Xai Odyssey Gives the Waiting Community a Path

Xai had been announced as a gaming chain, but its mainnet, token, and any fully launched game had yet to arrive. While the community waited for Final Form's open beta, people also wanted to know how they could take part now.

In the morning, the official account teased a major announcement for later that day. By evening, the narrator had told the community that teams from Xai, Ex Populus, and Arbitrum would hold a live question and answer session that night. Around the broadcast, Xai Odyssey officially began. The organizers framed it as education, rather than a prize draw: it was meant to explain to the industry that Xai was a gaming network developed with Offchain Labs on Arbitrum technology, aiming to let potentially billions of traditional gamers own and trade items from games they loved without first learning to use a crypto wallet. Tasks appeared on Zealy and Galxe, with both daily and weekly assignments. Completing them earned experience, which became Pioneer points; point rankings led to different community identities. The event had five stages. At the end of each stage, identities were assigned by ranking percentile, and anyone who kept Pioneer status through the end of stage five would receive a commemorative collectible. An official long-form article explained the full rules that night. The phrase “from bystander to hardcore champion” circulated repeatedly. The Night Watchman took tasks on both platforms and said while doing them, “At least there's something to do now.”

The waiting community now had a way to participate and an identity goal that could change with its ranking. To the narrator, this offered people a place and a concrete task before a mainnet, token, or launched game had been delivered. In the summer of 2023, the narrator felt that was already more than most projects offered. The Night Watchman had begun tasks on both platforms; whether this participation would lead to actual play remained an open question.