Last Updated on May 18, 2023 by Bitfinsider

Axie Infinity, the play-to-earn cryptocurrency game made famous during the epidemic and developed by Sky Mavis, may have taken a significant step toward gaining back many of the followers it lost following a turbulent 2022.

The business revealed that the most recent version of its blockchain-enabled video game Axie Infinity, which lets players compete against one another while gathering and exchanging non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or earning rewards, will be accessible for download on Apple’s App Store.

‘Axie Infinity: Origins,’ the most recent edition of the game, was released by Sky Mavis last year. The company will initially release the game on the App Store in a small number of nations in Southeast Asia and Latin America. In order to prepare for a potential global launch, Sky Mavis co-founder Jeffrey Zirlin said the business will “gather data around retention rates” with the restricted release.

Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam are among the nations where Apple users will be able to download the game, according to the company’s statement.

‘Axie Infinity: Origins’ has been approved for release on the App Store, according to Zirlin, who claimed that Sky Mavis has been working with Apple on this for approximately a year. Apple has a history of making it challenging for businesses to enable users of their mobile applications to purchase, sell, and trade NFTs.

The executive of Sky Mavis is hopeful that Apple’s restrictions would eventually change in favor of web3 businesses.

We have high hopes for the addition of in-app purchases for NFTs and Apple’s approval of linking to external markets, according to Zirlin. “We expect there to be progress in the future.”

Because Apple has placed restrictions on where and how digital assets like NFTs can be purchased using its devices, or because the corporation demands a 30% cut of in-app sales, its App Store policies may have slowed the adoption of some blockchain-enabled applications.

That is unquestionably one of the factors that makes things challenging, according to Zirlin. “But I do know that there are larger players than us fighting that fight. For example, Epic Games.”

The developer of the hugely popular video game Fortnite, Epic Games, has filed a lawsuit against Apple to challenge the tech giant’s policy.

For now, Zirlin remarked Sky Mavis anticipates a growth boost after the game is downloaded by iPhone users. 70% of our users are referred by family and friends, he claimed. It’s crucial for our growth engine that we are actually on the App Store.

Axie Infinity: Origins is the “most-played web3 game right now,” according to Sky Mavis’ calculations, with more than 1.5 million downloads, he added.

No web3 video game or NFT collection has achieved success comparable to Axie Infinity from a trading and adoption standpoint.

According to CryptoSlam! Data, Axie Infinity generated more than $4 billion in trade volume during the epidemic in addition to introducing the play-to-earn gaming model to millions of users. For a while, people in the Philippines were able to support themselves by playing the game.

“We’re the only web3 game that mainstream people have really heard of,” Zirlin aded.