Splinterlands: What's that?

If you haven't seen the announcement, you might think this is a new game on Steem (since we are on the Steem blockchain and we mostly talk about them).

But no, it isn't. If you play Steem Monsters, but haven't seen the announcement, that also might ring the bell. What am I talking about? It's quite obvious: you'll associate the word 'splinter' with Steem Monsters immediately!

So, we will have a gradual rebranding of the game everyone talks about on Steem: Steem Monsters will slowly transition to the name and brand of SplinterLands, and the entire interface will be redone.

The fact Steem Monsters changes its name can be regarded as a move to stop being associated with Steem, especially since Steem Monsters (or rather the future Splinterlands) will integrate more with the Tron blockchain and its users, as annouced.

But Steem Monsters team made sure to clear this up and state that they are and will remain tied up to Steem blockchain:

We want to be very clear, however, that in no way is Steem Monsters leaving the Steem platform, or even reducing our dependency on the Steem blockchain in any way. The exact opposite is true, in fact, as we are using this as a mechanism to promote the Steem blockchain to the wider crypto and blockchain community.

I have to say I agree this rebranding is necessary for Steem Monsters to grow beyond the borders of Steem, and at the same time to bring in new accounts to Steem as players or investors.

When the game was called "Steem Monsters" is was probably to emphasize its dependency to the Steem blockchain and the strong ties to its community, but when we think of marketing the game, the first question that is complicated to answer without turning people away is "What is Steem?". The second (or maybe the first) is: "Is it Steem or Steam?" Hmm, Steam Monsters, that already changes perspective compared to what the game is really about.

Splinterlands integrates with the story of the game much better and so, it's preferable from the marketing standpoint.

At the same time, it is neutral regarding a blockchain, even if it is clearly run on the Steem blockchain. But without having 'Steem' in its name, it's much easier to be marketed to other crypto communities and blockchains.

Therefore the surprising future integration with Tron and probable influx of new players/investors (by the way, they will need to create accounts on Steem to play or invest in Steem Monsters, so nothing changes in this regard).

It's likely more will follow, because the roadmap for the game is impressive.

Steem Monsters will also benefit of a crowdfunding campaign on the platform ran by one of Tron's top block producers, SesameSeed.

It seems inevitable that Steem Monsters (or rather Splinterlands) will be taking off. And yes, it's possible, even if we already know or think it has reached considerable heights.

If you haven't joined Steem Monsters, not all time is lost. You don't have to be a gamer to be interested in this project. Think as an investor.

Here's my referral link. I'd appreciate if you'd use it if you join (yes, I don't play SM from my main account, but you can do as you prefer, I've seen plenty people use their main accounts):
https://steemmonsters.com?ref=ga-sm