Anyone who used the internet in the early 2000’s is probably familiar with one of the greatest games of all time, Runescape. What if I told you the ultimate successor to the world’s favourite MMO is on the way. It promises to bring true open world adventure back to gaming, all made possible through blockchain. Introducing Mirandus.
What is Mirandus?
One of the things that frustrates me about the state of gaming today is that there’s no more mystery. Whenever you start a game, particularly a fantasy adventure, there’s already a wealth of information about the in-game universe. A quick google search will tell you what the best items are, how to complete certain quests and which enemies will squash you if you haven’t levelled enough.
Mirandus is a fantasy MMO aiming to build an immense and captivating player-owned world. One of the aims of Mirandus is to bring true adventure and open world exploration back to gaming. You’ll find no bestiary on their website. There will be no item guide that tells you where to find the best equipment. The only way to learn about Mirandus is to explore it yourself. Knowledge is power, whether you share your discoveries is up to you.
Mirandus is being developed by the elite team at Gala Games and led by Game Director Michael McCarthy. The Mirandus team is pulled together from industry veterans responsible for some of the world’s most played and coveted games. With previous titles like World of Warcraft in their portfolio, these guys are experts in building exciting and engaging MMO worlds.
What makes Mirandus so fascinating is that the entire game is built on the blockchain. Characters (called Exemplars), land, stores and items are all unique NFTs that are owned by players and have tangible trade value in the real world. The in-game world is powered by Materium, the native token of the Mirandus ecosystem. This helps to establish a thriving player-owned economy.
What is Mirandus?: Key Takeaways
- Mirandus is an MMORPG developed by Gala Games.
- Mirandus was born from a desire to bring true exploration back to fantasy gaming.
- Thanks to Web3 technology, players have absolute ownership of their ingame assets.
- The game is still in development, with no scheduled release date
- Mirandus is playable on PC and Mac systems
- Player characters, items, land and ships are tokenized as tradable NFTs
Current Status of Mirandus Development
Development of the Mirandus universe began in 2020 and is brought to us by Gala Games. With a history of success, Gala Games is one of the pioneering studios in the crypto gaming industry. Gala Games was originally founded by Eric Schiermeyer, a legend in the industry who previously founded Zynga Labs. If you ever played Farmville, now you know who to thank (or curse).
Mirandus is still in ongoing development, but the team is extremely communicative through their Discord server. There you can find regular updates outlining what the team is currently working on. As of right now, there is no scheduled release date for Mirandus. However, the team hosts regular playtests where you can test the game as it’s being developed. These playtests are lucrative for players, who can earn crypto rewards (more on this later). I like this feature because it incentivizes players to be involved in the process. This fits the player-driven ethos of Mirandus.
These playtests are a great way to see development progress. To give you an example, let’s compare some footage. The first image is taken from one of the first playtests. It looks drab, chunky and downright disappointing. The second was pulled from the most recent playtest. This is much cleaner, vivid and engaging. It’s evident that the Mirandus world is starting to take shape!
Mirandus Gameplay
Mirandus is an epic fantasy world where players have complete freedom. In Mirandus, there are no maps and no quests. Players can forge their own path, without being told what they need to do. If you encounter a town, store or dock, it’s because another player chose to build it there. Every item you use has been crafted by a fellow adventurer. The open world is constantly changing and evolving, based on player choices.
Playable characters are called Exemplars, and are based on five popular fantasy races. Elves, Hobbits Halflings, Orcs, Dwarves and Humans all have different attributes and abilities that give them distinct advantages in the open world.
Mirandus really has something for everyone. Whether you prefer to charge off into the wilderness looking for rare items, dive into dungeons to vanquish powerful enemies or set up a lucrative business in one of the five citadels, the open world and player-owned economy makes it possible.
Apart from having a great time exploring a fantasy world, one of the main goals of the game is to acquire Materium. Materium is the lifeblood of Mirandus. It’s used for pretty much every ingame function. Every time you craft an item, cast a spell or use a skill, you’ll need Materium. You can earn Materium in loot drops from slaying monsters, or receive it in exchange for goods and services from other players.
The best part is, in true crypto fashion, you can also sell Materium in the real world.
Mirandus P2E mechanics
No crypto gaming project would be complete with some kind of play-to-earn mechanic. Materium is not only the fundamental means of exchange in Mirandus, it’s also a cryptocurrency on the Ethereum blockchain. Any Materium, or $MTRM, that you collect in Mirandus can be traded on crypto exchanges outside of the game.
Materium (MTRM), the native token of Mirandus
No, your ears do not deceive you. You will earn crypto rewards playing Mirandus. Every time you sell an item you crafted or kill a monster, you’ll get paid. But that’s not the only way you can earn $MTRM. In fact, it’s probably not even the best method of earning Materium.
Think back to Runescape. Slaying high level monsters didn’t always ensure you’d get massive drops of gold. But fishing lobster and mining rare ores fetched a high price on the p2p market. This was a far more reliable way of earning a living than risking your characters life hoping to get a rare drop. In a way, it was kind of like having a real job.
