From the original video game The Godfather to Mafia Wars and Grand Theft Auto, organized crime gaming is one of the most dominant genres within the gaming industry. Now, fans will become important stakeholders as mafia wars make their way to the metaverse.
Developed by Roy Liu, formerly the Head of Business and Marketing of TRON, and Mihai Pohontu, who served as vice president at Samsung and Disney (DIS), SYN CITY is a free-to-play (F2P) blockchain game that embraces real-world non-fungible token (NFT) utilities and decentralized finance (DeFi) functions. The new title brings the legendary mafia wars-themed gameplay onto the blockchain — a first for the organized crime video gaming genre.
Think of the metaverse as a three-dimensional virtual reality space where players create an avatar, use it to interact with other avatars, and buy and sell virtual assets, all while playing games. Several blockchain gaming companies have already created their own virtual worlds inside the metaverse, with SYN CITY being the newest addition.
Unlike traditional mafia wars games, where all in-game assets are only applicable within the game and have no real value in the outside world, SYN CITY introduces the concept of tokenized in-game assets. With this model, each in-game asset is a non-fungible token (NFT), maintaining an intrinsic value tied directly to its rarity and demand.
This also allows gamers to actually own the item, both inside the virtual world and in the real-world. Players can buy, sell, and trade their NFTs in secondary marketplaces that are a part of the metaverse, allowing them to generate revenue from their assets and efforts.
From Play-to-Earn to Free-to-Play
The play-to-earn (P2E) gaming concept has already gained significant traction. Cornered by the pandemic and economic meltdown, gamers are increasingly entering the P2E gaming scene to leverage the additional revenue streams offered by the growing ecosystem.
While some existing P2E games need an initial deposit, SYN CITY is a free-to-play (F2P) game that merges the P2E model, allowing anyone to earn while playing.
Like most traditional mafia games, SYN CITY allows gamers to build characters and crews, gather and manage resources, strategize, and plan attacks and raids, all while introducing an in-game currency. The platform’s native SYN token gives players access to several earning opportunities, including daily events, syndicate rewards, and governance rewards.
Introducing DAO: Built-In Governance
The platform introduces the first-of-its-kind governance system called Mafia-as-a-DAO or MaaD, allowing players to join other syndicates or create their own.
Basically, a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) is an open-source computer code (which serves as an organization) designed to help automate decisions and facilitate transactions. This implies that everything on SYN CITY is transparent, provably fair, and accessible to the general public.
The genesis launch follows the close of a recent funding round, which saw $8 million raised from a consortium of investors. Led by Twitch co-founder Justin Kan and Zynga (ZNGA) China co-founder Robin Chan’s Goat Capital, the fundraising underlines the interest in the metaverse from some of the gaming industry’s biggest champions.
To commemorate the progress, the SYN CITY team is currently offering the first 10,000 members on their Discord server the opportunity to participate in the upcoming “Mystery Mafia” giveaway, hosted by influential celebrities.
Disclosure: At the time of publication, Reuben Jackson did not have a position in any of the securities mentioned in this article.
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