Cyberpunk MMORPG 77-Bit is launching in open beta at some point this January 2025, with developer Analog Games announcing that they’ve chosen to use the Abstract Chain for the upcoming release.

What’s Included in 77-Bit Open Beta?

In the open beta version, you can look forward to exploring an online open world from a top-down perspective solo or with your friends as you complete quests, raid dungeons, and dive into trading, all while enjoying fast-paced combat across PvPvE and roguelike game modes, such as Darknet.

The Darknet is a roguelike game mode in which you’ll fight against AI enemies as you progress through digital landscapes in hopes of claiming valuable loot to bring back to Byte City. If you don’t make it out alive though, all the loot you’ve gathered during your run is lost.

The loot found in the Darknet could be digital collectibles referred to as 77-Bit Artifacts. These items might include exclusive NFTs, digital art, and possibly physical merch in the form of cards, toys, and more. Whether Artifacts end up being earnable in the roguelike mode or not, these collectibles will be possible to acquire in some ways in this virtual world, and you can expect them to carry “utility in-game or real-world value,” according to the official website.

What is for certain is that the game will be powered by a player-driven economy consisting of “interconnected systems where your actions have real value.” The aim is to deliver a platform “for true ownership” that enables you to not only craft rare items, but also to own various assets and licenses.

The game is also set to have various AI features, including AI companions and the “BitBot Grinder” which collects loot for you as you play.

Whether the AI and economy features will be included in this beta release is not currently clear, but you can certainly expect to find out how fun the actual gameplay is.

This web3 anime game will be available as a free to play title that you can play from your web browser, so you won’t need to download it to start playing soon. While the launch is scheduled for this month, an exact date has not been given at the time of writing. Considering the choice of chain, the game’s launch likely depends on when the chosen blockchain goes live on mainnet, which also happens to have a January 2025 release timeframe.

Next to the MMO, this IP is set to be expanded into an entertainment franchise that will consist of an animated series, manga, and “immersive media experiences.” You can also look forward to an Arcade mode in which you can play casual games inspired by classics for whenever you want to pause from the challenging adventures in the IP’s flagship cyberpunk world.

In the meantime, you can look forward the official gameplay trailer that is set to be premiered on YouTube this week on January 8th.

What Is Abstract Chain?

Abstract is an Ethereum-based Layer 2 network and ZK-rollup made with modular framework ZK Stack. The EVM-compatible aims to power consumer-focused dApps and provide them scalability, quick transaction speeds, and low fees. This means that the goal is to enable developers to securely create various apps that can be easily used by a huge number of users. As such, we could end up seeing a wide variety of on-chain apps launch on this new blockchain, including crypto games.

This chain is currently in testnet phase, but is set to go live on mainnet soon during January of this year. An exact date does not yet seem to be available, but once the network is officially live, you can likely expect the open beta of 77-Bit to quickly follow. You can check out the chain’s official website to learn more about this new ZK-rollup, as well as sign up for a waitlist using your email address in order to “get something special”.