In a recent interview, Luke Barwikowski, founder and CEO of Pixels, shared insights into the rapid growth and future plans for one of the largest web3 games by daily active users. With over 2.5 million players, Pixels offers a social and casual gaming experience powered by the Ronin Network, focusing on farming, exploration, and creation in an open world.

In this article, Barwikowski discusses his mission to build the biggest web3 casual games company, the recent Shorelime Event, and the launch of Pixels' Chapter 2 - which introduced significant updates and new gameplay features.

Pixels Cover Banner

What is Pixels?

Pixels offers an engaging open-ended world where players can immerse themselves in farming, resource gathering, and exploration. The game is designed to blend blockchain ownership with player progression and achievements.

Players advance their skills, build relationships, and unravel stories and quests within the Pixels Universe. With a focus on accessibility and fun, Pixels aims to be the "gateway for millions into the world of web3 gaming". The game is built on the Ronin blockchain and is currently playable via browser.

Play-to-Earn vs. Play-for-Fun

Unlike many web3 games that prioritize play-to-earn models, Pixels focuses on delivering a genuinely enjoyable gaming experience. The design team ensures the game remains fun and engaging, believing that sustainability in play-to-earn games stems from solid game design and real value for players.

"At Pixels, our foundation lies in prioritizing community engagement. Unlike conventional game developers, we embrace a unique method of open development. Over the past two years, we've actively involved our community by hosting AMAs, offering full transparency on our goals, our projects, and our team."

More About Luke Barwikowski Founder and CEO of Pixels

Luke Barwikowski is the founder and CEO of Pixels, one of the largest web3 games by daily active users (DAU). Under his leadership, Pixels has amassed over 2.5 million total players, cementing its place as one of the leading social and casual games in web3. Powered by the Ronin Network, Pixels invites players into an open world filled with farming, exploration, and creation.

"Our main objective in web3 was to connect with an audience that truly cared about our work and to build alongside them. This open development approach has shaped the vision and direction of Pixels, and it has been a key factor in our current success."

Luke Barwikowski Far Left In Image 

Recent News: Pixels Chapter 2

On June 18th, Pixels launched Chapter 2, featuring updates to resource generation, land progression, and crafting mechanics. The update also introduces new industries and improved gameplay. These changes are aimed at enhancing long-term sustainability by refining incentive design and reward distribution for the game's one million daily active players.

"Pixels features native guilds that are seamlessly integrated into the game, playing a significant role in the gameplay of Chapter 2. A major update to the game's mechanics is that resource generation is now single-use. Essentially, if someone is farming on a plot of soil on NFT lands, only one person can use it at a time."

Pixels Gameplay

Key Features of Chapter 2

Resource Collection Mechanics: Currently, resource generation is tied to individual players, but Chapter 2 will allocate resources based on each land. This global cap on daily resource generation encourages players to collaborate within Guilds, fostering a more balanced and strategic approach to resource management.

Crafting Mechanics: Personal crafting stations will be exclusive to a single user, streamlining the crafting process. The introduction of multi-crafting capabilities will enable players to stack multiple instances of the same recipe, optimizing production.

Tiering System and New Industry Tiers: A comprehensive tiering system for resources and crafting recipes will be introduced in Chapter 2, categorizing them into four distinct tiers. This ensures that all resources serve a purpose, with strict limitations on the number of energy-producing resources per tier. Tools and soil will also undergo tiering and durability constraints. Additionally, there will be new industries in the upcoming chapter including stone and metal crafting.

Pixels Chapter 2

Land progression: Free-to-play lands, Specks, will enable players to collect lower-tier resources independently, gradually progressing to higher-tier resource generation as they advance with the ability to upgrade Specls six times using Coins and $PIXEL. NFT lands will grant exclusive access to top-tier resources, rewarding landowners and those in Guilds with unique advantages. The ultimate goal is to give more rewards to more committed users and give you more reasons to use $PIXEL in-game. 

"Guilds will oversee resource generation in the game. They typically own land and have the autonomy to decide how they want to organize themselves. Players looking to gather land-exclusive resources may need to join a guild or get permission to access the land and harvest resources. This introduces a new social aspect to the gameplay, emphasizing cooperation."

Successful Shorelime Event

The recent Shorelime event, held on June 21st, highlighted the game's dynamic event system. Players engaged in planting and harvesting Shorelimes, which are exclusive to the summer solstice. The event saw significant player engagement, with over 24.63k Shorelime drinks sold and a total of 174.2 million COINs in sales.

Shorelime Metrics:

• 24.63k Shorelime Drinks sold in the marketplace. 
• Total of 174.2 Million COIN sales.
• Approximately 10k completed the quest.
• 65.68 Million planted in 24 hour period.

Shorelime Event

Pixels' Growth and Vision

Since its debut on the Ronin Network in September 2023, Pixels has seen rapid growth. The game has over 5 million lifetime wallets, 200,000+ VIP memberships, and daily active addresses peaking at 1,061,873. Players spend an average of 4.45 million $PIXEL ($2.4 million USD) in the game monthly.

"We're concentrating on two main areas. First, we aim to enhance the game by adding more content and ensuring it's more enjoyable for players. Second, we're conducting experiments aimed at achieving significant improvements. I'm particularly optimistic about our data science initiatives and their potential impact on the game's ecosystem."

Over 3.5 Million Daily Users

Future Outlook

Over the next 3-9 months, Pixels plans to optimize player retention and fine-tune incentive structures. Once stabilized, the goal is to scale the player base to 7 million, with an ultimate target of 50 million players. Regular updates and player feedback will continue to shape the game's development, ensuring it remains at the forefront of web3 gaming innovation.

"Our goal is to establish the largest web3 casual games company, with an ambitious vision of attracting 50 million players globally. Our team is dedicated to developing a variety of gaming experiences and is actively seeking growth opportunities through acquisitions and partnerships with existing games."