Square Enix looking to co-create a universe together with NFT holders and active participants in Symbiogenesis
Games publisher Square Enix has unveiled the game mechanics behind their NFT collection Symbiogenesis, which essentially offers two gameplay modes. In true Web3 fashion, the project is story-driven, and the community has a choice in the way things unfold.
Square Enix is one of the pioneering gaming companies stepping into Web3. With Symbiogenesis paving the way for the Japanese gaming company, known for its deep, story-driven game worlds such as Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. But instead of exploring a fantasy rich world, the community now gets to shape the world.
Gaming in Web3
In 2022 the games industry was responsible for approximately $182.8 billion in revenue. Mobile games made up half of the total revenue ($91.8 billion), followed by console games with $52.2 billion. All these games are enjoyed by more than 3 billion gamers worldwide.
From that perspective, Web3 gaming is still in its infancy. But blockchain gaming projects attracted 758,000 unique active wallets in August 2023, responsible for 38% of all active wallets across all blockchains tracked by DappRadar. Web3 gaming is growing fast and established gaming companies such as Square Enix have faith in this market segment.
Web3 gaming isn’t about replacing downloadable content with crypto payments. It’s a lot more about working together with a community, and giving that community a stake in the game world. In Web3, the people playing the game have a sense of ownership over game items and also the game world itself.
What is Symbiogenesis all about?
Symbiogenesis describes itself as a Web3 entertainment experience, combining elements from NFT collectible art with games and a compelling narrative.
“What we aim to deliver through Symbiogenesis this time is decent Web3
Naoyuki Tamate, producer of Symbiogenesis
entertainment in line with Web3”
From the gaming perspective, Symbiogenesis offers two game modes:
- Follow the main story and unlock character stories along the way.
- Embark on quests to discover items hidden within the Floating Continent.
Whatever the player does, ultimately it’s their goal to participate in the final choice of Symbiogenesis: the World Mission. This final choice can only be made by three out of all players within the community. However, the world of Symbiogenesis is shaped by the people, who choose to share information or keep things secret.
Shape the story of Symbiogenesis
The story explores the mysteries of a fantasy world, recounting the history of humanity’s arrival on the Floating Continent. The stories take you to past events and calamities. Stories will be about ancient tales, while participants follow the story of the protagonist battling a dragon.
Players can find quests to find items hidden on the Floating Continent. Collecting items and fulfilling certain conditions can also unlock a hidden story, and lead to another truth. However, the future is determined by players, and Symbiogenesis plays with the themes ‘monopoly’ and ‘distribution’.
Players who purchase an NFT character, also acquire a part of the story. They can then decide to share this information with the wider community (distribution), or keep it for themselves (monopoly).
By allowing customers to shape the future of the content through World Missions, we incorporate an element where players actively participate in the creative process of the story. We, as creators, also become part of the community because we don’t know how things will unfold. Through this collaborative effort with players and holders in various aspects, it becomes a new IP starting from Web3.
Naoyuki Tamate, producer of Symbiogenesis
How to get the Symbiogenesis NFT collection
Players can discover the various NFT characters that are part of the collection by visiting the shop feature on Symbiogenesis. By acquiring character NFTs, players gain access to exclusive stories that are only limited to NFT holders.
In Chapter 1, Square Enix will sell the first batch of 500 NFT characters. Players need to participate in the Allowlist Entry Campaign in order to be allowed to purchase the characters. In total there will be 6 chapters, during which 10,000 PFP NFT collectible artworks will find new owners.
Allowing players to decide the price, a crucial element traditionally emphasized in games, is an exceptionally unusual business model not only for Square Enix but in general. Additionally, since users ultimately determine the price, if the game and storyline are truly enjoyable, it can attract more fans, increasing the value of the NFTs. Conversely, if the enjoyment is low, the NFT value can decrease.
Naoyuki Tamate, producer of Symbiogenesis
To enter the allowlist, players need to fulfill a variety of tasks, including for example following and retweeting the official Symbiogenesis account on X, posting game content on their own X accounts and users can earn scores by speaking in the official Discord channel. More importantly, they also need to participate in the Treasure Hunting Campaign!
Players with the highest scores have a bigger chance to mint a Character NFT for free. Furthermore, the top 90 players will be able to participate in an exclusive NFT sale where prizes start at 0 ETH. If nobody bids, you could win a free NFT.
While the campaign described above puts lots of focus on communication and social media, Square Enix will also allow players to score points by participating in the Treasure Hunting Campaign. This event is open to everybody, and players can obtain NFT items called ‘relics’, as well as increase their score. There are 6 types of relics, and each of them has 40,000 issues.
Get ready to participate in the Treasure Hunting Campaign:
- Make sure you have a Discord account
- And use a Chrome browser with the MetaMask wallet extension installed
- Then go to the official website, and click or tab on “Treasure Hunt” , and start searching!
Symbiogenesis NFT auction
The top 90 participants with the highest score, will have the ability to participate in a unique auction to purchase NFTs. The prices of these NFTs start at 0 ETH, so if nobody else bids you will get it for free. When someone places a bid, their ETH cryptocurrency will be locked until someone else overbids.
After this sale for top-tier community members, it will open up for everybody else. However, you still need to be on the allowlist, so don’t forget to join.
You’ve got a Character NFT, now what?
After passing the Allowlist Entry Campaign, joining the auction, and becoming the owner of a Character NFT, community members will have a new choice to make. Those who hold a Character NFT can mint replica NFTs from their original ones. Through these replicas, owners can experience the same storyline as the original NFT. However, these replicas don’t come with the additional utilities offered by the Character NFT. For example, they don’t have access to so-called boss battles or rewards upon clearing ‘Great Missions’, which you gain access to after completing regular missions.
Players who have acquired Character NFTs will have advantages from distributing replica NFTs. For example, by sharing the previously exclusive storyline with other players, you can expand your circle of comrades in conquering the narrative together. On the other hand, choosing not to issue replica NFTs allows you to exclusively possess NFTs that others can’t obtain without deciphering the storyline themselves, maintaining a monopoly on the narrative.
Symbiogenesis roadmap
- 28 Sept – 2 Nov – Treasure Hunting Campaign
- November 2023 – Allowlist Entry Campaign
- December – Chapter 1 Character NFTs
- Q1/Q2 2024 – Chapter 2 Character NFTs
- Q1/Q2 2024 – Release of game
