Since shifting from Polygon to the Ronin blockchain in November 2023, the social farming game Pixels has experienced significant growth, establishing itself as a leading blockchain game throughout 2024.
In a recent interview, CEO Luke Barwikowski discussed the challenges, key lessons, and achievements from the past twelve months whilst setting out the company’s direction for the upcoming year.
With plans for new gameplay features and expansions in the Pixels ecosystem, Barwikowski provided insights into the game’s development and future strategy.
Adapting to a Growing User Base
Barwikowski explained that Pixels has changed significantly over the past year, driven largely by its growing user base.
To meet these demands, Pixels has focused on gathering player feedback and building it into the game’s development.
As a result, the team has implemented a more structured approach to handle community input effectively while advancing the game’s features and capabilities.
Managing the $PIXEL Economy
Central to Pixels’ work on Ronin has been managing the game’s $PIXEL token economy.
The company is aiming to reach what Barwikowski termed “net ecosystem spend,” where in-game spending consistently exceeds $PIXEL token distribution. To move toward this goal, Pixels has adopted a strategy of iterative updates, aiming to make rapid adjustments rather than waiting for perfect conditions.
A core aspect of this economic management has been developing a “smart” token distribution system that uses data analysis to allocate rewards. The system prioritizes distributing tokens to players who demonstrate consistent engagement and are more likely to reinvest their rewards back into the game.
$PIXEL’s price has fluctuated, but Barwikowski stated that the company’s focus remains on establishing long-term value. Over the last three months, Pixels has increased its monthly revenue whilst reducing daily active wallets to enhance stability. The recent Chapter 2.5 update introduced measures to address in-game token inflation, reducing daily inflation by nearly 84% to stabilize the $PIXEL economy.
Revenue in $PIXEL tokens has increased over the past month, rising from 8.1 million to 9.08 million, which Pixels attributes to a diversified revenue approach focused on creating sustainable income sources for the game.
New Features and Ecosystem Expansion Planned for 2025
Looking ahead to 2025, Pixels plans to release Chapter 3, which will add player-vs-environment (PvE) and player-vs-player (PvP) features, which have been frequently requested by players.
In addition, Pixels is preparing to expand its ecosystem by enabling players to use a single account across multiple games, allowing them to carry over achievements and reputation within the Pixels network.
Following a successful event with #BinanceBlockchainWeek2024, which drew over 230,000 users, Pixels is considering further large-scale virtual events to increase community engagement. Barwikowski noted that the team remains committed to building out new features and expanding the game’s ecosystem in the coming year.