ZBDa New Jersey-based gaming technology company based on the Lightning Network, has announced a partnership with an independent game studio 1047 games to enable bitcoin payments for players of Splitgate, a free-to-play competitive first-person shooter (FPS) game. The two companies will activate a PC-based tournament, “The ZBD x Splitgate Winter Invitational,” for players starting December 10. The winning team will receive a payout of 0.5 btc (approximately $18,000) sent instantly to the winners' ZBD wallets. .
1047's Splitgate takes elements of sci-fi, fast-paced gunfights, and vertical mobility through portals to create a dynamic multiplayer environment balanced around movement, positioning, and mechanics. The game was originally released in May 2019 and was touted as a competitor to games like Call of Duty and Fortnite. To date, it has received 18 million downloads, but its momentum has slowed from 1,047. development ceased about the title in September 2022, supposedly in favor of focusing on a new game from the studio.
Despite the slowdown, it appears that 1047 is still exploring new ways to engage its player base by using bitcoin Lightning payments to instantly settle its tournament payouts. Although it is not a new application necessarilyAs ZBD itself has enabled bitcoin payments in over 100 games previously, this is a notable milestone for the gaming industry as it has generally has been lost in the swamp of Web3 vaporware. Seeing a carefully designed and truly competitive game integrate bitcoin is really refreshing.
1047 CEO Ian Proulx expressed his excitement about the partnership in a press release sent to bitcoin Magazine: “We are always excited to hear innovative solutions to reward our players, like what ZBD has done and the tournament they plan to hold later this month.”
That a particular competitive FPS game finds success with bitcoin may lead other game studios in the popular genre to explore similar bitcoin-based incentives for player retention and in-game performance. Additionally, gamers are digital natives and are likely primed to be curious about bitcoin given their tendency toward the amount of time they spend online.
While Lightning payments are by no means widespread in the gaming industry, this foray by ZBD into a more competitive FPS field could be a sign that game studios are starting to take a deeper look at integrating native money. Internet in your player experience.
For anyone who likes clicking on their opponents' heads and wants to try out some bitcoin, you can join the ZBD Splitgate tournament by registering at ZBD website.
