Nyan Heroes, a third-person hero shooter backed by the likes of Delphi Ventuers, Shima Capital and Mechanism Capital, will be getting a hybrid economic model called “Catnip and Cashflows” integrated into its free-to-play gaming experience in order to deliver a Web3 title accessible to the masses while complying with various regulations.

How It Works

The model is designed around delivering a free-to-play game with premium purchases, meaning that the Web3 title utilizes 2 in-game, off-chain currencies: Scratch and Catnip.

Scratch is a soft currency that can be earned easily by simply playing the game together with various materials needed for in-game progression. This means that you’ll be using the currency alongside other materials to unlock weapons and basic cosmetics while crafting and levelling mods to improve your Guardians, which are the characters you get to play with.

Catnip is a premium currency that give players the option to speed up progression by buying premium items that may include battle passes, loot boxes, progression boosts and premium cosmetics. It will be possible to buy the currency with fiat through the in-game store, and there will be an in-game marketplace where you will be able to use Catnip for trading various assets. While the option to buy Catnip will be there, that’s not the only way you can get the currency, as it will be earnable through seasonal quests, daily missions, luck-based events and competitive gameplay, with the marketplace further allowing you to gain more of it by selling items to other players.

Minting Assets into NFTs

Characters, mods and cosmetics will be possible to mint into NFTs using Catnip through an awakening system, making them tradable for Catnip in-game but also with fiat through a web-based marketplace, giving players the option to actually play and earn while enjoying a traditional gaming experience.

When using the in-game marketplace, players will pay a small transaction fee in Catnip for each trade, with the fee going into studio revenue. Catnip spent on premium items also goes into studio revenue, while Catnip spent on the minting process gets indirectly converted into $NYAN tokens. This blend of Web2 and Web3 economic elements makes it very simple for traditional gamers to jump in while ensuring the game is aligned with regulations from various regions and platforms to make it accessbile to a wider gaming audience.

$NYAN Utility

The game’s core token $NYAN will be possible to use in a variety of different ways in an effort to drive demand while allowing players to “further their stake in the network.” It is said to play an important role in the economic model as it heavily captures “flows from market participants,” with seasonal campaigns, competitions and varied events to be used to “distribute these flows to market participants in the form of holders and NFT owners.”

While awakening items in-game using Catnip will be an option, Web3-focused gamers will also be able to mint assets using $NYAN through the game’s official website. Whichever path players opt for when awakening items, they all point to the $NYAN token, allowing for revenue to flow into the platform.

Some assets, such as cosmetics, won’t have actual utility outside of giving you a stylish look, but minting assets with game utility such as characters will unlock "a unique layer of rewards inaccessible by regular players.” This layer will include $NYAN emissions and potentially more.

Other use cases for the $NYAN token will include governance, staking, paying for competition entry fees and NFT rental fees.