If there’s one industry that’s primed to open the floodgates to the Web3 world, it has to be video games. It’s an industry that’s home to millions of enthusiastic players globally, and most of them are already familiar with things like in-game currencies, buying and selling items.
Most importantly though, gamers are quite prepared to spend a significant amount of time exploring new concepts and embracing innovation.
The video games industry has already been targeted by blockchain developers, and play-to-earn games are not a new thing. They burst onto the scene during the days of the coronavirus pandemic, making headlines around the world for providing stuck-at-home gamers with the opportunity to make some extra cash.
The only problem with blockchain games like Axie Infinity was that they weren’t all that fun to play. The dull game mechanics and poor-quality graphics meant that the only real incentive to play the game was financial, and as its Ponzi-like tokenomics model became apparent, the prospect of meaningful rewards also faded away, resulting in a mass exodus of players moving onto better games.
Shock & awe
Fans of AAA-style video games often voice the same types of complaints about Web3 games, labeling them as “rubbish”, “scammy”, “spammy” and “expensive”, and many like to argue that gaming studios only want to leverage blockchain as a means of extracting more value from players. Others argue that crypto is “too complicated”, with the bother of creating and setting up a wallet and properly securing it being just too much hassle for most gamers.
But despite these criticisms, many of which do seem justified, there are reasons to think most gamers could come around to the idea of blockchain-based games. After all, the appetite for secondary marketplaces for video games is booming, which shows that players do recognize the value of in-game items. It’s not uncommon for players to see gaming accounts for popular games listed for sale on gaming forums, and digital currencies are very much a part of the furniture.
For instance, Roblox boasts over 70 million daily active users and in 2022 said it was generating more than $7 million per day from sales of Robux, a digital currency that can only be used to buy and sell items in the Roblox ecosystem, with zero value outside of it.
These realities suggest that the gaming industry is there for the taking, and Web3 game developers can win them over with a simple strategy based on the idea of “shock and awe”.
First, developers need to “shock” gamers by providing real value with their games and their in-game currencies and tokenized assets. If blockchain games can provide enough value in the shape of rewards to make a difference in people’s lives, they can potentially shock millions of gamers into playing them each day.
This can be made possible by designing more stable tokenomics systems that ensure value is recycled back into the game. With a healthy economy up and running, games will be able to become much more ambitious, hosting tournaments for elite players with potentially life changing prize pools for the winners. To do this, they’ll need to ensure their games are fun to play, meaning they provide the same high-quality gameplay as today’s biggest and most addictive AAA games, enticing players to never give up.
By shocking players with lucrative rewards, Web3 games will then be able to focus more on the “awe”, demonstrating the other, less discussed benefits that blockchain can bring. We’re talking about the potential for greater inclusion, with players able to participate in governance and influence the development of games, resulting in faster innovation. We’re also talking about the possibilities for more rewarding affiliate programs, more security and greater transparency and fairness with provably random outcomes.
Big prizes and valuable assets
It’s encouraging to see that some Web3 gaming platforms already have some of the pieces of the puzzle in place. Take Funtico, which is an incentivized gaming platform that hosts a growing library of enjoyable games noted for their addictive gameplay.
Funtico sets itself apart with its regular organized tournaments that invite the best players in specific games to battle one another for the chance to win some highly lucrative prizes. In the first ever tournament for its flagship game Formula Funtico, a high-octane racing game, Funtico gave away more than 100,000 USD in prizes to competitors, as well as other incentives like the opportunity to design a Go-Kart that would later be integrated into the game.
By hosting regular tournaments with such significant prize money, Funtico also offers players a sense of prestige, and in this way it can build a more engaged and loyal community of players who are determined to make themselves known.
Meanwhile, the metaverse-based gaming world known as The Sandbox is a prime showcase of the unique benefits of asset ownership. As a virtual world, The Sandbox allows players to buy, sell and develop parcels of virtual land, and monetize them in different ways. The options are virtually limitless – for instance, an artist can snap up some land and build a virtual art gallery within the metaverse, where they can exhibit their NFT-based artworks, charge for access, and sell their most beautiful works of art to willing buyers.
Players can also create their own mini-games within The Sandbox, build a virtual mansion and host parties and other online events, and more besides. Without blockchain, this kind of asset ownership and crypto-based trade simply wouldn’t be possible.
A gateway to mass adoption
Tie all of this in with compelling, or better yet, addictive gameplay, and we have a winning combination that can deliver long-lasting value to players for months and years to come.
Video games represent the perfect vehicle through which we can onboard the masses into Web3, and recent developments suggest that the blockchain industry is well aware that it’s an opportunity it cannot afford to miss.
