Web3 game developers have struggled for years to capture the attention of mainstream audiences, a market that three former gaming executives say is critical to the future of the industry.
Video games have become a favorite pastime for many people around the world and have even evolved into a sport. Overall, as of 2023, the number of Web2 game players worldwide will exceed 3 billion. according to to explosive topics. Most people are considered casual gamers, who play games regularly but rarely invest a lot of time into them.
Jennifer Poulson has worked in the game industry for 18 years, including at Web2 game companies Bandai Namco (“Tekken”, “Elden Ring”, “Pac-Man”) and Riot Games (“League of Legends”). She believes that the mainstream audience is not interested in games. ‘s future is “absolutely” important. Web3 games.
Poulson, who currently serves as Vice President of Game Partnerships at Immutable Games, said in an interview with Cointelegraph, “Bringing mainstream players into the Web3 space will be crucial in the next few years.”
“However, we don’t need to attract mainstream players to Web3; we need to attract mainstream players to Web3. Instead, we need to develop games that are fun and appeal to all gamers,” she added.
Mainstream gamers aren’t particularly fond of cryptocurrencies, especially when it comes to non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Blockchain entertainment company Coda Labs freed Its 2022 Global Web3 Gamer Study found that traditional gamers don’t like cryptocurrencies or NFTs. Respondents’ feelings about them were 4.5 and 4.3 respectively (out of 10 points).
Poulson believes that working with major publishers and studios is critical to the future of Web3 games.
Because “it’s not about reaching a mainstream audience, it’s about working with publishers and studios to understand how and why to integrate Web3 elements into their games.”
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“The reality is, these are just games. Some have Web3 elements, some don’t; as long as they’re fun to play, that’s essentially what determines the success of the game,” Poulsen added.
Web2 gaming companies have also been hesitant to adopt Web3.According to the November 13 State of Web3 Gaming Report freed Game7 is a decentralized autonomous organization dedicated to accelerating the adoption of blockchain technology in the gaming sector, where six out of ten Web3 games are excluded from mainstream distribution platforms.
However, the report found some progress in integrating mainstream gaming with Web3 and blockchain gaming. The video game digital distribution service Epic Games Store lists more Web3 games every year, reaching an all-time high of 69 games in October 2023.
Can Web3 games survive without a mainstream audience?
Mainstream audiences are important to the future of Web3 and blockchain gaming, but if the majority of these players don’t make the switch, Poulson believes they will survive and likely “continue as they are today.”
related: Web3 game investors are more “picky” in the cryptocurrency winter – Robby Yung of Animoca
However, she believes that eventually all games will have Web3 elements, whether players realize it or not.
“It’s very possible that the underlying technology will evolve into a mainstream gaming world where average gamers can finally realize the benefits it offers, particularly in terms of ownership of in-game digital assets,” Poulsen said.
“Eventually, gamers won’t even know they are playing a blockchain game; Web3 elements will be seamlessly integrated into gameplay, which will result in an experience similar to playing games today.”
Daniel Paez, a former senior manager at Blizzard, a large game company (“Warcraft”, “Diablo”, “StarCraft”), also believes that due to the huge player base, the mainstream audience is crucial to the future of Web3 games.
according to According to a CoinGecko report on October 9, more than 800,000 people play Web3 games every day, regardless of market conditions. However, on average, the Web2 game Minecraft have The number of daily players exceeds 11.9 million.
Paez, the current vice president and executive director of Web3 card game Gods Unchained, told Cointelegraph that while a mainstream audience is necessary for Web3 and blockchain games to thrive, he does not believe that a mainstream audience is necessary for survival. of.
Paez believes the key to the longevity of Web3 games is to focus more on player experience rather than blockchain elements.
“Of course, this puts them in direct competition with thousands of other games, but the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages,” he said.
“The market for gamers is much larger, and you start to build a community of players who share their gaming experiences with each other, rather than a community of users who hold the same gaming assets.”
Paez said that Web3 games seeking “longer life cycles” will need a long-term mainstream audience, because selling content and experiences to players is the foundation of the game industry.
“The challenge for blockchain games is figuring out how blockchain elements can actually increase players’ perceived value of the game,” Paez said.
“The rewards of figuring this out are huge!” he added.
according to The traditional gaming market is expected to generate more than $400 billion in revenue by 2023, according to online data collection platform Statista. It is expected to continue growing, reaching $584 billion by 2027.
In contrast, the Web3 and blockchain gaming markets have yet to reach such great heights. according to The company is valued at just over $4.8 billion by 2022, according to market intelligence firm Grand View Research, and forecasts growth in the coming years.
Ultimately, Paez believes there will always be room for more “GameFi-style games,” however, they will be at the mercy of the cryptocurrency market, which is notoriously volatile.
GameFi, short for Game Finance, allows players to earn rewards in the form of tokens or NFTs. Players can then use these rewards to purchase in-game assets and cash them out for fiat currency.
All it takes is one breakthrough application
Michael Rubinelli, who has worked at Disney, THQ, and Electronic Arts, told Cointelegraph that he believes mass market adoption is critical to the future of Web3 games.
Rubinelli, who currently serves as chief gaming officer of Web3 gaming platform WAX, said that in order to attract players, there needs to be a “guiding principle” that clearly demonstrates the benefits of Web3 to Web2 developers and players.
Rubinelli said Web3 games are currently looking for such “breakthrough applications.”
“Until such a killer app emerges, legacy gaming companies will likely remain observers, waiting for guidance from pioneers,” Rubinelli said.
related: Free Web3 games are key to mass adoption – YGG Co-Founder
Everyone is speculating whether major game companies will join Web3 games. According to a 2022 Coda Labs survey of Web2 game developers, three-quarters expected to develop Web3 games in the future, but no exact timeline was provided.
Overall, Rubinelli thinks Web2 gamers are important, but he believes the key indicator of whether Web3 games will stand the test of time is the industry’s ability to achieve specific goals.
“It’s not a question of whether mainstream audiences are engaged; it’s about whether mainstream audiences are engaged. Rather, it’s about reaching a critical moment that enables all stakeholders to achieve their product and business goals,” he said.
“Even if the audience doesn’t show up, the enduring concept remains: gamers desire to own and control their digital assets.”
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