An IGO, or Initial Game Offering, is a new form of token placement for play-to-earn cryptocurrency projects. It is the next step after an IDO, or Initial Decentralized Offering. These token sales focus on a specific game environment and an economic system based on tokenized assets. IGOs maximize value by offering early access and rewards.

What is the Advantage of an IGO

An IGO offers potential early access to a game environment, along with rare items, exclusive early collections of images, or other perks, maximizing value through IGOs.

Before all, participation in an IGO is a way to have a high-risk, potentially high-return investment. Play to earn assets, both native tokens or other reward assets, can reach significant appreciation, especially in the case of a solid project with regular game releases.

IGO sales may also grant early access to game assets such as land plots or terrains access. Games like The Sandbox or the Decentraland environment have established this model, opening up to early adoption and the potential to apply metaverse terrains.

Whitelisting and Limits: Achieving Better Distribution

Game offerings and in-game NFT mints have learned from previous token sales. To avoid bot bidding or chaotic buying, a game may whitelist addresses before the token sale. This would also place limits on buying, to avoid the appearance of highly influential “whales”.

More IGO cryptocurrency projects offer a fraction of their entire token supply during the IGO, while preserving the rest for in-game rewards. The token distribution is thus more gradual and reaches a wider audience, while avoiding token flash sales right after exchange listings.

Whitelisting also means a project can choose the best moment to distribute tokens, to avoid gas fees. Most IGOs are still held on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, though a wider share goes through Binance Smart Chain (BSC), which has even lower barriers to access. Those IGOs also use Binance Coin (BNB) for whitelisting and token purchase.

IGO Platforms

The IGO has also altered the model of a token launch platform. Hubs specializing in IGOs have appeared, or have been modified from ICO accelerators and platforms.

Most IGO hubs are startups with their native asset. They use their influence to gather new offers and connect with potential buyers. The advantage of launchpad platforms is the demand and expectation of regular new launches, some of which may be highly successful.

IGO hubs and platforms vary in size and influence. They offer lower risks and more thorough whitelisting, helping to avoid scams from copied sites or direct messages. Another advantage is the use of a unified token for sales, which acts as an entry ticket to future sales.

Some of the most influential IGO hubs include Seedify, GameFi, GameStarter and EnjinStarter. IGO hubs exist for specific blockchains as well, and are in charge of organizing sales on those networks.

CoinGecko lists dozens of tokens belonging to IGO hubs with their specialized advantages. The best approach is to stick to the larger platforms, while avoiding almost unknown startups. On some platforms, IGOs tend to be small or host projects with little chance of producing an actual game.

Binance Launchpad: The IGO Benchmark

Binance Launchpad is not specifically an IGO platform. The tokens offered on this platform usually turn into prominent crypto influences, whatever their business model. But in the past few months, Binance, Inc. also pointed its attention to play to earn projects, and thus made IGOs a part of the mix.

Binance boosts the NFT collection sale, often marking the first step in game launches. Additionally, it hosts special offers, blind boxes, and start packages for selected games and projects. To support the growth of the industry, Binance also finances some of the best play-to-earn game developments through its dedicated startup fund.

Centralized or Decentralized?

The biggest question of IGOs is where the token will be traded after its launch. Better-performing tokens often connect with influential centralized exchanges. A listing on these exchanges enables price discovery and liquidity, which is crucial for a project’s success.

However, with so many IGOs happening simultaneously, many turn to decentralized trading. Some projects list on UniSwap or PancakeSwap, injecting liquidity to boost their native token’s price. Be cautious of illiquid tokens. Either avoid them or wait until they accumulate more liquidity. Even leading play-to-earn tokens took years to reach their current valuations.

Token First or Game First

When choosing a play to earn game, the big question is whether to choose the token-first or game-first model. On the one hand, token-first projects may fail to produce a game for years – and yet offer immediate gains if their token appreciates, maximizing value through IGOs.

Game-first projects are conservative about crypto, and will only add tokenization as an option. Project Quantum, for instance, has chosen to work as a traditional game studio, with its native token QBIT just an afterthought at this stage.

Other play to earn projects focus heavily on token ownership as a prerequisite to gameplay, item building or digital plot access.

IGOs are thus a model preferably used when looking for valuable tokens and game assets, with the potential to become the next game hit in the crypto space. Those token sales also give value to other network tokens, as they create demand and scarcity.

Investment in early or developed crypto projects is inherently risky. Game reviews are not investment advice. Investment in tokens and digital coins can lead to significant volatility. Do your own due diligence and avoid investing funds you cannot afford to lose.