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In a new twist for a virtual real estate app, Atlas: Earth has released Atlas: Racer, its first in-app mini-game aimed at drawing attention to the Web3 title.
Atlas: Racer is an interactive player-versus-player (PvP) game that matches players in real-time to race souped-up sports cars. Select winners will receive Atlas Bucks, the app’s in-game currency, which can be used to purchase virtual land.
I’ve tried out Atlas: Earth and so far there isn’t that much to do besides buy virtual land in a bid to become a virtual real-estate tycoon. I’m not yet there, as I’m nowhere close to being the mayor of my small virtual town.
Atlas: Racer is a hypercasual game. These titles are considered to be the widest and most accessible form of gaming. These instantly playable forms of entertainment have historically relied on display ads to monetize. However, the impending demise of third-party cookies and a universal decline in ad revenues due to recessionary economics have shown the limitations of the current business model, the company said.
Since Atlas: Earth primarily generates revenue through the sale of virtual real estate, it has a competitive advantage over one-off games that have an unsustainable and vanishing form of revenue. This well-run revenue funnel allows the company to focus on developing games that provide best-in-class hyper-casual
entertainment for its 1.5 million U.S. players, the company said.
“Hypercasual gaming isn’t dead,” said Atlas: Earth CEO Sami Khan, in a statement. “It just needs a different platform. Playing a one-off game is like buying a single television channel; by embedding games into our metaverse, we’re creating an entire network.”
Atlas: Racer is available to all Atlas: Earth players, who will be notified when a race is happening and matched with another player if they choose to participate. To win, players must optimally launch their cars and shift more efficiently than their competitors. Leaderboards are organized by state, with a player’s “home base” restricted to the one in which they entered their first race to ensure fair gameplay.
Top players will be entitled to a piece of the prize pot, which consists of Atlas Bucks and gets bigger with every race.
Atlas: Racer is just the first in a series of mini-games that Atlas: Earth plans to release. Fishing and golfing mini-games are imminent.
“With the addition of hypercasual games, we’ve created a virtuous, rewards-based cycle for players that has real-world value,” said Khan. “We’re committed to helping people earn some extra bucks through experiences they enjoy; launching a suite of mini-games is the next step — and just the beginning.”
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