Will The Abyss Make Money with Fortnite?
The Abyss (ABYSS) platform could make money with Fortnite. Impressively, the company behind Fortnite; the privately held Epic Games, plans to integrate its Unreal Engine 4 with the Abyss, CoinDesk claims.
To elaborate the Abyss is a gaming platform that uses a cryptocurrency they call the Abyss Token (ABYSS) for payment. Hence, they intend the Abyss to be a Steem (STEEM) alternative for gamers. Steem is a platform that allows players to accept payment in its cryptocurrency.
Epic describes the Unreal Engine as a “complete set of creation tools” for artists. Effectively, the Unreal Engine is a Software Development Kit (SDK); or tool box, for game designers, moviemakers, and other artists. Past games built with the Unreal Engine include; Mass Effect, Batman, and Medal of Honor.
Epic Games adds the Abyss to the Unreal Engine
Coindesk claims developers could add The Abyss’s payment solutions to games built with the Unreal Engine. Thus, The Abyss and the Unreal Engine could make it easy for developers to add cryptocurrency payment to games.
However, The Abyss is a minor player when you compare it to the older Steem. Notably, CoinDesk estimates there are only six games on the Abyss and over 30,000 games available through Steem.
The difference between Steem and the Abyss is that they design the Abyss for massive multi-player online (MMO) games. In contrast, Steem is available to a wide variety of creators including writers, podcasters, bloggers, and moviemakers.
Can the Abyss compete with Steem?
My guess is that Epic hopes to increase use of the Unreal Engine by partnering with The Abyss. Notably, Steem’s platform is already a huge success with one billion accounts and 90 million active users in April 2019, Variety claims.
Moreover, Coinmarketcap calculates STEEM had a Market Capitalization of $132.2 million, a 24-Hour Market Volume of $3.757 million, and a Coin Price of 41.8₵ on 28 May 2019. Coinmarketcap bases those calculations on a Circulating Supply of 315.962 million STEEM and a Total Supply of 332.9 million STEEM.
In contrast, Coimarketcap estimates the Abyss Token (ABYSS) had a Market Cap of $5.017 million, a 24-Hour Market Volume of $608,075 and a Coin Price of 2.2₵ on May 28, 2019. They base those estimates on a Circulating Supply of 227.558 million ABYSS Tokens and a Total Supply of 509 million Abyss Tokens.
I think, Epic Games is partnering with The Abyss because its management believes they will have more control over the smaller platform. In addition, Epic will have less exposure to cryptocurrency market fluctuations with a smaller gaming-focused token like ABYSS. Obviously, Epic could make more money with the Abyss.
Can the Abyss make Money with Epic Games
However, CoinDesk did not say if any of Epic’s games will come to the Abyss. Hence, Fortnite could never come to the Abyss.
Fortnite is Epic’s addictive multi-player shooter sensation that is taking the gaming world by storm. In fact, Statista estimates Fortnite had around 250 million players in March 2019. Moreover, the game is so popular I saw a kid wearing a Fortnite t-shirt on my last trip to the grocery store in Buena Vista, Colorado.
On the other hand, the game that dethrones Fortnite as number one could come out of The Abyss. In particular, Epic Games needs to establish itself as more than a one hit wonder. Fortnite is Epic’s most successful in-house game.
Will The Abyss Integrate with the Epic Games Store?
Notably, Epic is trying to generate revenue with its Epic Games Store. To elaborate, the Epic Games Store is an app store for Epic’s games. Interestingly, you can access the Unreal Engine through the Epic Games Store website.
Not surprisingly, Fortnite Battle Royale is available through the Epic Games Store. So the Abyss could enjoy a boost from Fortnite; even if that franchise never reaches its platform.
Moreover, Epic licenses the Unreal Engine to developers for a quarterly payment of revenues over $3,000. Conversely, developers can negotiate better terms for specific titles, CoinDesk claims.
Thus, Epic could plan to add the Abyss and the Abyss Token (ABYSS) to the Epic Games Store. However, CoinDesk reveals no details about such plans. However, the Abyss founder Konstantin Boyko-Romanovsky claims developers will not need to sign a separate contract with Epic Games to accept Abyss Tokens in an email to CoinDesk.
Could The Abyss Partner with Tencent Holdings and Disney?