This concept leads me to the Mirandus economy. In-game assets like land deeds, buildings, docks and cemeteries are all NFTs that players can own, trade and earn from. If my ultimate goal is to earn as much $MTRM as possible, maybe I’m better off owning land in a busy city and charging rent to shop owners? If explorers need somewhere to rest their horses for the night, surely they’ll pay good money to stable owners?
To give you an idea, let’s go over some potential NFT business models in the Mirandus metaverse. If the word ‘Metaverse’ is raising some questions for you, check out our detailed metaverse guide.
Mirandus Deed NFTs
Ah yes, real estate. One of the oldest and most reliable sources of income we’ve ever known. Just like in real life, if you own land you have control over what it’s used for. If another player wants to run a store there, they’ll need to pay regular rent to use the space.
Mirandus Building NFTs
As mentioned, every building in Mirandus is an NFT. Whether it’s a store, dock, horse stable or tavern. You name it, it’s an NFT. Each building will provide a unique utility that will make it valuable. I’m particularly excited about Mirandus Cemeteries. Any time a player dies, they can speed up their Exemplar’s revival by paying $MTRM to a cemetery owner.
There’s going to be less than 300 cemeteries in Mirandus. The development team is aiming for this game to have millions of players. Potentially thousands of players will need to be revived everyday. As a cemetery owner, I’d be more than happy to collect a small fee every time some asks to be revived.
Mirandus Ship NFTs
Some of the greatest adventures of exploring Mirandus will come from travelling far and wide to exotic locations. Uncharted islands and territories might be rich in rare and unique items and materials. To complete long voyages across the oceans, players will need Ships.
However if you don’t own a ship, you’ll need to rent one off someone who does. There’s also a possibility that certain skill levels might be required in order to sail these ships. If this is the case, training your Exemplar up to be a renowned Captain might be a fun way to become an ingame celebrity. Jack Sparrow anyone?
The Materium Economy?
Materium is the glue that holds the Mirandus ecosystem together. $MTRM is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. Materium is paid out to players in the Mirandus universe. Now I know what you’re thinking. If everyone is earning $MTRM all the time, surely the supply will inflate forever and $MTRM will be worth nothing?
This is not exactly the case. The Mirandus economy is designed so that $MTRM is exceptionally valuable to players. You’ll need $MTRM to cast spells, craft spells and pay for services in-game. Certain actions, like casting spells, will actually burn $MTRM tokens and permanently remove them from the supply. This deflationary burn mechanism will help to stabilize the price of $MTRM.
How to start playing Mirandus
Mirandus hasn’t officially launched yet, so diving headfirst into the fantasy world will have to wait a bit longer. The scope of Mirandus is exceptional and ambitious. I would expect that team will need at least another year or two before releasing Mirandus.
However, devout Mirandus supporters can still jump into the regular playtests hosted by the team. These playtests are a great way to contribute to the growth and development of the Mirandus world. Testers earn generous rewards in $MTRM as well, which sweetens the deal. On-chain Gaming, a popular Youtuber, earnt around 20,000 $MTRM during the last playtest. At the time, this was valued at around $2,400 USD. Not a bad haul for running around shooting arrows at goblins.
To keep updated on Mirandus playtests, follow the Gala Games Medium blog and join their Discord server. Here you can be the first to hear about development updates and playtest opportunities.
How to invest in Mirandus
Disclaimer: Neither myself nor Versopedia are financial advisors in any way, shape or form. We recommend you conduct your own thorough research before investing in any project we mention.
If you want to invest in Mirandus, there’s a few ways to go about it. There are a couple of different strategies, each with their own levels of risk. Let’s start with the most obvious:
Buy Materium ($MTRM)
Materium is the backbone of the Mirandus economy. Everyone who wants to play and earn in the Mirandus metaverse will need $MTRM. Buying $MTRM is the purest and simplest way of investing in Mirandus.
However, in shorter time frames, this does carry a higher element of risk. The Mirandus release date hasn’t been announced with certainty yet. As far as we’re aware, the burn mechanism that will help stablize $MTRM price isn’t in effect yet. As more playtests are completed, more $MTRM will be distributed to testers and continue inflating the supply.
For this reason, it might be a good idea to wait until we have confirmed dates for when the game will launch. If you’re not bothered by potential price fluctuations short term, you can buy $MTRM on Uniswap or MEXC Exchange.
Buy Mirandus NFTs
You can buy Mirandus NFTs directly from the Gala Games Marketplace. So far, we’ve seen a lot of demand for Mirandus NFTs. The first batch of Exemplars were sold out in three minutes. All the Elves and Halflings have been snapped up, but there’s still a few Orcs, Dwarves and Humans available.
A word to the Wise. If I could offer a secret nugget of helpful info for Mirandus NFT investors, it would be this:
Before buying anything from the Gala Games store, check secondary markets like Opensea. You might be able to buy some Mirandus NFTs off other players at a better price.
