BGA’s Key Takeaways from Game Developer Conference 2023
At the cutting edge of gaming technology and developments, GDC 2023 has been an action-packed event. It was exciting to see that web3 has made a noticeable appearance at this year’s conference, with talks, booths, and activities bringing blockchain to the traditional gaming sector.
As part of the Blockchain Game Alliance’s mission to raise awareness of the benefits of blockchain for gaming, we hosted a booth in collaboration with Venly, one of the BGA members, where members of the Alliance showcased web3 games and infrastructure projects. The purpose of the booth was to gain visibility and raise awareness of the benefits of blockchain for gaming through live demos, discussions, and networking.
Wrapping up this year’s event, here are some key takeaways from GDC:
- Immutable-X, as they announced their partnership with Polygon to launch Immutable zkEVM, powered by layer2 chain.
When showcasing the latest games on Immutable, Co-founder and President Robbie Ferguson commented: “The vision…is one where you don’t have to add the prefix ‘web3’. These are simply games where you get digital assets that, in time, players will come to expect.”
In addition, Immutable released further exclusive updates such as Immutable Passport, an innovation on custodial wallets, which allows users to sign up with an email and password. Players can use the same wallet and funds across games, bridging liquidity between games and rollups to create a one-stop shop for players.”
- In a mammoth keynote entitled the State of Unreal, Epic Games revealed their latest updates to a room for eager listeners. Unveiling Unreal Editor for Fortnite to provide creators with assets and tools that make creating experiences and publishing experiences more exciting than ever. In addition, Epic announced Creator Economy 2.0, which will enable users to receive a 40% net revenue split for generating content. “There are over 600 million users in these virtual worlds, said Tim Sweeny, Epic Game’s CEO. This revolution is happening right now, and we see this as the next evolution of games.”
- The web3 presence was much more significant than the previous year, with booths, panel discussions, and keynotes discussing various blockchain game-related topics. While there is still some hesitation from web2 gaming professionals, there is a lot more curiosity and enthusiasm around what blockchain has to offer for the advancement of gaming.
Juan Perez, Co-founder of reNFT, one of the BGA members and attendees, observed: “Web3 was not at the forefront of everyone’s mind at GDC, but you could tell most people were crypto / web3 curious! About 15% — 20% of all booths were web3-related! In my opinion, the games industry has been stagnant for quite some time. Web3 is giving gaming some much-needed innovation that will translate to a positive impact for all gaming.”
- Web3 game studios showcasing at GDC were working to close the user gap by experimenting with launching web2, freemium games that enable users to play games that include optional blockchain elements. This way of onboarding players slowly acclimatizes and engages players to start utilizing web3 options, such as wallets and digital asset ownership, to capitalize on the advantages of blockchain technology.
- AI and VR received much attention and were words on everyone’s lips. There was a lot of discussion on how it can benefit content creation, help game development and create a more engaging user experience. Unity also announced the development of Unity AI, which will enable the creation of scenes using descriptions via AI-assisted game development tools.
- Elyssa Goldberg, Head of Growth at Powder, commented:
“Imagine saving game designers & developers countless hours of creation & editing time, so they can focus on what’s really important. The AI revolution is here — it’s generating in-game items like swords and potions with Scenario, liquids with Zibra, 3D assets with Sloyd, in-game NPC creation, and in-game dialogue, and even AI-powered highlight & montage creation from a platform like Powder. The only thing missing is AI-assisted game mechanics and economy design — maybe at GDC 2024. This is just the beginning!”
With an abundance of exciting gaming industry news, as well as innovative developments and solutions to integrate blockchain, Flavien Defraire, Director of Global Development for the BGA, commented:
This year, GDC had a much larger web3 presence, with more actors from the space. In the previous year, we saw that web3 presence was mainly the well-known layer1 chains, and booths largely focused on blockchain infrastructure. This year, we saw more focus on gameplay and cool games, which is exciting for the future of the blockchain gaming sector
In addition to the booth, the BGA hosted two outstanding side events. Seeing the energy and enthusiasm of everyone who attended and showed their commitment and dedication to advancing the blockchain gaming space was awesome.
Our breakfast event, co-hosted with Cronos, was well-received, with a great turnout from both the web3 and web2 gaming communities. The panel discussion centered on ‘A new frontier of blockchain games: Fun first, followed by ownership and autonomy.’ An expert panel joined the BGA; Ella Qiang, VP of ecosystem & partnerships, Cronos Chain — Kit Lau, Co-founder of D.G Pals — Stefan Colins, Head of Marketing & Community, Venly — and Nick Vale, Founder and CEO of reNFT.
The BGA is committed to raising awareness of blockchain games and infrastructure and giving our members visibility through on and offline events. Our presence at GDC enables our members to showcase their products at our booth, connect with industry professionals and receive valuable feedback on their products.
This year, we hosted several members over the course of the event: Infrastructure/blockchain solutions: Venly, reNFT Labs, Pacific Meta, Telescope Labs, Soulbound, Ready Games, Spaceport, and Chainsafe.
Games: Geopoly by Widow Games, WorldShards by LowKick Games, and Aradena by Litoja Labs.
Side events in collaboration with The Sandbox, Horizen Labs Ventures, Mirage Labs, and breakfast with Cronos.
About the Blockchain Game Alliance
The Blockchain Game Alliance is committed to promoting blockchain within the game industry. We aim to spread awareness of blockchain technologies and encourage adoption by highlighting their potential to foster new ways to create, publish, play, and build strong communities around games.
The BGA provides an open forum for individuals and companies to share knowledge, collaborate, network, create common standards, and establish best practices.
Read the GDC Newsletter here.
If you would like to find out more about the Blockchain Game Alliance and our activities, you can follow the links below:
