As one of the most important ways to entertain people in the digital age, games are creating great output value. In the world of Web3, games have always been seen as a potentially important application area.
Games are often the biggest killer app on new platforms, with more than 3 billion video game players in the world today and 250 million of the younger generation set to become lifelong gamers. From the birth of video games to today, a vibrant consumer ecology has been developed around games, and games are also a huge social network with a high level of adhesion. As one of the most important ways to entertain people in the digital age, games are creating great output value. In the world of Web3, games have always been seen as a potentially important application area.
According to research by Bain, the gaming market will grow by more than 50% to more than $300 billion by 2025. As consumer demand for games continues to grow, players' requirements for gaming experience continue to increase. The combination of games and blockchain technology provides players with a new game experience, and more and more games use blockchain technology to achieve player ownership of game characters and accessories, better virtual experience and so on.
In May 2022, crypto venture giant a16z announced the launch of its first gaming Fund, Games Fund One, with a size of $600 million, and one year on, the fund has made 25 investments. Statistics presented in Cointelegraph's March 2023 Blockchain Gaming report also demonstrate the growth and potential of Web3 gaming: In addition to significant funding and gaming projects, Web3 games accounted for 49% of all on-chain transactions in 2022, and daily active users grew by 60% from 2021 to 2022, showing the growth of the user base of Web3 games and the significant potential of this track relative to other tracks.
There are many ways to classify games, which can be divided from the aspects of interactivity, playability, scalability, etc., coupled with the attributes of Web3, it can also be divided from the degree of decentralization. For example, according to the decentralization from low to high, Web3 games can be divided into optional on-chain games, half-chain games and full-chain games. The optional chain game is essentially the form of traditional Web2 game + game IP derived NFT, and does not count as a real Web3 game; Half-chain games are a common form of Web3 games, where player assets are stored on-chain, but the actual game operations are still off-chain. Half-chain games solve the problem of verifying asset ownership and asset programmability, focusing on the items and properties in the game. Full chain games are truly decentralized games, and by using blockchain instead of traditional centralized game servers, all players' data is stored on the chain, indexed and written, which gives the game durability, censorship resistance and the characteristics of the community's own development.
Traditional Web3 games
Traditional Web3 games refer to most common P2E (Play-to-Earn) games, which are usually characterized by general interactivity, simple screen, P2E effect as the core, and strong community-driven, etc. They are one of the common forms of Web3 games, and are classified as half-chain games from the perspective of decentralization. These kinds of Web3 games are not as playable as Web2 games, so they attract mainly Web3 users. Just as 8bit pixel style games still have a large audience after Unreal Engine 5, gameplay is not only about interaction and graphics, but also about narrative and community engagement; This is especially true in the Web3 space: gamers can even participate in the construction of games.
AI Rein
AI Rein is a Japanese global NFT project themed around the future world of A.I. with unique AI Motion technology that allows NFT holders to control their avatar in the meta-universe through a computer's front-facing camera. AI Rein's first NFT series is a PFP for future A.I. World Citizens. AI Rein also plans to launch a blockchain-based 2D pixel style game that will allow players to experience A.I. in a virtual world full of adventure and challenge. Technology. Players can earn rewards by pledging their AI Rein NFT, which can be used throughout the game.
Chainers
Chainers is a meta-universe game that focuses on NFT and community-driven development, where players can access the game for free, while also encouraging players to create contributions and build more content. Chainers is "Play, trade, and create", where players experience, socialize, and interact; And in which to create revenue, the fun and economics of the game are realized simultaneously.
Degen Zoo
The game, built by DAOMaker founder Chris Zaknun and former MakerDAO development engineer among others, will be developed on an ultra-low budget of just $20,000 and is scheduled to be developed in just 30 days. The game is inspired by the scam of CryptoZoo NFT. The Degen Zoo project side hopes to complete the game construction with a small amount of money and a small amount of time, proving the incompetence of Logan Paul, the founder of CryptoZoo, and satirize such meta-universe game scams that deceive investors. In addition, as a charity game NFT project, all profits from the project will go to Endangered animal charities, and one of the aims of the project is to make people aware of caring for animals and nature, through the game to teach players what happens when animals are killed or species become extinct.
Aaa game
3A games are simply games with high development costs, long development cycles and large consumption of resources. This track is very similar to the public chain, it takes a relatively long time to see the real results, for general investors, as long as the 3A game early boat, in the future will generally have a relatively good return. At the same time, 3A Web3 games will be a blockchain project with great potential to break the cycle, as long as the team of such games seriously do cost control and product development, and finally deliver a real playability, quality, and meet the characteristics of Web3 3A games, Web3 or will usher in a large number of Web2 users.
