A photo from "Off The Grid (OTG)" video game. Source: GunzillaGamesAvalanche-based shooter game Off the Grid has witnessed the sporadic rise of its black market where users exchange several in-game items ahead of its launch. While that is one of the aspects that blockchain gaming is supposed to solve, the game has found itself in the middle of the issue.
According to reports, the project has found itself in the middle of this situation ahead of the Avalanche-based GUNZ mainnet launch. Coming with the mainnet launch will be the trading of the project’s native token and several on-chain items. The shooter game has a bustling black market where players are now exchanging these items, sometimes for real cash.
One of the reasons why users have resorted to trading on the black market is because the game is currently stopping the players from trading their items on-chain as it continues to draw close to the launch of its mainnet. According to reports, several individuals have gathered in clans on discord servers or other groups where messages like “want to buy GUN tokens with USD” are rife.
Avalanche’s Off the Grid’s black market blossoms
Aside from users willing to purchase, others are willing to sell their items, making it a marketplace away from the blockchain, where exchanges are supposed to happen. While the game has stressed that actions like that are prohibited according to its terms of service, users are taking on the risks of getting caught. Most of them are looking to get the best items before the mainnet launches on Avalanche.
According to two of the biggest skin collectors in the game, MoneyMagician and torToro, skins will be worth more when the Avalanche-based GUNZ mainnet officially goes live. In this regard, they have shunned trading their skins over-the-counter, noting that they will be able to trade them freely on OpenSea when the time comes. However, both of them noted that they had received offers.
According to MoneyMagician, someone offered to buy his account for $60,000, but he mentioned that he was not interested in selling. “Maybe it seems reasonable right now, but I still wouldn’t sell it—because I know where these NFTs are going,” he said. Both whales presently own the highest NFT items in the game, with both of them beginning their collection from the game’s predecessor Technocore. They were then invited to the game’s close testing, which happened under a strict non-disclosure agreement.
Players shift to black markets as the mainnet draws closer
During the close testing phase, the project released rare items, giving the invited users a unique feel of what they were going to offer during mainnet. However, there were some items that were modified or discontinued, with most of them branded as ‘Legacy’ or ‘Retro’ skins of stock funds that will remain in the game.
I have received intel that the first and rarest OG OTG Pro pack has sold for $1500 OTC pic.twitter.com/VaW2O9nm4f
— meatport (@meatportmusic) February 26, 2025
According to the Director of Web3 for Gunzilla Games Theodore Agranat, the company is working on a comprehensive numbering system to help monitor the number of items minted as it approaches the mainnet. The project has announced that it is currently running a testnet of its Avalanche-based GUNZ blockchain, which means that users can trade items in its marketplace using the GUN token. However, it warned that items and tokens cannot be traded on third-party websites or exchanged for other currencies.
This development has pushed the players to acquire the best items on the black market. According to a user who identifies as H, he just bought the Pioneer, Prankster, and Anarchist sets for $3,000, noting that he intends to gift the Pioneer set to his son when the mainnet launches. Gamer Henryk Ptasznik also mentioned that he received $1,500 in Solana for his Pioneer set, noting that he fears the uncertainty the mainnet launch may bring.
Other traders will be looking to grow their items before the Avalanche-based mainnet launches as most of them believe that the more items you have, the better your chances of making money when on-chain trades begin. Gunzilla had previously mentioned a launch in Q1 2025, meaning that the project needs to act fast to meet up with the deadline as the black market for their on-chain items continues to expand.
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