The Graph sponsors this week's episode. Alex Kehaya welcomes Michael Wagner, the co-founder and CEO of Star Atlas, a space-themed video game metaverse of grand strategy, open-world exploration, territorial conquest, and political domination.
Michael became fascinated with video games as a teen in high school, influencing his career choice. He began his career as a financial analyst in an investment and portfolio management firm.
His love for video games intensified in 2013, leading him to give up his career as a financial analyst and enter the blockchain industry. He launched his first cryptocurrency company, which provides infrastructure and payment solutions for the cannabis industry.
Star Atlas, the Gaming Reality
Michael and a group of friends in 2020 developed the Star Atlas. They saw a need to integrate video games into the metaverse, allowing players to take ownership of their video game characters.
Star Atlas combines conventional game systems with blockchain mechanics in a grand strategy virtual gaming platform. With this platform, you can enjoy a futuristic experience with cinema-quality visuals utilizing Unreal Engine 5's Nanite tool.
Furthermore, it uses the Solana protocol, which provides a serverless gaming experience. On the platform, NFTs can also be used to own assets and transfer ownership, just like in real life.
The Star Atlas play-to-earn reward system is a key value driver, leveraging dual tokens (ATLAS and POLIS) and well-balanced tokenomics. In the Star Atlas network, POLIS tokens drive the ecosystem's growth and modification of game parameters. The ATLAS token is, however, a legal tender.
In addition to its unique toolkits, Star Atlas enables traditional game studios to build AAA games without starting from scratch.
Check out Michael's interview with Alex Kehaya to learn more about Star Atlas and the Solana ecosystem and his thoughts and viewpoints on the video game industry. You can download the podcast via Apple, Spotify, and other major streaming platforms.
Please follow us on Twitter to stay updated on the latest Web3 and technology news.
