Axie Infinity has claimed that it has passed a review to be available on the Google Play Store. The team plans to initially launch in Malaysia, one of its biggest markets, and then expand to other smaller countries. However, in order to comply with Google Play Store policies, the version of Axie Infinity available on the app store will have limited features and players will not be able to earn tokens, a core aspect of the game.
The launch on the Google Play Store may expose Axie Infinity to a larger audience, but there is concern that the game's rocky year, including low daily active user numbers and the decline of its governance token, could lead to negative reviews on the app. Despite these challenges, the company behind Axie Infinity will continue to release updates and improvements.
Plans for Axie's Play Store Launch
The team noted on their substack announcement that they plan to first do a soft launch on the Malaysian Playstore to give themselves a "chance to continue testing and improving the game." This isn't surprising given how Malaysia is one of their biggest markets. Just last year, some people in places like Malaysia and the Philippines were reportedly earning more from Axie Infinity than their daily jobs. And the majority of their player base came from these Asian countries.
After the Malaysian launch, the team also plans to launch in other smaller countries that will "mirror the demographics and player archetypes of regions such as North/South America, Europe, and East Asia."
It is difficult for web3 games to be launched on Apple and Google's app stores because of the companies' policies, such as receiving a commission on in-game purchases. The first version of Axie Infinity on the Google Play Store will have limited features and players will not be able to earn tokens to comply with these policies.
What does this Launch mean for Axie Infinity?
While launching on the Google Play Store will give Axie Infinity a lot more exposure to traditional gamers, many fans on Twitter noted that there may also be negative side effects.
This year has not been the best for Axie Infinity in terms of both prices and adoption. The game which experienced huge success a few years after launching took a downturn with the rest of the crypto market this year. The number of daily active users has sometimes been reported to be as low as 0 in 24 hours and just 5 in 7 days by DappRadar. This can be attributed to the downfall of the game's governance token, Axie Infinity Shards (AXS), which has left a lot of gamers disenchanted with the game.
Many have noted on social media that a lot of these disenchanted players, many of whom have lost hundreds of dollars previously investing in in-game assets, might spur a wave of negative reviews on the app. A Twitter user, @ExnalPH, noted that a flood of negative reviews from players like these "could halt the mainstream adoption train before it even starts."
Despite the game's rocky year, the company behind Axie Infinity, Sky Mavis, has remained hard at work, releasing numerous updates and improvements. While there's still a long road of recovery and uncertainty for the game, updates like these and many others like the launch of Axie Core may help drive adoption for the game in the future. And it remains to see how the Google Play Store Launch will help drive organic adoption since there will be no option for players to earn and the game will be judged mainly by its ability to be fun and exciting.
