The adoption of Web 3.0 in general is slow. This is to be expected since a great deal of development is required. Within this framework, we have Web3, as described by Gavin Wood. It is something that is becoming of great interest to the world of gamers.
Gaming was always an industry that seemed to align with Web3. After all, gamers are accustomed to tokens. In game assets are nothing new to these individuals. They are also use to dealing with virtual currencies, operating within the economy of the game.
Naturally, the idea of ownership is limited. For the most part, gamers are at the mercy of the companies, at least with their assets. Rarely can they be moved elsewhere. It is a locked in ecosystem.
In other words, exit the game and your assets are not available.
Web3 promised to change this. While there is still great potential, the approach thus far failed miserably.
That is likely changing as the big players are entering.
Web3 Gaming Skyrocketing?
The biggest challenge so far is the Play2Earn model. It is a total failure. In fact, this is simply in line with the Web 3.0 cancer we see.
So far the focus is on earning. We see many variations on this throughout Web 3.0 development. Everything is about earning. Within gaming, along with other applications, this essentially led to nothing more than Ponzi schemes.
This is a major issue when you consider the premise of Web 3.0. Earning has become the main focus instead of the concept of ownership.
Here is one of the basic tenets that goes back years but it was a foundational idea of Web 3.0.
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This is naturally focused more on social media and content creation. However, the essence of the message is the same.
Web 3.0 is about ownership. This is where gaming might be taking a different turn.
We are seeing the bigger players entering the ring. This is going to cause a rapid advancement of things, where scaling probably becomes the standard.
According to a recent report by CoinGecko, 29 out of 40 of the world’s largest video game companies are investing in web3 gaming, including Microsoft, Tencent, Sony, and Nintendo. It includes investing directly in web3 gaming projects, actively engaging in blockchain game development, and hiring for blockchain-related roles. Epic Games, an Esports pioneer, is also riding the web3 gaming wave with plans to introduce at least 20 NFT games to the Epic Games Store in 2024 alone.
This does not mean it all will be smooth sailing. We are faced with many of the same issues. Larger companies, however, could alleviate this somewhat by focusing upon building solutions.
User Experience
What is the biggest complaint about Web3 gaming?
From what I can see it boils down to the fact that the games are boring. Basically they provide a poor user experience. This is, naturally, after you get past the Ponzi schemes, rug pulls and scams.
There is a learning curve with everything related to cryptocurrency. This is a problem for the entire industry, one that has not really been resolved. Developers have not latched onto the fact that ease of use is crucial. It appears they expect the masses to adjust and meet them at their level.
It isn't going to happen.
Can the major companies "dumb" things down to the point where the masses can participate?
Despite the undeniable groundswell, web3 gaming must overcome additional challenges to scale for mass market adoption. For non-crypto-users, the barriers to entry remain prohibitively high with complexities such as integrating web3 wallets and learning about self-custody best practices beyond the reach of the average gamer. Many web3 games struggle to gain traction due to high fees and high latency from the underlying blockchain architecture, and game developers suffer from a lack of quality analytics to gain visibility into their on-chain game economies.
These are some of the challenges.
It remains to be seen if the gaming companies can overcome the hurdles. However, they tend to excel at creating a user experience that draws in lots of gamers. Here is where they have a leg up (leaving aside the money they have access to).
Mass Explosion
Even though we are dealing with centralized entities, there could be a massive explosion due to this.
What happens if hundreds of millions of people are introduced (and educated) about Web3. Honestly, the best way to learn about something is to be involved. Anyone who is using cryptocurrency cannot help but to learn about it.
In game assets could be showing up in the form of NFTs. This means that people will be exposed to swapping them along with wallet security. Entry into the likes of Bitcoin or Ethereum could be possible through these assets.
Gaming can be a gateway into the entire system of virtual assets.
What is interesting is these games can follow the same network effects are the rest of the digital world. This means that we are looking at the potential of assets increasing as games become more popular.
Here is where the foundation of wealth building enters. Those who are able to acquire specific assets could end up some nice holdings in their wallet. With entry into the larger market, this could be used for other assets.
Instead of a Ponzi or pump and dump, we see some well grounded fundamentals driving things. Naturally, if the game is awful and nobody likes it, then the assets are going to be pretty worthless. So far, this is what Web3 gamers are accustomed to.
The major players will enter with a different mindset. They might be self focused but make no mistake, they know how to create successful games.
So far, this appears to be lacking in Web3.
Does that mean the bus left for smaller players? Not at all. However, it is going to get a bit more difficult.
That said, this could uplift the entire system.