rewrite this title Epic Games hit Off The Grid wins Game of the Year at first live 2024 GAM3 Awards

Off The Grid secured the Game of the Year award at the 2024 GAM3 Awards, held live for the first time in Manila on Nov.22.

Developed by Gunzilla Games, the Web3-enabled, free-to-play, third-person battle royale game also won awards for Best Shooter Game, Best Multiplayer Game, and Best Action Game, marking a significant achievement in the blockchain gaming industry.

Hosted in partnership with Yield Guild Games (YGG), the GAM3 Awards recognized excellence across 21 categories, celebrating the progress of the Web3 gaming sector over the past year. The event featured an increased prize pool of $5 million, comprising grants, products, services, marketing, and blockchain support from partners such as AWS, XAI, Thirdweb, Aethir, and Community Gaming.

The selection process involved over 70 jurors from prominent gaming and blockchain organizations, including representatives from CryptoSlate, Amazon, Google, Ubisoft, Animoca Brands, Immutable, Arbitrum, Blockchain Game Alliance, Base, Ronin, and Avalanche. Community engagement was significant, with over one million votes from 143,000 unique voters contributing to the final decisions in several categories.

Off The Grid’s success reflects the growing integration of blockchain technology in gaming. Set in a dystopian cyberpunk future on Teardrop Island, the game incorporates blockchain elements through the GUNZ blockchain using an Avalanche subnet, offering a player-driven economy with tradable in-game assets.

Off The Grid’s early access release achieved rapid growth, topping Epic Games’ free-to-play PC games list and surpassing popular titles like Fortnite and Rocket League. In its first five days, the game grew by more than one million wallets per day, accumulating 53 million transactions.

Other notable winners at the GAM3 Awards include Parallel, which claimed awards for Best Strategy Game, Best Card Game, and Best Esports Game. Pixels and Pirate Nation each took home two awards, further highlighting the diversity and innovation within the Web3 gaming space.

With over 300 in-person attendees, the event featured gameplay premieres and exclusive trailers from upcoming titles such as Golden Tides, Unfettered, Elumia, Providence, Shrapnel, and more. The ceremony reached a peak viewership of 48,000 concurrent viewers, amassing over 450,000 views in the first 24 hours.

The success of Off The Grid and the GAM3 Awards illustrates the increasing acceptance and integration of blockchain technology in mainstream gaming. Analysts speculate that Off The Grid could be a catalyst for a new crypto gaming bull run, potentially becoming as significant as Axie Infinity was in previous cycles.

The GAM3 Awards are expected to return next November for their fourth consecutive edition, signaling ongoing recognition of excellence in Web3 gaming.

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