AriaAI (previously known as just Aria before the rebrand) has announced that its very 1st mobile game is heading into open beta this week on Friday, September 19, at 8 AM UTC.

What Is AriaAI?

AriaAI is a next-gen web3 game development and publishing platform powered by AI and inspired by Disney-style worlds. The goal of this ecosystem is to be the representative of a “major leap forward” in bringing web2-quality game design and publishing standards into the world of web3 gaming.

Before the rebrand took place last month, this project was meant to be solely an open world third-person RPG, but has now expanded to becoming an AI-powered gaming ecosystem with the flagship mobile game at the core of the platform. As part of the AI-focused rebrand, the team is integrating AI into their game and ecosystem in partnership with the first AI consumer layer MyShell.AI, whose advanced tech will help power a number of AI features.

Next to the main title, the ecosystem is planned to include a number of AI games, an AR app, a Telegram mini-app geared towards social gamers as an onboarding experience to the platform, and a character AI agent supported by MyShell.

After raising $5m to bring next-gen web3 gaming to the masses and after undergoing a couple of closed beta tests, it looks like the developers are now ready to bring their 1st mobile game to the public for anyone with the right asset to try out and possibly play and earn rewards in.

What Is AriaAI’s 1st Mobile Game?

AriaAI’s 1st mobile game is a hardcore JRPG set in a colorful anime 3D world. It used to be known as Manasis Refrain until late 2022, when the project’s first rebrand took place to expand beyond the Japanese market.

Players will get to enjoy third-person action RPG combat in an adaptive open world that looks set to feature intelligent NPCs and AI-generated content for dynamic gameplay as a result of the project’s latest pivot to placing AI at the core of its ecosystem.

Following 2 closed beta tests, one of which included 10k playtesters and the other featuring more than 5000 daily active players on average, it is now almost time to open the game up further to more players in an open beta state that doesn’t seem like it will be free to play, but it might not have limited participation spots either.

What’s New in Aria RPG’s Open Beta?

The open beta should allow players with an ARIA Adventure Pass to play and earn rewards such as $ARIA tokens, while ARIA Wishfont Pass NFT holders will be able to claim 1800 Diamonds every day. Diamonds are used for the game’s Gacha system to earn various rewards, which should include NFTs.

The official X announcement mentions that the 1st month comes with an airdrop of over 12.9 million $ARIA tokens that will be distributed “based on in-game behavior.” What’s not clear from this announcement however is whether these token rewards apply to all players, or only to those who took part in the previous closed beta tests. This is because the updated $ARIA tokenomics from last month revealed that all players that have received an airdrop allocation of the recently launched governance token will actually have to unlock the rest of their stash through “various game leaderboards and campaigns.”

Whether the announcement is only referring to airdrops for eligible CBT players or a combination of previous testers and new players is not fully clear, but it won’t be long before this likely becomes clearer once the game actually goes live.

What is clear however is that previous CBT players will receive an unspecified “1-time exclusive in game rewards,” so long as they stick to using the same account. If you were among the game’s early supporters who played in closed beta, make sure to use the same account for this latest launch in hopes of earning a hopefully valuable exclusive prize. Based on discussions in the game’s official Telegram channels however, this does seem to refer to an exclusive game reward, and not a tradable NFT.

Player progress from previous playtests should be reset, making for an even playing field for this open beta release. Details on available game features were not revealed at the time of writing.

How to Participate and Play to Earn in Open Beta

To join the open beta of AriaAI’s 1st mobile game, launching Friday, September 19, 8 AM UTC on Android and iOS, you will need to own an ARIA Adventure Pass. If you have already minted one in the closed beta test, then you don’t have to mint it again, so you’re already set to participate.

For those who don’t have the required pass, you will have to wait for Friday to find out how to mint the asset needed to unlock access to this beta testing phase. Once you do, you will be able to start playing this hardcore mobile action RPG while climbing leaderboards to play and earn rewards. The same goes for the ARIA Wishfont Pass NFT; if you want to stack Diamonds to earn Gacha prizes, you'll also have to wait for Friday to find out how to get a hold of this NFT.

It’s not exactly known if $ARIA rewards are reserved for allocated CBT players only, or if new players will only be earning NFTs, but either way, if you’re a fan of anime and RPGs, be sure to keep an eye on the game’s social channels in the coming days or wait for the game to go live on Friday to find out more info on gameplay features and reward distribution. The game will be playable on both Android and iOS, but it’s not yet known if this will involve downloading from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.