January 4, 2023
As we say our “Goodbyes” to 2022 and welcome the new year… now is the time to reflect on progress made over the past 12 months; while we actively look forward to the future of metaverse gaming.
AlterVerse’s vision includes becoming the #1 globally recognized decentralized metaverse gaming platform for the PC (and beyond).
The purpose of this blog post is to share our best highlights from the previous year, with anticipation of what’s to come in 2023.
So sit back, grab yourself some popcorn and a soda… because this here is one heck of an update!
In late 2021, the team collectively decided it was time to make things REAL. Or ‘Unreal’ that is!
Even though it meant we would need to learn an entire new game engine, scrap our old efforts, and spend a ton of time migrating things over… once we saw the Unreal Engine 5 trailer, we knew it had to be.
With our move to Unreal Engine 5, came lots of different benefits to the overall gameplay:
1. Greatly improved graphics and performance.
2. Faster iteration times (less time on the engine + more on the game).
3. A large pool of skilled artists and programmers to draw from for expansion.
4. A wealth of ready-made game assets made by highly talented artists on the Unreal Marketplace.
5. Portable from PC to consoles.
Boy, are we glad to have made the move and never look back! 😅
The current version of Unreal Engine 5.1 brings even more improvements.
Altcoin Buzz is an independent digital media outlet that delivers the latest news and opinions in the world of cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, regulations, adoption, and blockchain gaming. Altcoin Buzz Labs is a vertical of Altcoin Buzz that focuses on early-stage blockchain project consulting and incubation.
This incubation program has helped our project be market-ready with product development, play-to-earn, token utility, partnerships, go-to-market strategy, onboarding the right team, and with integrating BNB Chain, Enjin, and Efinity for blockchain tech.
Altcoin Buzz Labs has worked with several projects under this division including EnjinStarter, Space Misfits, RiteStream, and numerous others. The program is headed by Shashwat Gupta, Founder, and CEO of Altcoin Buzz who also heads Enjfi, Enjin’s Ecosystem Fund.
AlterVerse went on a recruiting and hiring blitz in early 2022! Our team now stands at about 20 full-time employees, located primarily in the USA and Canada, with additional team members spread across Europe, Asia, and Australia.
New hires helped to boost capacity in various departments across the board including an updated executive leadership team, business development, marketing, production, finance, game development, community management and more.
Acclaimed multi award-winning visual futurist, Stephan Martiniere, created several design concepts for Sky City in April of 2022.
Stephan is an accomplished concept illustrator who has worked on movies and games such as:
Stephan has also worked extensively over the last seven years with Disney Imagineering on Disneyland parks and expansions across the globe doing visual development for The Pirates of the Caribbean, Avatar and Star Wars, as well as several unannounced projects.
Partnerships are great for both the gaming industry and web3 sector. They help bring together strong players in the market, to collaborate and build off each others’ strengths & weaknesses.
Rather than bore you with every last detail of all the partnerships here… instead, we’ll simply highlight some of our partnerships below, with links to each respective blog post — so you can read more!
A favorite moment of ours from May 2022 is when Binance Labs selected AlterVerse as an official participant of Season 4 of the Binance Labs Incubation Program!
The Binance Labs Incubation Program showcases the most promising blockchain projects worldwide, in order to help increase mainstream crypto adoption globally.
The incubation program included eight weeks of guided mentorship from a wide range of experts, introductions to an extensive network of industry leaders, and holistic support around regulatory/legal advice, recruiting, technical execution, PR, marketing, and more.
Out of 500 applicants, only 14 different crypto-related, early stage startup projects are included in Season 4, covering different sectors of the industry such as DeFi, infrastructure, SocialFi, NFTs, gaming, FinTech, exchanges, etc. This makes the invite very exciting for AlterVerse, to be included in such a select group of participants.
The program ended up being a huge success and we are delighted to have been a part of it!
