Zilliqa announces its own Web 3 game console with crypto mining

Zilliqa is working on a console that will offer the ability to mine cryptocurrencies while players have fun with their favorite Web3 games.

Zilliqa, a Layer 1 blockchain protocol, announced the launch of its new Web3-focused video game console that competes against Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony – but with a twist that makes it unique.

According to Zilliqa’s statement published by VentureBeat, the new console is designed for gamers and cryptocurrency enthusiasts, as it will have its own gaming hub, a Web3 wallet, and crypto mining tools. By next month, Zilliqa will begin testing the game hub.

For now, Zilliqa has refrained from revealing the hardware specifications of the console; but judging by the variety of ports shown in the images (headphone jack, Ethernet, USB-C, USB 3.0, HDMI, among others), it’s expected to be a competitive piece of hardware on par with its usual rivals.

Zilliqa hopes to become the Steam of Web 3 Gaming

Valentin Cobelea, head of game technology at Zilliqa, said the company received a good response from the community when it announced its first game at Gamescom. The team expects to capture users’ attention not only for the gaming capabilities of their device, but for its financial incentives, which will be a nice plus for those interested in getting it.

“Zilliqa’s hardware console and gaming hub will allow non-crypto natives to earn money while playing fun games without the complexity of managing the crypto they earn.”

Cobelea further added that the console and gaming hub will launch in early 2023 as the company expands its catalog. Zilliqa hopes to become “the Steam equivalent of Web3 games.”

“With the support of Zilliqa’s large crypto community and the user-friendly infrastructure, we have no doubt that we can become the Steam equivalent of Web3 games.”

Web 3 video games are making inroads into the gaming industry

According to a recent Zilliqa report on Web3 games, blockchain game activity shot up more than 2,000% during 2021, and despite bearish times, some games have managed to have more than 300 thousand active users.

However, there is still a long way to go for this type of game to be able to compete equally with those on Web 2, since players who enter Web2 do so for fun without concern for financial gains, while on Web3 is the vast majority of players enter to make money.

According to Zilliqa, the Web3 gaming industry is still in its early years of maturity, so perhaps in the future studios will be able to offer new gaming modalities that, beyond focusing on monetary incentives, are fun and competitive like Axie Infinity was in the middle of the Bitcoin bull run, where more families in countries like the Philippines quit their jobs to dedicate themselves full-time to this game.