As soon as a gamer cashes out an in-game asset, they realize monetary value, which is where the problem with the Securities and Exchange Commission comes in.
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The creators of blockchain game Shrapnel — an upcoming AAA first-person extraction shooter — will be cutting a part of its game for United States-based players, in order to avoid the potential ire of the country’s securities regulator.
The game, which is due to launch in early access in December, will be unrestricted for players from Europe and Asia, but gamers from the U.S. will not be able to cash out at all, Shrapnel Head of Economy Francis Brankin said in a Sept. 13 interview with Cointelegraph at Token 2049.
“They [U.S. users] can do everything every other player can do, but they can’t cash out. Because that’s what makes it a security to the U.S. player, as soon as they can realize monetary value, that’s where the problem comes in.”
He hopes the issue will be temporary and that Neon — the team behind Shrapnel — will soon enable U.S. users to bridge capital accrued from Shrapnel to their bank accounts.
The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission has seemingly been on a regulatory enforcement parade since Gary Gensler was appointed to its helm, which has prompted many U.S. cryptocurrency firms to restrict local services and look for more opportunities abroad.
〉Getting ready to extract. pic.twitter.com/kq6B07Ub97
— SHRAPNEL (@playSHRAPNEL) September 13, 2023
Shrapnel is a first-person extraction shooter set on 2038 Earth, where players scavenge for loot and attempt to extract their winnings — all the while being hunted by enemies and other players.
The game also allows gamers to build open economies and possess the intellectual property rights over in-game assets as opposed to merely creating value from the game itself, Brankin explained.
This was one of the main reasons why the firm’s CEO, Mark Long, decided to go down the blockchain route. Users can build a brand, create and then sell in-game assets from the ground up.
“User generated content is clearly a big thing,” Brankin explained, pointing to Roblox and Minecraft as textbook examples.
✦ SHRAPNEL INSIGNIA Beta is now available to the public! ✦
Create your own personalised designs and build out your unique brand!
From intricate emblems to eye-catching symbols, custom patterns and elaborate scenes – you can design whatever your imagination desires!
— SHRAPNEL (@playSHRAPNEL) June 16, 2023
Brankin said Neon chose Avalanche because of its scaling capabilities.
Shrapnel can currently process 2 million transactions per hour (555 TPS) which is sufficient for the time being but over time it’ll be easier to scale up on Avalanche, Brankin explained.
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Neon will launch an early access version of the game in December to paid users before it evolves into a free-to-play game.
While the limitations imposed on U.S. users serves as a roadblock for Shrapnel’s upcoming launch, the co-founder of Sandbox told Cointelegraph the metaverse (and gaming generally) is dying in the U.S. but thriving in Asia — particularly Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan.
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