Crytec has recently partnered up with multiple start ups to release their very own cryptocurrency called Crycash.

CRYCASH is the first cryptocurrency that satisfies all needs of gamers and game developers with its Ecosystem of custom-tailored services.

The company looks to pay their user Crycash for trying out their new Free to play game, Warface. Co-Founder of Crytek, Faruk Yerli is taking a unique approach in marketing his new product by cutting the middle-man and rewarding players and applying word of mouth marketing concept to grow his game.

word-of-mouth
Definition: An unpaid form of promotion in which satisfied customers tell other people how much they like a business, product or service .

Faruk Yerli mentions, “I see this as a bargain for his company compared to paying for users through a traditional marketing agency”

This is a very compelling argument as PC and console games are reproted to spend in the 10‘s of millions of dollars in advertising alone. Grand theft auto is a good example of a company that spent over $150 million on the development of Grand Theft Auto V and equally spent $150 Million to advertise and sell there game. Although this example is considered a success story as they also reported breaking even in the first couple of hours in release, not many game developers do have the luxury of building a huge IP like GTA or have the marketing capacity to support their unit sales.

With Crycash rewarding players to play in utilize word-of-mouth marketing can bring in more new users is definitely a new avenue Crytek is taking gaming and something to keep an eye on.

As advance analytics help quantify the effectiveness of traditional and modern marketing methods, Faruk Yerli feels this approach might engage players more than what they are trying currently. Crytek has many years of experience dealing with marketing agencies telling them that the cost to acquire a single user may cost around $5 - $10, but what they don’t tell Crytek is what type of user they can acquire. Creating a healthy multiplayer system requires engaged quality users and a great number of them or match making and the entire user experience gets diminished. Yerli mentions that he has bought a good number of these users but looking at the numbers these users aren’t even playing the game.

“I paid cash, and my user base increased, but my active user base did not increase. Obviously there’s a problem.”

Using blockchain technology to solve a user acquisition problem is an interesting approach as players earn money playing their game word-of-mouth might attract enough players to create a sustainable multiplayer product.

How do you spend Crycash?

Crytek’s Crycash ecosystem can be found on their website, Crycash.io where;
Playing games under the Crytek umbrella will yield players Crycash.
From there a players can exchange their Crycash with other Cryptocurrency or purchase items that support Crycash

Crytek looks to support Crycash currency in their Cryengine marketplace and all there other in - game contennt
DLC
In-game items

The competitive advantage with this approach is that currently you cannot move your gems out of your Clash Royale game, but you can theoretically move your Crycash from one game to the other, and the possibility of other game supporting Crycash can create a huge Crycash gaming ecosystem that is all support and validated through blockchain.

Crycash ICO ends January 2018. Anyone can join the ICO in the below link:

Crycash