Saga’s Gaming Blockchain Surge

Saga, a layer-1 blockchain designed primarily for gaming, has recently created significant buzz with its mainnet and token launch, propelled by a unique play-to-airdrop campaign and incentives for DeFi stakers across different networks. The excitement continues with its vibrantly named “Power-Level Over 9,000” campaign, a nod to the iconic “Dragon Ball Z” meme, unveiled in April.

This campaign partners with over 100 projects across various blockchains, including gaming and decentralized apps, according to Saga. It offers crypto tokens and NFTs from these partners to SAGA holders who actively stake their tokens within the network. On Thursday, Saga announced the completion of the first snapshot of SAGA token stakers, paving the way for the first wave of reward “vaults” to be distributed to eligible participants.

The snapshot, captured on April 26 at block 262,311, targets distributing 3 million SAGA—valued at approximately $10.2 million at the current price of $3.40—to wallets meeting the specified criteria. Eligible users include those who staked over 101 SAGA (worth over $340) or staked at least 95% of their tokens received from the April 9 genesis airdrop at the mainnet launch. Those who committed 95% of their initial airdrop are also set to receive a 4x loyalty bonus.

Saga’s strategy involves refining the eligibility criteria with the initial distributions to enhance the fairness and reach of subsequent airdrops. They announced that the claims page for these rewards would open about a week before their distribution.

From the unclaimed tokens of the genesis airdrop, which amount to more than 30 million SAGA, the first vault drop will use around 10% as incentives. The network has allocated another 110 million tokens for future airdrops and rewards.

Saga’s partnership extends across the blockchain ecosystem, involving over 100 projects like the Avalanche-based shooter Shrapnel, as well as Ethereum games like The Sandbox and Wilder World.

Positioning itself as a “layer-1 to launch layer-1s,” Saga is designed to enable projects to deploy their own dedicated chains. This structure supports a broad range of applications by integrating with other networks through Saga’s innovative “chainlets” system. Although not exclusively for gaming, approximately 80% of the projects on Saga’s testnet were gaming-related, and the network has utilized gaming competitions as a mechanism for distributing airdrop allocations.

Additionally, Saga has initiated an in-house game publishing division named Saga Origins, aiming to produce games that are “provocative, expansive, and uncompromising,” as described by CEO and co-founder Rebecca Liao.

Saga’s approach to integrating blockchain with gaming through strategic partnerships and incentivized participation outlines a robust model for nurturing an ecosystem where technology and entertainment intersect seamlessly.