What is an IGO (Initial Game Offering) and How Do You Participate in It?

Last time we spoke about a new trend in the crypto industry - Play 2 Earn / GameFi projects.

In this article, I’d like to take you through the new phenomenon that’s connected to it - IGO.

This is an absolutely new phenomenon and there’s not so much information about it on the internet yet. Though many of the projects I work with are planning an IGO and I decided to write about it. So I’ll try to make a short guide about what an IGO is and how to benefit from this new opportunity.

How an IGO differs from an ICO?

An IGO is broadly similar to an ICO. The big difference lies in what you invest in: a blockchain game. You can also invest here before the start of a project.

The investment is used to develop the game. Many IGOs run through a launchpad, a platform that facilitates the entire IGO. How the IGO is set up depends a bit on the platform. This can often be done by purchasing tokens from the launchpad first. You can invest this in the launch pool of a project. To participate, you lock the native tokens in this pool. After launch, tokens and winnings are often released in stages.

An important difference in the contribution of tokens is that some IGOs work with a fixed number of tokens (fixed tokens) that you have to buy or a system with tiers. You can enter with different numbers of tokens. There is a reward system attached to the tiers. The bigger the investment, the higher the reward.

It is often the intention that you hold the purchased tokens for a while, staked. Rewards are usually associated with the time you hold tokens. Holding the tokens keeps the price of the token stable.

The tokens can also sometimes be used to control the governance of the blockchain game. Furthermore, an IGO can proceed through a number of rounds. As an early adopter, joining the first round comes with many advantages and of course also more risks because this is at an earlier stage.

A stake in the game may be by means of a draw or guaranteed allocation (token allocations).

Looking for interesting IGOs, you may have come across the term - IAO. IAO stands for Initial Asset Offering. Early adopters can buy assets instead of tokens or coins. For example, you can get a house for your investment, or an important weapon in the game. The investment that you have to make for this is often smaller than with an IGO. This makes an IAO sometimes more attractive for novice crypto investors.

IGO Risks

There are also risks involved. One of the risks is that a game will not get off the ground. The developers have great plans, but the game doesn't work properly, or people just don't play it.

And of course, it is also possible that it is a scam, those behind the game raise a lot of money with some nice stories and then disappear. This happened a lot of times with ICOs previously. Although you can never say exactly whether an investment through an IGO will pay off, you can protect yourself against risks as much as possible. You can do this by looking closely at the project and how the IGO is organized.

Here Are Some Things to Keep in Mind with an IGO

The launchpad is very important for the success of an IGO. Are there many projects here that are achieving their goal in crowdfunding? In how much time was a project able to achieve this?

Whether your investment pays off, of course, strongly depends on how the project is put together. For example, does it have a good action plan with a clear roadmap?

Who are the people behind the game? Have they developed multiple projects and are they seasoned gamers who know what they are talking about?

A community is also important. If there is already a large group of people who are thinking along and looking forward to the launch of a game, this has a better chance of success.

Who are the investors and partners of the project? It’s great if the project has big names on board among investors and partners. These are well-known funds, angel investors, platforms, and companies that also confirm their involvement.

Where can you find IGOs?

First of all, it’s possible to look for projects on the internet. Just check the hashtag #IGO on Twitter and you will find lots of emerging projects there.

Another option is to use special services like Play2Earn Club or GameFi Hunters - they publish really interesting projects, maybe not that often, but the benefit of this option is that it’s already chosen by moderators.

Also, you will find interesting projects on so-called launchpads. These platforms facilitate IGOs of project developers. There’re general launchpads that facilitate the funding of all kinds of blockchain projects. An example of this is Polkastarter. In my next article, I will write more details about the main IGO Launchpads. Here’s a shortlist of some of them:

Also, some of the projects are launching on big and well-known platforms like CoinList.

Conclusion

The blockchain game industry is developing at a rapid pace in 2021 and IGOs are a new opportunity to benefit for both game developers and game lovers. Despite the fact that Initial Game Offerings can be a great way to get into a promising project early on, it’s still important to analyze projects and remember about risks. The phenomenon is still very young and risks are quite high.

Hope this article will help you to take your first safe steps toward IGOs!

If you want the latest updates and research about crypto, GameFi, and the NFT industry and to participate in different crypto contests and activities - Follow me on Twitter.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about crypto or you are a Crypto / GameFi / NFT project and want to know more about how to promote your project, you can always contact me via Telegram (@baloyan)

Check out my previous articles at HackerNoon:

This article is part of The Gaming Metaverse Writing Contest hosted by HackerNoon in partnership with The Sandbox.

Submit your #gaming-metaverse story today for your chance to win up to $2000.