StarGrid Battle Tactics has been wildly successful, extending beyond the boundaries of the permaweb to attract the attention of the wider crypto gaming space. To help paint a picture of the strategy behind its success, we caught up with its creator, David Kong.
If you’re building a project on AO Computer and looking for new users, there are some valuable lessons for you in this article.
Let’s dive straight in. To begin with, we’ll start with a quick recap of what StarGrid is all about.
A Crypto Game That Doesn't Suck
StarGrid is a 1v1 tactical turn-based game where players battle as iconic crypto heroes in a space-themed setting. The game is hosted fully onchain on AO Computer. Players can choose to play freely in practice arenas or can compete for $SMONEY (Space Money) rewards in ranked matches.
StarGrid’s slogan states, “Finally, a crypto game that doesn't suck”, and seeing the recognition it’s garnered from the crypto gaming community, we’d have to agree. We’ve actually played this game, so yes, it doesn’t suck. From the exquisite graphics and immersive music to the lovable characters and easy-paced action, it’s a gaming experience that ticks all the right boxes.
Here’s a quick gameplay video:
According to statistics revealed during Arweave Day Berlin, the game attracted 6,655 unique players within two weeks of public access, with a retention rate of 26.5% for players logging in on multiple days. This retention surpasses the 10-20% average for crypto games and even passes the typical 25% benchmark for top Web2 games.
Whether measured by sentiment or statistics, StarGrid’s launch has been wildly successful, and much of this comes down to its creator.
David Kong, Arweave Architect
When it comes to gaming founders, they don’t come more real than David Kong. Having competed in numerous Street Fighter tournaments, it’s safe to say that David knows what goes into a good game, especially in 1v1 battles.
With seven years of crypto experience, two of which were spent at Forward Research, David has blossomed into a true Arweave Architect. You can dive deeper into his background and achievements here:
It’s not every day you get to get to talk to a Street Fighter pro, so we were more than curious to know how his experience geared him up for this project.
Only Arweave: “How did your experience competing in Street Fighter tournaments help prepare you for this project? Can you identify any specific learnings you leveraged?”
David Kong: “Sure, I’d say the most important thing was knowledge of character design. Knowing that each character needs a cohesive theme, and how deeply that affects the player experience in a competitive game was a crucial learning.”
David’s passion for gaming has been a driving force in StarGrid’s development. But we’d be remiss not to mention the efforts of his team. From StarGrid’s get-go, David collaborated with another Arweave game builder, Simone from Permaverse.
OA: “What has it been like collaborating with Simone? How do you identify tasks and break down who does what?”
DK: “Simone is the best - extremely talented and hard working. It’s very easy to execute together because he’s also deeply experienced with all kinds of games. I’d confidently say that no one on the planet knows more about Unity on AO than Simone.”
David set out to make a game that would make his younger self proud, and we’re sure that he’s happy with the results he’s achieved. But the impact of his creation is spreading far and wide, capturing the attention of the broader crypto gaming ecosystem.
Breaking out Beyond the Permaweb
When StarGrid marketing began at the end of 2024, it was clear to see that this game was going to be something special. Many in the Arweave and AO ecosystem were excited to see the development updates and jumped on any opportunity to get onto the whitelist for early-stage access. But what happened next came as quite a surprise. StarGrid soon came on the radar of the wider crypto gaming community and began to rank consistently in PlayToEarn’s Top 10 listings.
Crypto communities tend to congregate within specific niches, whether that’s DeFi, NFTs, or gaming. The same thing happens with regard to blockchain ecosystems. StarGrid soon broke out of permaweb discussions and was being highlighted in broader discussions, player guilds, and gaming sessions. We were curious about this phenomenon, so we asked for David’s insights.
OA: “Partnering with Web3 gaming guilds seems to have been a key strategy for StarGrid. How did you establish these partnerships, and what role do they play in the game’s ecosystem?”
DK: “I joke that someone should make a movie about the BD campaign I went on pre-launch, haha. It was extremely unlikely that all the partnerships would pan out successfully in the way that they did, but we managed to establish relationships in many cases just through cold outreach and getting introduced to the right people at the right time. It was very difficult to earn trust and credibility from partners who’ve never heard of us before, but we’re glad the game itself left a great first impression.”
StarGrid also incorporated several other tactics as part of their awareness campaign, including a phased token airdrop, the introduction of ArNS gamertags, and a stake-to-play model, which sees users stake Ethereum-based $DAI in order to earn rewards on AO.
OA: “Many crypto gamers are used to EVM and Solana environments, and connecting wallets like Metamask and Phantom. What steps did you take to remove friction there?”
DK: “We saw the unique opportunity to leverage AO’s ECDSA support to appeal to a wider audience. We know that for consumer apps, the closer you can get to meeting the user where they are, the better. We wanted to make a crypto game that’s as easy to onboard into as any DEX.”
You can learn more about the introduction of the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) in our recent thread.