For example, this Orc Exemplar is available on the Gala Games store for 28,000 Gala. That’s around $1,430 USD at current $GALA prices.
If we search a secondary market like Opensea for Mirandus NFTs, we can sometimes find similar Exemplars at reduced prices. Here, we have another Orc of the Long Hunt for sale. On secondary, someone’s willing to let it go for $280 USD. That’s more or less an 80% discount. Yes please.
Buy $GALA
Gala Games is one of the largest studios in Web3 gaming. They’re legends in the space, and are responsible for bringing us some incredible games like Town Star. $GALA is the native utility token of Gala Games Studios. Buying $GALA gives you exposure not only to Mirandus, but also to every other game that Gala is developing.
$GALA is available on the following cryptocurrency exchanges:
Games like Mirandus
I’ve always believed that competition breeds innovation and progress. The world of Web3 gaming is no different. Mirandus is just one of the titles primed to dominate the crypto gaming space. But what are some other games like Mirandus that we’re keeping an eye on?
Big Time Studios
Like Mirandus, Big Time is an MMO adventure game with a rich world and player owned economy. In the Big Time world, players can explore diverse worlds across time to collect rare NFT items. There’s some big names behind the scenes like Ari Meilich, the former CEO of Decentraland.
Big Time has plenty of similar features to Mirandus, like a strong focus on exploration and adventure. What I like about the Big Time mechanics is that you’re also something of a time traveller. You could be fighting a dinosaur one day, and hunting futuristic robots the next. This brings plenty of replayability to the world and ensures no two adventures feel the same.
One of the things that separates Mirandus from Big Time in my eyes is the play-to-earn opportunities. At a glance, Big Time seems to only reward adventures and explorers. I feel like Mirandus offers greater scope for earning potential through some of the business models mentioned earlier.
Illuvium
Illuvium is an open world adventure where players can explore stunning alien worlds. These worlds are inhabited by Illuvials, a diverse range of creatures with a range of powers and skills. Players can collect Illuvial NFTs as battle partners and compete against others in play-to-earn competitions.
The visuals of Illuvium are breathtaking. The art and character design is incredible. The Illuvial NFTs themselves are gorgeous. I’m excited to see how the game and Illuvium economy develops.
One of the features that distinguishes Illuvium from Mirandus is the aspect of team-building. Similar to Axies, each Illuvial NFT has unique characteristics. I’ve always loved the strategic side of crafting the perfect team. It’ll be interesting to play around with different setups to find winning combinations.
Potential Issues
This wouldn’t be a fair assessment of Mirandus if I didn’t point out some potential red flags. I love the idea of a mysterious fantasy open world and rich in-game economy. But I feel like some things need to be addressed, or at least considered, as development continues.
Ethereum Gas Fees
Ah, ye olde ETH gas fees. The bane of cryptocurrency enthusiasts everywhere. If you need a quick primer on what gas fees are (and why everyone hates them), check out this quick guide. Mirandus is built on the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum is known for charging obscene amounts for simple transactions.
In Mirandus every action, be it casting a spell, crafting a sword or trading an item, is a blockchain transaction. That means that you’ll need to pay a gas fee. If you need to pay anywhere between $10-$100 every time you cast a spell, the game simply won’t work.
However, I expect the team has already thought about this and is working on a solution. There has been some discussion about Gala games running its own sidechain. Who knows, by the time Mirandus is released, ETH 2.0 might be fully operational. This would greatly reduce gas fees and improve Ethereum’s scalability issues.
An Empty World
For Mirandus to work as intended, it needs players. In the past, MMORPGs have been supported by NPCs and quests to drive the game. If I wandered into a new town, I knew there would always be a general store where I could get supplies.
Mirandus is completely player-owned and player-driven. That means if there aren’t enough players active in the game, there won’t be a game to play. What’s the point of learning to craft magical swords if no one is going to buy them? Why bother owning an NFT of a Ship if no one wants to sail it.
Hopefully, the play-to-earn mechanisms are rewarding enough to attract thousands of players from day one. Otherwise, Mirandus risks becoming an empty, almost apocalyptic world.
Final Thoughts
The potential of the Mirandus world is astounding. It’s an open world fantasy adventure that’s packed with mystery. The thought of charging into the wilderness without a map is great. Exploring uncharted dungeons looking for valuable items that I can sell for real money adds an extra layer of excitement.
At the same time, I also love the idea of owning my own little corner of Mirandus. Running a little store in a fantasy world, and growing to become a famous merchant is a unique feature we don’t see often in gaming. The fact that you can earn real, tangible currency through playing the game and contributing to the world is huge.
We can see that the development team is experienced and passionate. These are two very key attributes for building a game of this magnitude. Mirandus has massive goals and lofty ambitions. I believe there are still some issues that need to be addressed. Yet, if the team can deliver, Mirandus could become one of the most popular titles in crypto gaming.
I’ll see you in the next playtest!
Helpful Links:
Mirandus: The Greatest MMO of All Time | Overview Trailer
https://app.gala.games/games/mirandus