Delysium
Delysium is the world's first playable AAA blockchain game. A truly open world, vivid AI-driven and fully player-owned MMO that allows players to create a variety of personalized physical assets, narrative assets, and native AI MetaBeings. By distributing large numbers of AI-powered MetaBeings across player-created and player-owned experiences, Delysium is building immersive, supreme, and dynamically generated open-world experiences for all web3 pioneers around the globe.
Wildcard Alliance
Wildcard Alliance is a triple-A PVP game based on Polygon chain that combines real-time strategy, multiplayer online competition, and cards. It plans to build a decentralized, autonomous Web3 competitive social platform. Bring players the thrill of competition, breaking the video game exciting degree, and play and watch the boundaries. Create an evergreen competitive game that is "easy to learn, but takes a lifetime to master." At the same time, it gives players the pleasure of collecting, and it makes Wildcard an IP that people really care about, a community that people want to be a part of.
Citizen Conflict
Citizen Conflict is a free-to-play Web3 MMO shooter built by Unreal Engine 5, developed by QORPO Game Studio (formerly known as Crypto Citizen) and deployed on the BSC chain. Citizen Conflict is set in the dystopian world of the Aether Islands, where every game is a fight for survival and precious loot, with both world Bound and Battle Royale gameplay. The game itself will be completely free, and in order to enhance the gaming experience, players will be able to buy or win in-game assets in the form of digital collectibles, which are optional but not required.
Fully On-chain Game (Fully on-chain Game)
Compared with optional chain games and half-chain games, the playability of full-chain games is lower, and the early cold start and ecological positive cycle are much more difficult. However, in the medium term development, the community governance asset inflation and other aspects will be much smoother, and even a stronger ecological moat and network effect will break out.
In a truly decentralized environment, the economic system is driven by the actions and decisions of the players, rather than controlled by the game developer or a central authority. Players acquire and manage in-game assets and resources by trading, cooperating, or competing. At the same time, players can also participate in the governance of the game and make rules, to achieve the autonomy of the game world. This player-driven economy and autonomous game world gives players a richer, freer experience.
PandaFarm
Panda Farm aims to build a fully on-chain, panda-themed gaming meta-universe. Users can profit from the prize pool while participating in each contest and contest. Panda Farm is a panda game platform built around the theme of pandas, and all panda-themed games are built on the blockchain. Panda Farm aims to bring blockchain into mainstream gaming by providing a real-world simulation of pandas, combining the advantages of digital construction and cryptocurrencies to appeal to crypto and non-crypto gaming enthusiasts as well as panda lovers. In the future, players can create their own paradise in PandaFarm, summon more alien creatures to play with pandas, integrate different IP into the same world view, build their own farmland, through decentralized management of farmers' choices, farmers can lock BAMBOO tokens through custom small animal NFT.
MetaLine
MetaLine is an open, transparent and inclusive world. All the information, assets and game content in the game has been decentralized. MetaLine is a Web3 based large-scale Marine management, adventure, strategy online game, which has six system modules, including production and trading system, upgrade system, port system, combat system, NFT system, and an ecosystem. Through the cooperation and correlation between different mission systems, get rich gameplay and build your own maritime empire. With the gradual release of the mission, the built-in port system also opens the door to more users to enter the meta-universe.
Arcadeum
Arcadeum is a decentralized casino, fully on-chain and self-regulated, with a demonstrable, albeit low, but highly competitive casino advantage. Betting is facilitated by liquidity pools, through which depositors receive losses and pay out wins. With custom API3 QRNG integration, random number generation is verifiably fair.
Write at the end
Web3 games have great potential to bring new possibilities to the gaming world. Game creators should never lose sight of the core priority of games: entertainment. Similarly, acquiring assets in a Web3 game project is part of the game process and should not be the sole purpose of the user's participation in the game. So for Web3 games, focusing on P2E is not enough. At the same time, in order to achieve a true Web3 game, the game needs to be built on bottom-up protocols, with token models as auxiliary means to ensure the sustainability of the game economy. In such games, players can actually own assets and freely trade them without the control and restrictions of a centralized institution or platform.
Web3 games are likely to be one of the main ways that Web2 users will enter the Web3 in the future, as mentioned in this article, by focusing on creating games with great graphics, characters, and compelling stories, and engaging users with the gameplay itself rather than the incentive. Creating a dynamic and creative Web3 game ecosystem that can attract players for a long time can release more value of Web3 games and usher in a new round of user migration for Web3.