known of these games. The Vietnam-based company, founded in 2018, raised funds at a valuation of US$3 billion last year.
Axie Infinity’s quick rise caught the eye of Mirai Labs’ founders, who sought to replicate that success but with a twist – winged horses instead of digital monsters.
That led to the birth of Pegaxy, a P2E game that lets users race non-fungible tokens (NFT) of horses called Pega – supposedly the descendants of Pegasus, the immortal winged stallion in Greek mythology.
Despite Pegaxy’s initial success, Mirai Labs and its founders learned a few tough lessons along the way.
It would be easy to brush off Mirai Labs as the firm currently grapples with inflation in the P2E space and a mighty plunge in the prices of its token.
However, Pegaxy still attracts around 53,000 people weekly, according to DappRadar, a platform for decentralized apps. While that figure is far below the game’s peak numbers, it’s still comfortably above its developer’s initial targets.
In our feature piece today, Tech in Asia charts out Mirai Labs’ rollercoaster story, its soaring highs and gut-wrenching lows, and offers an insider perspective from Corey Wilton, Mirai Labs’ chief marketing officer and the face of Pegaxy.
Today we look at:
- Pegaxy’s rapid rise and crash
- Temasek’s multibillion dollar platform to fight global decarbonization
- Other newsy highlights such as real math lessons on PornHub and DiDi’s new lease of life
Also, if you’re an entrepreneur looking for funding, fill out this form to get your company featured on our list of fundraising startups.
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