Oasys Games: A Sleeper Web3 Gaming Pick?

Web3 gaming is a vertical with lots of potential but little practical application. Though several projects have tried and failed to create unique games, some projects take a different approach: partnering with strong gaming companies and creating a Web3 gaming hub. Oasys is one such project, and may have the secret to finally making Web3 gaming mainstream. 

Oasis is a protocol for creating Layer 2s for specific games. It implements a similar model to Ethereum, where the Hub Layer is a Layer 1, and the Verse Layer comprises optimistic rollups that settle to the Hub. Game developers can choose to either build on an existing Verse and leverage the pre-existing liquidity and network effects, or customize their own Verse uniquely curated for their specific use case. The model itself is not terribly technically impressive, as it simply implements a more permissioned version of Ethereum with rollups cloned from Optimism.

The main token of Oasys is OAS, which is used for numerous use cases on the main chain. Certain actions, like becoming a validator or creating a new rollup, require staking OAS to prevent spam or malicious actors. It also holds similar use cases to ETH, namely paying for transaction fees, delegated staking, and governance. It started from a circulating supply of zero, has a 1 billion circulating supply, and will be allocated to staking rewards, team and investors, and the ecosystem over the next five years to reach a total supply of 10 billion. After this, token holders will vote on the future emissions of the token. This is a questionable supply curve with relatively high inflation over the next few years that staking rewards, currently paying 10%, does not fully account for. 

Each Verse can have its own tokens, some with interesting characteristics like restrictive use. For projects wanting to secure their intellectual property, it makes sense not to allow the token to be bridged from its Verse Layer, whereas others may want their game assets used in multiple Verses. These tokens are known as Game and Dapp Tokens. Additionally, there is a Verse Token, acting as the utility token for the Verse Layer. These different types of tokens, while more complicated, provide a lot of flexibility to support a wide variety of game types.

The most impressive feat of the Oasys, and the reason it is being covered today, is because of its high-caliber list of advisors and validators. Oasys may be more unknown in Western markets because of its emphasis on Japanese companies and games, which is demonstrated by having the CEO of Bandai Namco Research, the company behind Pacman and Elden Ring, and the Co-COO of Sega on their founding team. 

Additionally, their list of validators includes Ubisoft, a famous gaming company responsible for titles like Assassin’s Creed, Jump Crypto, and SoftBank. All of these companies, among the others represented, could bring lots of market share to Oasys when blockchain gaming eventually goes mainstream.

Currently, Ubisoft is developing a Player versus Player tactical role-playing game called Champions Tactics. Additionally, Sega is developing a trading card game around their famous Sangokushi Taisen intellectual property. In August 2023, Bandai Namco released a virtual pet game that uses artificial intelligence to create more interesting creatures. 

Though Oasys’ technology is not particularly impressive, its list of advisors, partners, and investors is incredibly compelling. If these companies can create hit blockchain-based games that bring average users into Web3, it could make Oasys one of the most-used blockchain ecosystems and drive significant value. That being said, creating a hit Web3 game is a serious feat, and something that nobody has yet to accomplish successfully. Fortunately, if anyone can, it would be Ubisoft and Sega. 

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