StarGrid’s Design Choices
One thing we noticed when playing StarGrid is the high attention to detail that went into the game’s creation, from the gameplay mechanics to the quality of the level design. It’s even more amazing when you realize that the game you’re playing is hosted fully onchain. That’s right, every single element of StarGrid is deployed onchain and secured permanently by Arweave. This game will live on as a testament to the creator’s efforts, including all the multimedia. The music is also produced “in-house” by Forward Research's Creative Director, JAJA. We think you’ll agree the vibes are AAA grade. This is the theme tune for Samurai BZ’s character.
StarGrid hits just the right spot of action, strategy, and chill.
OA: “You’ve built a truly immersive game that speaks just as well to a crypto audience as it does to a gaming crowd. Tell us about the process of defining the game’s mechanics, characters, and overall vibe.”
DK: “Sometimes in life, inspiration comes rushing in, and this was definitely the case for StarGrid. I can’t pinpoint exactly where all the ideas came from, but the mechanics were certainly inspired in part by Simone’s early work on “The Grid” hackathon game. I saw the opportunity to expand that format to a 1v1 game, and based the rules on Final Fantasy Tactics, one of my all-time favorite titles. The characters really designed themselves, as they’re all based on people with very big personas. You’ll see this theme continue with new characters in the future.”
StarGrid’s four playable characters: Optimos Eloon, Vitality Beauticorn, Space Emperor Tromp, Samurai BZ.
OA: “We’ve seen the success story of StarGrid, but there must have been a few hiccups along the way. Can you share some challenges you faced, or perhaps a strategy or design mechanic that needed to be dropped along the way?”
DK: “It’s been said that being a founder in crypto is like waking up every day and getting punched in the face, and this is fairly accurate. We ran into every imaginable pitfall and obstacle, and somehow managed to find solutions to all of them. Challenges were technical, financial, logistical, and layered with constant uncertainty. To some degree, this is still the case. But we move forward regardless.”
So we’ve seen what worked for StarGrid, and David has shared some of the challenges they faced. Let’s see how other AO builders can learn from these experiences.
Advice for AO Builders
David chose to launch StarGrid on AO Computer, which speaks volumes to the potential of the hyper parallel computer. With the level of detail in the game mechanics and multimedia assets stored fully onchain, StarGrid is testing the boundaries of what's possible in blockchain gaming. There’s a lot to unpack here from a founder’s perspective.
OA: “From a game development point of view, you’ve explored new territory by launching on AO. What advice do you have for creators of new or even existing Web3 gaming projects? Should they build on AO? What are the advantages, and where can they get support?”
DK: “I’d say that when building in crypto, half of your attention should be on product and technical foundations, and the other half needs to be on business relationships, alignment, operations, and marketing. You can’t realistically build without partners, investors, and ecosystem support. In that sense, the AO and Arweave ecosystem always has opportunities if you’re bringing something of value. But read the room first, understand what kind of landscape you’re walking into. Talk to Community Labs, Forward Research, and ar.io.”
The great thing about AO is that it’s a versatile and hyper scalable environment that is open to any type of computation. Before its official launch, Greg from ao Computer Club got an inside peek into the development process.
Due to StarGrid’s novelty and uniqueness, it is still something of a niche environment in crypto circles. There’s plenty of groundwork to be done in educating founders and developers about the possibilities of AO.
OA: “By breaking out to so many players who may not have yet heard of AO, StarGrid has achieved what many other permaweb projects would love to do. Are there any specific strategies that founders in the AO ecosystem could emulate? This could be for any type of project, not limited to gaming.”
DK: “Strategize around existing audiences and do your market research. You should be aware of as many of your direct competitors as possible in every big ecosystem. Learn from them, because they’ve already gone to market and probably are more refined than you. See if you can employ their tactics at a lower cost. Also, from a product standpoint, know that having feature parity with your strongest competitor is merely table stakes. To stand out, you must be better.”
For developers and founders, StarGrid’s journey offers a blueprint for building sustainable, user-centric applications that push the boundaries of what’s possible in Web3. As the game continues to evolve, its impact on the industry will likely inspire a new wave of innovation on Arweave and beyond.
Next Steps for StarGrid
StarGrid has managed to carve out attention in the increasingly competitive crypto gaming sector. But now that it’s got the Web3 gaming community’s attention, it needs to keep shipping and bringing updates.
OA: “What's next for StarGrid? Are there any updates planned, like new characters, weapons, maps, or gameplay modes? How do you see the game evolving?”
DK: “We just teased StarGrid Battle Tactics: Galaxy War, a massive expansion coming later this year! There will certainly be more characters. Look forward to more info soon.”
To finish off our chat with David, there was one final question we just had to ask.
OA: “Who’s your favorite character?”
DK: “I love all my children equally.”
Fair enough!
So there you have it, folks. StarGrid Battle Tactics is a truly awesome game, the brainchild of a passionate founder who has blended years of gaming, crypto, and marketing experience to bring to market a product that is both relaxing and exciting. It’s free to play and well worth your time. We hope to see you on the leaderboards soon. See the links below to get started:
- Play StarGrid: stargrid.ar.io
- StarGrid on X: @StarGridBattle
- StarGrid Discord: discord.com/invite/re3GYztSX5
- Delegate $SMONEY on AO: ao.arweave.net/#/delegate