Off The Grid won the Game of the Year award at the 2024 GAM3 Awards, held live for the first time in Manila on November 22.
The Web3-powered, free-to-play, third-person battle royale game developed by Gunzilla Games also won awards for Best Shooting Game, Best Multiplayer Game and Best Action Game, marking a major achievement in the blockchain gaming industry .
Organized in partnership with Yield Guild Games (YGG), the GAM3 Awards recognized excellence across 21 categories and celebrated the progress of the Web3 gaming sector over the past year. The event featured an increased prize pool of $5 million, consisting of grants, products, services, marketing and blockchain support from partners such as AWS, XAI, Thirdweb, Aethir and Community Gaming.
The selection process involved more than 70 judges from leading gaming and blockchain organizations, including representatives from CryptoSlateAmazon, Google, Ubisoft, Animoca Brands, Immutable, Arbitrum, Blockchain Game Alliance, Base, Ronin and Avalanche. Community involvement was significant, with more than one million votes from 143,000 unique voters contributing to the final decisions in several categories.
Off The Grid’s success reflects the growing integration of blockchain technology into gaming. Set in a dystopian cyberpunk future on Teardrop Island, the game features blockchain elements via the GUNZ blockchain using an Avalanche subnet, providing a player-driven economy with tradable in-game assets.
Off The Grid’s early access release saw rapid growth, topping Epic Games’ list of free-to-play PC games, surpassing popular titles like Fortnite and Rocket League. In the first five days, the game grew by more than a million wallets per day, accounting for 53 million transactions.
Other notable winners at the GAM3 Awards include Parallel, which won awards for best strategy game, best card game and best esports game. Pixels and Pirate Nation each took home two awards, further highlighting the diversity and innovation within the Web3 gaming space.
With more than 300 in-person attendees, the event featured gameplay premieres and exclusive trailers from upcoming titles such as Golden Tides, Unfettered, Elumia, Providence, Shrapnel and more. The ceremony peaked at 48,000 concurrent viewers and was viewed more than 450,000 times in the first 24 hours.
The success of Off The Grid and the GAM3 Awards illustrates the increasing acceptance and integration of blockchain technology in mainstream gaming. Analysts speculate that Off The Grid could be a catalyst for a new crypto-gaming bull run, potentially becoming as important as Axie Infinity in previous cycles.
The GAM3 Awards are expected to return next November for their fourth consecutive edition, signaling continued recognition of excellence in Web3 gaming.