## **Axie infinity** Axie Infinity is a fungible token-based online video game developed by Vietnamese studio Sky Mavis, known for its in-game economy based on Ethereum-based cryptocurrency. Axie Infinity players collect and mint NFTs that are represented as axolotl-inspired digital animals, known as Axies. These creatures can be bred and battled in-game. Sky Mavis charges players a 4.25% fee when they trade Axies on its marketplace. Axie Infinity is structurally based on the Ronin Network, an Ethereum-connected sidechain developed by Sky Mavis. ## **GAME** According to the company's website, Axie Infinity is a competitive game with an "idle battle" system derived from games such as Final Fantasy Tactics and Idle Heroes. The game has an internal economy where players can buy, sell, and trade earned resources. The primary path to progression in the game is to expand the size of one's collection. The game uses a "pay-to-earn" model (also called a "pay-to-play-to-earn" model) where, after paying initial costs, participants can earn an in-game cryptocurrency based on Ethereum. Axie Infinity allows users to cash out their tokens every fourteen days. This model has been described as a form of gambling, and with an unstable market that is overly dependent on an influx of new players. In February 2020, Sky Mavis estimated that the average player needed to spend around $400 to meet this initial requirement. As of August 2020, the cheapest Axie was around $307, though reports from March 2022 suggest the minimum price of an Axie has dropped to around $20. In the Philippines, where most Axie Infinity players come from, the prohibitive cost of entry has led to the formation of guilds that rent out assets to allow new players to meet the minimum requirements. As of June 2021, some people in the Philippines had begun to consider the game as their primary source of income, though earnings rates from playing Axie Infinity had fallen below the national minimum wage by September 2021. The Philippine Department of Finance has also clarified that income from playing Axie Infinity is taxable, and has suggested that the SEC and BSP may classify its cryptocurrency as a currency or security. In addition to gameplay, Axie Infinity players can also purchase virtual lands and other in-game assets as NFTs — the record sale of a virtual plot of land was $2.3 million on November 25, 2021. ## **Development** Axie Infinity began development in 2017, led by its co-founder and CEO, Trung Nguyen, along with a group of his friends. As an avid gamer, Nguyen had invested money in his CryptoKitties gameplay, before realizing he could make his own blockchain-based game, combining elements of CryptoKitties with the competitive gameplay of the Pokémon or Neopets series.