It’s Time for Web2.5 Gaming
Back in 2021, the gameplay of Web3 games was just clicking a few buttons and earning project tokens. Web3 games were DeFi products wrapped as a “game”. Lately, we’re seeing a shift. Web3 games are more like Web2 games but with blockchain and other Web3 features running in the background.
Is this what Web2.5 gaming is? Here’s our take.
Web2, Web3 and Web2.5 Gaming
From classic arcade-style games to immersive open-world and action/adventure games, the world of gaming has come a long way since its inception. As technology advanced, the gaming industry continued to push the boundaries in every aspect. Web3 games now offer multiple upsides to developers and players compared to Web2 games. Before we get into this, let’s be clear on what Web1, Web2, and Web3 mean in the context of games.
Web1 games as we may call them are single-player games where players play with themselves. In Web1 games like Pacman, a player’s goal is to beat their own top score or of the arcade.
Web2 games introduced interaction with other players with the help of the internet. Call of Duty is an example of a Web2 game where a group of friends or strangers team up to play. These multiplayer games feature customization through in-game items, rankings and achievements to make the players competitive. Due to this, communities were formed around Web2 games and allowed developers to build sustainable games.
Web3 gaming is the latest iteration and enables true asset ownership and interesting economic models. These new-gen games use blockchain technology to record events, NFTs to represent the ownership of in-game items and cryptocurrencies for native purchases, rewards and community governance. Web3 games have economies built within them to reward the players for their time, resources and skills.
And we’ve been hearing about Web2.5. This can be seen as bringing the best of both Web2 and Web3 together in one place. Web 2.5 focuses on gameplay & building games that are fun to play. Web3 aspects, like currencies and NFTs, are added as an additional layer on top.
What is Driving the Shift to Web2.5?
Fun & Sustainability
In the past, the gameplay of Web3 games usually only included a couple of clickable actions, which let the users stake their NFTs and earn tokens. Most of the early Web3 games followed a similar style of gameplay, with low-quality graphics and minimal interactions from the players.
The overall goal of Web3 gaming used to be earning tokens rather than having fun. In this model, players are exposed heavily to market conditions. As the tokens depreciated, players (speculators) vanished too, making the growth of these web3 games unsustainable.
Market to Explore
As these early Web3 games were designed for speculators rather than players, the target audience was small compared to Web2 gamers.
Statista report suggests in 2022, the total number of video game users was 3.03bn, and among them, 1.75bn were mobile gamers. In comparison, there are around 175 million wallet addresses on Ethereum (as of writing), where the majority of popular Web3 games exist. The ratio of Ethereum wallets to mobile gamers is one to ten. As the data shows, Web3 games haven’t even scratched the surface of the true gaming user base.
But what is needed to target this massive user base? Engaging, fun, sustainable games. The benefits of web3 can be of interest to this user base, but they play games to have fun. And that will always be the priority
Preference for Control vs Decentralization
Decentralization is one of the core ethos of web3. A lot of the web3 games touted decentralized governance as a key USP of their games. But how critical is decentralization? For traditional gaming studios, control is also important — control on the content, the monetization channels, the LiveOps, and the IP. Web 2.5 may offer a middle-ground. With Web2.5, developers can retain control over critical aspects of the game. At the same time, they can leverage NFTs to involve the community more in specific decisions (e.g., which hero/skin should be launched in the next season).
How Would Web2.5 Gaming Look Like?
More Accessible
Web2.5 gaming can be an effective segue to help web2 gamers get a taste of blockchain technology. Current blockchain games struggle with multiple UX challenges — wallet set-up, transaction signings, need to visit multiple sites. But massive advancements in blockchain infra & dev tooling are making games more accessible. For e.g., smart contract wallets allow users to sign-up with emails / social media. This accessibility boost is a boon for the growth of Web 2.5 games.
On top of this, the free-to-play model can help break barriers to entry, allowing traditional gamers to try out the game and invest once they’ve seen the value in the gameplay.
Growth in Web2.5 Mobile Games
As Web2.5 games become more accessible, mobile games are likely to be where the value lies in the next few years. Statista reports that mobile gaming is the biggest segment in video games, with a market volume of US$286.50bn in 2023 and expected to reach $376.70bn by 2027. Mobile games also don’t have the entry barrier of needing gaming hardware that usually exists for PC gamers. Web2.5 games may have more presence in this market in the near future as it offers a unique opportunity for fast adoption.
Reduced Exposure to Market Risks
In the traditional gaming industry, LiveOps and monetization methods have been a cornerstone of the business model. Liveops refers to ongoing support for a game, such as updates, events, and customer service, which can keep players engaged and coming back for more. Monetization methods, such as in-game purchases and subscription models, allow game developers to generate revenue and continue to support and develop their games.
On the other hand, Web3 games take a different approach to monetization and rewards. These games primarily use tokens to compensate players for their time, resources spent and skills. Tokenization offers unique benefits, such as enabling players to own in-game items, make passive income and allow for decentralized marketplaces. However, solely relying on Play-to-Earn will expose players to volatility, and players disappear when the token value depreciates.
Web 2.5 games will focus on effective LiveOps & traditional monetization — only leveraging tokens for opt-in rewards and community governance. This will reduce the exposure to market conditions and drive higher sustainability.
Differentiation
By delivering engaging gameplay, Web2.5 games will resemble and compete with Web2 games. A challenge that arises with these new Web2.5 games is the issue of creating unique and differentiated game experiences that set them apart from traditional Web2 games.
A Web2.5 game that is heavily inspired by a popular Web2 game like World of Warcraft and adding merely NFTs wouldn’t convince traditional gamers.Gaming studios need to provide a unique experience to the players to compete with Web2 games.
We could see Web2.5 games experimenting with hybrid genres by merging different genres in a single game, like Sparkadia, a blend of MOBA and FIFA. These hybrid genres would also potentially improve the token utility and value to the token holders. There is also an opportunity for IP partnerships with popular NFT brands to bring fresh and exciting content.
Easier and Cheaper Development of Web2.5 Games
The cost of game development has been decreasing over time with the advent of game engines and tools. