Troubled games studio Crytek has taken it upon itself to get involved with a video game-centric cryptocurrency.
Dubbed CryCash, this will be launching with a token sale from December 12th to January 15th. The announcement claims this is an "independent decentralised ecosystem of products for gamers fueled by an all-new gamer-centric cryptocurrency".
Crytek is the first company to get involved - and we'll wager that its involvement is where the money's name has come from - with more presumably joining later down the line.
This isn't just about money, either. Though gamers can earn Crycash by completing in-game tasks, there is also a communications app called Plink, a wallet - naturally, an advertising platform, an esports platform and a virtual asset marketplace. Gamers will be able to earn Crycash by watching ads in Plink, as well as by competing in tournaments.
The ICO for Crycash has a cost of 0.001 Etherium per Crycash - that's between $395 and $439 at the time of writing, depending on where you look.
“Our motto is creating products which let gamers and developers make more from their passion. The Crycash ecosystem solves two problems at once: it gives gamers a way to monetize game time by completing in-game tasks, set by game developers, while providing developers with decentralized sales options for games and other virtual items,” Crycash CEO Wachtang Budagaschwili said.
“Crycash will consist of four major components: Plink, a communications app for gamers and Crycash wallet; an advertising platform; an eSports platform for gaming tournaments and other events; and a virtual asset marketplace.”
Crytek MD Faruk Yerli added: “It has always been our goal as a company to bring boundary-pushing games and innovative new tech to the marketplace, and after almost two decades in the industry, we are intimately familiar with the kind of problems that gamers and game developers face in the industry marketplace. We see a lot of potential in the Crycash concept, and we were impressed by the Crycash team’s innovative approach to creating practical products and tools for gamers.”
Why Crytek would decide to get involved in cryptocurrency is still to be seen. The company has had its fair share of financial woes recently, with repeated instances of it being unable to pay staff. It had to close off a number of studios this time last year and following 15 layoffs earlier this year, the company - um - decided to focus on its "core competencies".