It takes a village to raise a child… and same goes with a disruptive startup like AlterVerse!
As we continued on our voyage throughout the year, it became clear that a few strong advisors help steer the ship.
Among the many advisors on the team, we’d like to take a moment to highlight a few of the special people who have helped out along the way:
Our Advisory Team continues to grow, as we meet with and overcome new challenges in the business.
A big ‘thank you’ goes out to both Binance and Binance Labs for a prosperous, four-day conference in June of 2022 at VivaTech in Paris, France.
We received an incredible amount of exposure for the AlterVerse project during that time!
The opportunity to present to hundreds of enthusiasts and discuss our project 1:1, throughout the two days with dedicated floor space, was invaluable.
After completing the Binance Labs Incubation Program and a successful pitch at Demo Day during the VivaTech Conference in Paris; the AlterVerse team then opened up Private Round A of Fundraising!
Dozens of solid investors joined the round in anticipation of the next big platform in web3 gaming: Sky City.
More partnerships were formed throughout the Summer of 2022.
See below for links to each blog post, which provides background info on each of our partners and details about the partnerships.
Members from the AlterVerse team attended Gamescom 2022 in Cologne, Germany.
It was great to visit with so many familiar faces. We saw lots of excitement industry-wide, and we were able to spread the good word about Sky City to many attendees.
In 2023, we plan to have a booth in the Indy Village!
Free to play, play and earn. Welcome to #SkyCity! All footage was in-game from the Pre-Alpha version of the Sky City decentralized metaverse experience.
As another important milestone to mention, AlterVerse received funding from Binance Labs, Polygon Ventures, Ankr, EnjinStarter, and Baselayer Capital.
Simultaneously, we also took an exciting step forward in overall game development: announcing upcoming Sky City Pre-Alpha access and a playable demo!
Closed Pre-Alpha weekend was held on 11.11.22, where ‘OG’ members of the #AVFam came together for three jam-packed days of exploring, crafting, building and sharing their immersive metaverse experiences within the AlterVerse!
Main goals of the Closed Pre-Alpha included:
Holders of both the AlterVerse Citizen and Founder NFTs were invited to join in on the fun, roam the various halospheres, check out all the new gameplay features, and provide their input on all things Sky City.
A private Discord channel was established for the Closed Pre-Alpha Testers. Game Mods were available to help newcomers throughout the weekend.
A bug tracking form was also provided to everyone involved in order to help find and fix minor gameplay issues.
Members of the Closed Pre-Alpha were encouraged to take screenshots along the way, and share with the rest of the community.
On December 12th, 2022, Sky City Closed Alpha opened to a select group of early-access gamers with a new Advanced Building System (ABS) and 12 Days of Christmas promotions!
In Sky City, you can craft your own tools and items, explore infinite worlds and build everything from the simplest of homes to the grandest of structures! All while connecting with others and meeting new friends.
The all-new ABS builder provided players with tons of features to allow for ultimate customization of the homes they build! We redesigned the walls, floors, & roofs and added five different doors to choose from. We also added the ability to change materials on the walls, floors, ceilings and roofs inside and out… with 10–20 different material choices for players to choose from!
For each day that the Closed Alpha was open, we held daily contests, competitions, quests and more. Players were able to earn in-game assets and rewards for participating.
AlterVerse is always looking to partner with innovative companies in the space. Check below for a quick rundown on additional partnerships formed throughout the year!
See below for the upcoming milestones & estimated timelines. These events are subject to change, based on overall priorities evolving.
Private Round B is now OPEN, as the Private Round A of fund raising has been officially filled!
Interested in receiving additional information on the current round of fundraising?
We’ll be glad to personally show you around Sky City with an exclusive, playable demo!
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Thanks to all our friends, players, partners, community members, advisors, and investors who have helped to make 2022 a great success!
Cheers to a prosperous 2023 🥂
BRING IT ON!!!! 🥳
By
James
