Gas Hero is the latest crypto game from Find Satoshi Lab, the studio behind the “move-to-earn” Step no app on Solana. Gas Hero launched its public beta last week, and six different Gas Hero NFT collections are now claiming top spots sales volume charts as traders buy up game characters, items, weapons, pets and more in the form of NFTs on the Ethereum scaling network Polygon.
Gas Hero’s ‘regular’ heroes alone have traded a total of over $19 million in NFT volume, of which almost $2.7 million traded in the last 24 hours, according to data from CryptoSlam. At the time of writing, this is currently the top individual NFT project during that time period, based on that metric.
Although Gas Hero is seeing a rise in NFT trading activity across its many collections, technically no one in the United States is allowed to play it. Multiple attempts to access the game on a desktop PC and mobile device showed that IT company Cloudflare was ‘blocking’ our attempts to play the game.social MMO‘ from the US
And yes, Gas Hero’s Terms of Use bar US users and gamers in 15 other regions, apparently over regulatory and possibly other legal or sanctions-related issues. Players must be over 18 years of age and are currently not allowed in the US, Ontario Province in Canada, Mainland China, Cuba, Crimea and Sevastopol, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, North Korea, Antigua and Barbuda, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia or India.
GasMo World: Dawn of Gas Hero 🦸
🎮 Gas Hero Public Beta, the Web3 Social-Strategy game from Find Satoshi Lab (@FSLWEB3) ~ makers of Web3 pioneer @STEPNOfficial ~ is now LIVE!
🪙 Dive into the game exclusively on Polygon PoS. With the GMT token fueling its momentum… pic.twitter.com/k54OFO7pDw
— Gas Hero Official (@GasHeroOfficial) January 3, 2024
In May 2022, Stepn said it was banning China-based users from its move-to-ear game to “proactively respond to relevant regulatory policies” – a decision that resulted in a Stepn token price drop, Nikkei Asia reported.
It is also likely that the province of Ontario in Canada was singled out because the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has previously said that any type of initial coin offering (ICO) could be classified as a security in that province.
Clarification was requested, an OSC representative said Declutter that NFTs may be subject to OSC’s securities rules depending on the situation, such as “the terms of the NFT, how it is marketed and sold, and how it is held,” adding that the way marketplaces deal with traders also handle “a security or derivative” of an NFT.
Gas Hero’s list of blocked countries covers many of the countries also limited from playing Ubisoft’s upcoming Champions tactics game for example, but Ubisoft shall Allow residents of US, Canada and India to play the title. However, Ubisoft has chosen to block other countries that Gas Hero does not, with the exception of Nepal, Morocco and Iraq, among others.
So why do game studios draw different lines in the sand when it comes to who gets to play their game – and who doesn’t?
Reached for comment, Gas Hero representatives did not explicitly acknowledge that the game has been blocked in the US due to regulatory concerns – or fear of potential future regulation.
Satoshi Lab Chief Revenue Officer Mable Jiang confirmed this Declutter that the studio deliberately blocks IP addresses in the US and mainland China, adding: “If the user decides to use a VPN, it is up to the user’s choice.”
A VPN, or virtual private network, is an internet privacy solution that allows users to disguise their IP addresses to appear as if they are in another country. But Jiang’s comment suggests that US users can bypass FSL’s restrictions by installing a VPN on their device. In many countries, using a VPN is legal. But in other countries this is not the case.
An FSL representative emphasized this Declutter However, Gas Hero has not been “banned” by the US government or regulators.
“Gaming and crypto asset regulations vary from country to country. Users should seek specific guidance as to whether their use of any cryptocurrency or Web3 product will violate any applicable laws,” the representative said, again without explicitly stating that Gas Hero is blocking US users due to fears of future potential regulatory action .
“FSL is working to ensure Gas Hero is available around the world, but currently access is limited in the US,” the rep said when asked point-blank if the studio is blocking the game for legal reasons.
The US blockchain gaming market is quite large. Except for one of the economically strongest countries in the world is a move that potentially leaves a lot of money on the table. A 2023 Game 7 A report shows that the US is the “most dominant market” for blockchain games and has 28% of the world’s blockchain game developers.
The Regulatory Status of Crypto More Broadly in the US has remained ambiguous– and that has led to mixed reactions from companies building blockchain products. Some, like MechaFightClub And GameStophave halted their crypto or NFT projects due to US regulatory fears.
Others, like Coin basehave worked with and fought back against regulators – and they did secured some victories as a result.
While gamers are inside Europe and other countries are trying out blockchain games largely without restrictions, Americans wanting to get involved may continue to face hurdles as game studios self-regulate to avoid potential future regulatory pain.
American gamers will have to choose whether to download a VPN or play a game that isn’t blocked in their country.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
