About

Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based gaming ecosystem that blends aspects of traditional gaming, cryptocurrency, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The game uses a Play-to-Earn (P2E) model and is set in a world named Lunacia, which is inhabited by creatures called Axies. The associated assets and transactions are conducted via the Ronin sidechain, a Layer-2 EVM-compatible blockchain built to scale Axie Infinity. Ronin is home to most digital assets used in the Axie Infinity ecosystem, and the project team is expanding the network to allow third-party game development studios to launch additional games. It uses a Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism, with RON serving as its native token. The network is secured by 22 validators, 10 of which are operated by community members with the highest total combined RON stake. The remaining 12 are classified as Governing Validators and are operated by parties selected by the project team. In-depth information about Ronin can be found here.

History

Axie Infinity was founded by Trung Nguyen, Aleksander Leonard Larsen, and Jeffrey Zirlin as a fun way to introduce the world to blockchain technology. The founders met while playing Cryptokitties and decided to use the technology to solve what was perceived as a historic flaw in traditional gaming: the value generated in these games accrued solely to the platform owners.

Axie Infinity first launched through a pre-sale of its Axie NFTs in April 2018. The AXS token was later issued through a token sale on the Binance launchpad in November 2020. AXS was initially deployed only as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum before being bridged to BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20 AXS) and Ronin (ERC-20 equivalent AXS). Subsequently, Axie Infinity's gaming platform migrated from Ethereum to its sidechain, Ronin, in April 2021. All of AXS’s functionality was migrated as well, and the AXS staking program commenced in late September 2021.

Other notable milestones in the project’s history include:

• March 2018 - The Axie NFT Marketplace was released.
• October 2018 - The first iteration of the battle game was released.
• July 2020 - The Ronin testnet was launched.
• February 2021 - The Ronin mainnet was made fully available.
• April 2021 - All Axies were migrated to Ronin.
• April 2022 - The alpha version of Axie Infinity: Origins was launched.
• August 2022 - Runes and Charms NFTs were first minted.
• December 2022 - Axie Infinity: Origins was added to Google Play.
• May 2023 - Axie Infinity: Origins was added to on AppStore and iOS in select countries.
• September 2023 - Axie Infinity: Homeland released in the Pre-Beta Phase.
• May 2024 - The Axie Infinity Governance Portal was launched.

Source: Axie Infinity Roadmap and Completed Milestones

The project team states that “the endgame is to give life to a single application that connects players with a lifetime of gaming experiences inside the Axie Infinity universe.” Although no specific details or release dates have been confirmed, ideas for the future of Axie Infinity include (i) a social network, (ii) leveling and modification of individuals Axies, (iii) a breeding game, (iv) Player-versus-Environment adventure game, and (v) a merchandise store for apparel and collectibles.