Once upon a time, popping a coin into an arcade machine was the height of gaming sophistication. Now, fast forward through a whirlwind journey of gaming evolution and welcome to Web3, a different dimension where players can level up their gaming experience like never before. So, get comfortable, my fellow game enthusiast. Let’s journey through the gaming time warp, shed light on the exciting potential of Web3, and share some insider tips for mass adoption.
Through the Gaming Time Machine
Step into our virtual time machine as we travel back to 1940, where it all began. Back then, video games were a simple, pay-to-play concept, much like Namco’s Pacman or Taito’s Space Invaders – popping a coin in exchange for lives in the game.
Zooming ahead to the 90s, and we meet the “freemium” era, an age where games could be downloaded for free, but in-app purchases were lurking around every corner. Whether it was a fancy new character skin or an item to give you the upper hand, the pay-to-win structure was creeping in.
Today, the gaming market is a behemoth, with a worth exceeding a mind-boggling $300B, with an expectation of a 12% annual growth rate from 2022 to 2028 as reported by Accenture and BitKraft. This figure doesn’t even consider the dazzling potential of Web3 gaming. The future might not have exploded into existence as we expected, but hey, every good thing comes with its challenges, right?
Leveling Up From Web2 to Web3 Games
Transitioning from Web2 to Web3 gaming isn’t as easy as swapping out an old console for a new one. Web3 games crave for innovation and high-quality content that fully harnesses blockchain technology beyond NFT and tokenomics. Due to the additions of tokenomics and NFTs, the inter-party relationship in Web3 games is much more complicated.
But, like any epic gaming adventure, there are bosses to defeat. We’re up against the infamous Blockchain Trilemma, high transaction fees, the GameFi trilemma, and user experience challenges. Despite these foes, the sun is starting to shine on the horizon, and the future of Web3 gaming is shimmering with potential.
Nansen’s chart below illustrates the stakeholder mapping in Web3 games.
The Dawn of a New Gaming Era
Peering into the crystal ball of gaming, we can see major movement from big-name Web2 game studios developing AAA titles in Web3. We’ve got Square Enix launching an NFT game on Polygon, Ubisoft that just announced their first Web3 game, and Sony filing a patent for time-restricted ownership of NFTs.
We’re witnessing innovation in on-chain game design, and we’re asking some big questions: What games should be on-chain? What games should be off-chain? The gaming community is daring to redefine the boundaries of on-chain gaming.
As we step into the next era of gaming, we’re eager to see the rise of Play-to-Own, Free-to-Own games or Fun-to-Play, a surge in user-generated content, and a range of diverse revenue models. Important to keep in mind that creating incentives can lubricate the imagination of players and urge them to create on a more consistent basis.
In regard to the revenue models here are 5 ideas we have identified to capture different players’ personas:
Among the next generation of Web3 games, projects will improvise new revenue streams to further accrue stakeholders to ensure scalability in both up-and-down cycles and long-term sustainability. Sure, there will be quests to complete, bosses to defeat, and challenges to face. But as we level up into the Web3 gaming world, we’re unlocking a whole new level of play. We’re evolving from mere players to creators, investors, and stakeholders in a game that’s as limitless as our imagination.
So, strap in, power up, and get ready to explore the thrilling new frontier of Web3 gaming.