Forge Arena from NewGen Labs, a tactical FPS game on the Wax blockchain, announced the game would be available for download from the Epic Games store from December 2022. The announcement again shows Epic Games’ commitment to Web3 technology, including Play to earn games and NFTs.
Forge Arena becomes the second NFT game to be released on the Epic Games platform after Blankos Blockchain Party’s add a couple of weeks ago.
Forge Arena Beta on Epic Games Inc.
Epic Games Inc, the makers of Fortnite, will host the closed Beta testing in phases, beginning at the end of 2022. The Alpha testing period has now ended, and servers have been closed down in preparation for the closed beta.
According to the roadmap, the testing phases will continue until June 2023, with a limited amount of keys, for players to obtain access to the game.
Announcing the launch, NewGen Labs writing on Medium, stated, “We invite you to join us in-game on our new map Island for a limited time.”
Participants in the closed beta testing will receive a ‘commemorative custom weapon skin of an AK or M4, both called: Epic Kill.”
Closed Beta Phase 1 2022 and on
Phase 1 of the integration will include;
- Epic Games matchmaking, account connectivity, services lobby and voice chat integration.
- Upgrade the Unreal Engine from 4.19.2 to Unreal Engine 4.27
- Bug fixes from the upgrade of Unreal engine.
- New game launcher.
- Leaderboard
- Closed Beta launch on the Epic store
- Exodus and Origins Map case releases.
When testing concludes all servers will be closed to prepare for the Epic Games Launcher.
The game will then launch its Open Beta Testing on the Epic Game store in June to coincide with E3 Los Angeles 2023.
Play for free or add a Wax wallet
The closed beta game will release as a free-to-play game. You will simply have to log in and start playing. The only thing missing in the free-to-play version is that you will not be able to utilize NFT skins.
However, to participate in the game’s digital economy and use skins, you need to connect a WAX wallet. Knowing that many gamers are put off or simply do not have a background in crypto, blockchain, and NFTs, the team behind Forge Arena wants to make things simple.
Creative Director at NEWGEN Labs, Artur Minacov, said,
“The opportunity to distribute The Forge Arena to traditional gamers via the Epic Games Store is a huge opportunity for our studio. Our focus has always been to build a fun, competitive, and unique game first, and to use blockchain technologies to give our players true ownership of their digital items.
Players will be able to use their Epic Games or Forge Arena account to sign in and get started, without any requirement to understand crypto or NFTs. Our team is focused on bridging the gap between traditional gaming and blockchain gaming, and our Closed Beta phases will show the world that Web3 games have what it takes to change the way we play and consume video games across the next several decades.”
WAX blockchain
Wax blockchain is praised as one of the most energy-efficient blockchains, with Climate.org praising the company, stating it uses approximately 0.000223 terawatts per year. Many great NFT projects use the blockchain because of its energy-saving properties.
WAX will join the Ethereum, EOS, and Solana blockchains onto Epic’s storefront.
Afterthoughts
The latest news surrounding Forge Arena’s upcoming addition to the Epic Games storefront is fantastic news for the NFT space.
Slowly but surely, NFT games are making their way into the mainstream, and Epic Games Inc and its CEO, Tim Sweeney, must be praised for their continued support and belief in Web3 gaming.