Under the terms of the current agreement Epic Games will provide unspecified marketing services for The Abyss. It is not clear if those marketing services include Epic’s backers; the Walt Disney Company (NYSE DIS), and Tencent Holdings Inc. (OTC: TCHEY).
Tecent Holdings is the Chinese social media giant behind the immensely popular WeChat social media platform. Business of Apps estimates had 1.08 billion users in 3rd Quarter 2018.
Plus, Tecent claims WeChat had one billion active daily users in January 2019. Moreover, Business of Apps calculates WeChat is the fifth most-used app in the world. Incredibly, Business of Apps estimates 410 million audio and video calls go through WeChat every day.
Given, those capabilities; and the 45 billion WeChat Messages Tencent claims were sent every day in 2018, Tecent could take the Abyss to the next level. However, Tecent and the Abyss will need to overcome the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) well-known hostility to private cryptocurrencies to enter the People’s Republic.
Is The Abyss a Good Cryptocurrency?
The alliance with Epic Games makes the Abyss Token (ABYSS) an interesting altcoin.
The Abyss has some interesting attributes that could be popular. Players will get a discount and could earn rewards points for playing MMOs with ABYSS, for example. Moreover, The Abyss claims you can easily withdraw its tokens and exchange them for other digital currencies.
However, it is not clear which other cryptocurrencies, you can exchange Abyss for. I could not find the Abyss Token (ABYSS) on Bancor’s Liquidity Network. Bancor’s is important because it offers a fast way to exchange Ethereum-based altcoins for other cryptocurrencies. Liquidity means that you can always exchange those digital assets for cash.
The Abyss Needs Stablecoins
More importantly, Bancor offers access to a few stablecoins, like the DAI (DAI). Stablecoins are key to widespread cryptocurrency adoption because they contain a smart contract that offers fast access to fiat currency in a trust account.
Theoretically, the smart contract releases fiat currency to a purchaser whenever you spend a DAI, StableUSD (USDS), or Paxos Standard (PAX). Particularly, the smart contract should release $1 when you spend or convert USDS, PAX, or the Gemini Dollar GUSD). Pointedly, the Gemini Dollar’s trust accounts are at a major American financial institution, the State Street Bank (NYSE: STT).
Fast access to stablecoins is important, because gamers are real people who need to buy things like food, electricity, internet service, and fuel for their vehicles. Few gamers; or developers, will accept pay in digital assets they cannot spend at their local grocery store.
On the other hand, I think The Abyss will need stablecoins that offer access to currencies besides the greenback. Euros will be vital to The Abyss’s success because 19 Eurozone countries, including Germany, use the Euro as their national currency. Germany is the world’s fourth largest economy, Focus Economics estimates.
Interesting Abyss Features
Importantly, large numbers of exchanges including HitBTC, BITFINEX, and DDEX trade ABYSS. Beyond exchanges, The Abyss can fund game development through Ethereum Decentralized Autonomous Initial Coin Offerings (DAICOs). Thus, ABYSS is convertible into Ethereum.
Unlike, a traditional initial coin offering (ICO) a DAICO raises for one particular project like a game. Each DAICO will allow investors to contribute Ethereum (ETH) to a project. Fascinatingly, a DAICO is also an Ethereum smart contract that can refund money if the project fails.
Is The Abyss Scalable?
Unfortunately, The Abyss team fails to address the all-important blockchain scalability problem at its website. Blockchains can only move a finite amount of data or money because of all the encryption. You can only process 4.6 Bitcoin (BTC) transactions per second; for example, Hacker Noon’s Kenny Li estimates.
Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin even admits his blockchain “can only process 15 transactions per second,” Invest in Blockchain reports. Given those circumstances, an Ethereum gaming solution could crash if it tries to process 20 TPS. Obviously, no gaming platform will make money with speeds like that.
Bancor; however, offers access to a potential scalability solution in the form of EOS (EOS). Creator Block.One builds EOS to be faster than Ethereum by limiting encryption. Under those circumstances, EOS has processed up to 3,996 TPS; however, EOS was processing just 48 TPS on 24 May 2019, The EOS Network Monitor calculates.
In the final analysis, the Abyss is a fascinating blockchain platform with interesting technology that could make a lot of money selling a product with a huge market. Conversely, I caution against speculating in Abyss Tokens (ABYSS) until the Abyss demonstrates it can make money by selling games.
