A detailed review of Genopets: a new candidate for the M2E throne?
I'm sure you've all heard about StepN - yes, the one that pays you for running and walking. After StepN was launched, everyone knew about the M2E trend. The Move2Earn combines the best moves-to-play mechanics proven by Nintendo Wii and Pokemon Go with mobile games and blockchain P2E. That fact and the well-designed internal StepN tokenomics make it Rockstar of the blockchain games.
But, I'm sure you did not know that the project Genopets established the Move2Earn trend before StepN (proof). And if StepN is already on the Moon, Genopets is just waiting for a rocket to the Moon. So it is worth exploring to find a new M2E promises case.
What is Genopets
Disclaimer: Genopets is not a StepN clone or a prototype. These projects are based on the same mechanics - Move to earn, but the developers of Genopets took a more creative approach to the gameplay and built a fantasy concept game on M2E.
And so, Genopets is the first free NFT game that allows you to earn and enjoy an active lifestyle. Built on Solana, Genopets integrates your daily activities in real life with the Play-to-Earn blockchain economy. This model allows you to monetize RL activity and turn it into a part of the gameplay.
The main gameplay element is Genopet: a procedurally generated NFT totem animal that you can create, grow, upgrade, and use to fight with other players. Creating Genopet involves individual actions of the player to make a unique and personalized totem animal (very similar to the Adidas Ozworld avatar creating).
The game's primary goal is to grow and boost your NFT Genopet. To make that, you need to walk and move in real life and convert each step into your Genopet growth. The higher your Genopet's level, the rarer and the more valued (expensive) it as an NFT asset.
Activities
The main goal is clear - to grow your Genopet. And the players can buy adult Genopet on the market or create a little for free. But this does not mean that you can only walk and watch your pet grow. Players also need to use:
PVP-BATTLES: In Genopets, players can clash their pets into a series of arena mini-games. The winners receive a loot of defeated opponents.
CRYSTALS: 5,700 crystals of 5 elements (water, fire, wood, metal, and earth). The total crystals capitalization at current prices - is $4,500,000. Crystals come in many shapes, and they need to the appearance of the Genopet: adding skills, improving, and creating Habitat.
LANDS (HABITAT): To make real money on the game, you need a Land. The Land is a Genopet habitat that allows you to earn $KI tokens for in-game quests. The Land also generates crystals. Only 4k lands avilalble for game.
The Lands is divided into 3 levels (the higher the level, the more crystals they generate). One player can own no more than 3 lands. You can buy Habitat on the marketplace or create by using $GENE, $KI, and crystals.
Players can get their Genopet for free, fight, complete tasks and receive items. But the free player will be able to earn only by reselling the improved Genopet. All other earning possibilities opened only for Habitat owners. Land help increases your XP, allows you to produce purified crystals, and gets daily $KI. Besides, you can just rent it out or sale.
If the player can't pay for benefits, he can still earn experience points (XP) in daily tasks: jogging, dancing, cycling, and more. XP increases the Genopet's level, and Genopet is your NFT asset.
Tokens and tokenomics
Genopets use 6 different tokens to create a full-fledged in-game economy:
$KI - is the primary in-game token that landowners can get. You can use $KI to upgrade your Genopet and alchemy crystals, create new Habitats, and fight other players.
$GENE - governance and tradable token. $GENE holders can vote to change in-game features, get VIP access to new content, and earn by staking. By the way, the few exchanges already listed the $GENE.
Genopet NFT - you can create a free one or buy an upgraded and powerful Genopet.
XP - is the only in-game token. Players can get it as a reward for their activities and use it to improve their Genopet.
Habitat NFT - the Genopets' Lands. I describe it above. The Land generates in-game resources. Also, the owner can make a profit by renting/selling it. By the way, after the mint, Habitat's floor price reached 49 SOL.
Crystals - are non-fungible tokens created by burning $GENE and $KI. It also needs to upgrade your Genopet.
Roadmap
The Genopets road was designed not as usual Q1/Q2/Q3 plans but as a set of tasks, divided into Phases 1 - 4. Our favorite (no) no-deadline type of Roadmap:
For now, developers complete the Phase 1 "Step Banking", which includes:
The hottest will be Phases 2 and 3, which include: the craft of crystals; rewards for $GENE staking; $KI farming; NFT trading; fitness challengers; earnings improvements of accessories, items, and many other features.
$GENE token allocation
Team and partners
Last year, Genopets closed the seed round for $8.3M. There are dozens of funds on the investor list, including:
Konvoy Ventures (an investor and member of the board of Axie Infinity), Pantera Capital, Alameda Research, Solana Capital, Animoca Brands, and others.
Add to this a strong team with experienced core members:
Genopets strength
Active social media - 166K Followers on Twitter and 159K on Discord. That impress. Also, there is a regular posting, and 90% of followers are real.
Beta Test of Product - The beta testing can participate the owners of Genopets or lands, $GENE stakers, and DNA Discord followers.
Strong investors - we see the smart money in the investor list, and giants like Animoca and Pantera only increase the project's credibility.
The original concept - the developers came up with how to use M2E without obsessing about sports. The concept of Genopets is more complex and exciting than StepN.
Genopets weaknesses
Roadmap - no-deadlines Roadmap is a feature/disease of many startups. It is challenging to understand how long the development will go and whether the team holds at least internal deadlines.
Powerful competitor - let's not forget that the king of M2E is StepN for now. And as long as the project will generate profit for the players, it won't be easy to move it. However, Genopets still offers a slightly different concept.
Conclusions
Genopets combines Tamagochi development, Pokémon training, and Strava fitness and social incentives. Players can earn cryptocurrency simply by taking care of themselves and staying active in day-to-day life. The team wants to make blockchain gaming with NFT as affordable as standard mobile apps.
At the moment, Genopets looks very promising, especially if we mention that active marketing is still to come. The project has been dormant since the last Fall, and now start the hyping and players engaging. In addition, Genopets has enough power to pick up the Move-2-Earn crown from StepN if it begins to deflate.