Top 5 Blockchain Games to Follow in January 2024

With a new year comes a host of new activities to keep an eye on in a variety of NFT games. Some might be more exciting than others, depending on your preferences. That being said, let’s take a look at the top 5 blockchain games to follow in January 2024, in no particular order, as these titles may just have some new event or something else that could be exciting to keep an eye on and potentially participate in. 

Axie Infinity: Homeland 

Axie Infinity: Homeland is the long-awaited land-based strategic title that’s been teased about since the last bull run. It’s been a while since then, and considerable progress has certainly been made; from what seemed like it would be a top-down 2D world to have fun eventually turned into a charming isometric 3D title in which you get to raise your own village on your own plot that is populated by cute axies. 

After an extensive period of alpha testing, it seems this Web3 title is soon set to launch in beta, as revealed by Axie channel mod @GuillotineNFT, who posted a tweet that leaks a message from the official Discord server from a Sky Mavis developer, who says that the game will go into maintenance around January 10th in order to prepare for the beta release. The beta is planned to launch near the end of this month. When asked by a Twitter/X user if this launch will include new graphics, the channel mod claims that there will be new graphics based on what they have seen in Discord. It will be interesting to see how different the beta is compared to what the public has been able to see so far, not just visually, but mechanically as well. 

Storm Warfare 

Storm Warfare is a free-to-play blockchain trading card game. Set in WW2, players choose from a selection of different factions, each of which come with their own strengths and weaknesses. Create a 30-player deck card and embark on various missions as you fight for victory against other players in strategic 1v1 card gameplay on a variety of different battlefields. As you progress and become more skilled, so too does your Commander, a Dynamic NFT whose appearance and attributes can change over time.

This Web3 title was initially available in open beta last month for a limited time, and even featured a tournament with $40k worth of rewards. The game has been unavailable since the end of that test phase, but according to the roadmap, it looks like we could see it come back in beta again this month, except that this time around, the game is planned to go live on Steam and the Epic Games Store, which should help in reaching a wider audience and further help the developers gather useful feedback. 

NFL Rivals 

NFL Rivals is an officially licensed Web3 game made by Mythical Games, who are known for Blankos: Block Party, one of the first blockchain games on the Epic Games Store that is unfortunately getting closed in favor of Blankos Mobile.  

The game is available as a free-to-play title, and has accrued more than 3 million downloads across Android and iOS devices to date. In this sports title, you get to form a team of player cards and enjoy arcade-style 3D football gameplay, with NFT cards also available for trading through the Mythical Marketplace. With such a strong license, it’s no wonder the team managed to get a 6-month partnership with Amazon Prime Gaming, awarding Prime Gaming members with exclusive new in-game rewards every month. 

If you’ve been playing the game for more than a month, then you’ll know that a seasonal program called Cold Snap is currently underway. It started off in December with the Defense lineup, and after 4 weeks of that phase, we are now into Part 2 of the program, which is focused on Offense, meaning you now have a chance of winning offense player cards by participating in various events. There is also a new program currency to earn: Os, which can be spent in the Tundra Store for various players. If you didn’t start playing at the beginning of the program, then perhaps it’s time to jump into it during this second phase and see what it’s like. 

My Crypto Heroes 

My Crypto Heroes is a pixelated 2D autobattler in which you send your squad of heroes to dungeons in the PvE mode for experience and materials while fighting against other players in the PvP mode for a chance at earning NFTs and the game’s governance token, MCHC. Use earned materials to create equipment called extensions as you figure out the best combination of extensions and heroes to use together in strategic battles. 

It seems that a major update to the game is planned to launch this month that will introduce the Extension Expansion System. This system will split extensions into 3 categories: Standard, Modern, and Legacy. There will be 24 types of extensions labelled as Standard. This will include equipment that come with more general abilities. The Modern category will include completely new extensions. This year, the plan is to launch 20 new extensions, all of which will be registered as Modern. For starters though, the RYU and Lantern series released at the end of last year will be registered as Modern (2024) extensions. The Legacy category basically contains anything not belonging to the other two, and as the name implies, they’re generally older than the ones in Standard and Modern. This means that extensions reigstered as Modern for this year will move over to the Legacy category next year, paving the way for new extensions to be registered as Modern for 2025. The official announcement does however state though that there is a chance that after 2025, some Legacy extensions get reinstated as Standard. 

So aside from labelling, what are the key differences between these categories? The main difference is how they’re allowed to be used in the game itself. For example, only Standard and Modern extensions will be allowed for the 2024 World Championship. The image above further shows how the categories are regulated, though this still may be subject to change over time. 

MixMob: Racer 1 

MixMob: Racer 1 is a 3D blockchain title described as the “world’s first” card strategy racing game. Players compete in tactical races with multiple laps, where the tracks are split into 3 lanes to hop between as you use abilities in the form of cards to try and outwit your opponent. It makes for quite a strategic experience as you try to form a strong deck that will give you the best chance of winning races, with the game currently open for free PvP. 

On January 11th at 9 AM PST / 5 PM GMT, a public sale on Magic Eden is set to take place through which the community will have a chance of getting MixBot & MXM Token Packages. According to the announcement, a package costs $250 USD and inclues 1 MixBot, $250 worth of MXM tokens, and MXM multipliers. MixBots are the trainable and breedable robots you use for racing, while MXM is the governance and utility token of the MixMob ecosystem. 

The sale is divided into 3 phases: Guaranteed White List, FCFS White List, and Public Sale. In the Public Sale, there will be 3500 MixBots & MXM packages up for grabs, with a limit of 10 packages per participant imposed. Anyone interested will have a chance of buying a package using USDC, USDT, SOL, or BONK. 

If you’re looking for more interesting events to look out for this month, then be sure to check out the top 5 NFT games that might launch in beta this January 2024.