Web3 Gaming Has Bigger Challenges Than Crypto Winter

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When I first came up with the idea for this piece, we seemed set for a glorious Web3 summer. Blockchain gaming was the latest craze, following the NFT profile picture hype of Fall 2021. Investors were investing, millions of gamers were playing flagship games, and dozens of crypto gaming guilds were springing up to facilitate the "play to win" game. The hysteria caused whenever blockchain gaming was mentioned in conjunction with a major publisher or mainstream video game reflected the reality that nearly everyone, in public or in private, scrutinized blockchain strategies.

This hype cycle masked a series of fundamental threats to the longevity of Web3 games that have been laid bare by the “crypto winter” we currently find ourselves in. Gambling to win is suddenly widely seen as unsustainable. Rudimentary blockchain-based games stopped being fun when the numbers stopped rising. And yet, it's safe to say that few people are betting against Web3 technology and gaming for the long haul. Investment in the blockchain gaming industry has already topped $5 billion in 2022, up from $4.2 billion in all of 2021. The web3 gaming industry should not take this as a sign that the Crypto winter will be little more than a cold snap, and pray its challenges go away. While it hopes to be more than a gaming niche, Web3 gaming cannot look like it does today when it emerges from its winter hibernation.

Image Credit: Infinite Arcade

If so, the current model of Web3 gaming's siled economies and experiences will quickly become an insurmountable barrier for the big game. majority of the approximately 3 billion daily gamers worldwide - for whom high friction equals low enjoyment. So while investment in blockchain gaming remains strong and awareness of it is widespread, there is a lot of work to be done before mainstream adoption can follow. It is clear that blockchain gaming needs to evolve by offering fun, ease and choice to fit the mass market.

Scaling Web3 Games

The financialization of various elements of the game, and more importantly, of people's time, has undoubtedly created room in the game for new types of players and even people not -players such as investors and player guilds. . Any successful blockchain game model will therefore undoubtedly include elements of investment and economic ownership. But the most important thing is to drive mass adoption. The blockchain game that succeeds with average gamers (aka "normies") will also become the largest embedded Web3 on Earth.

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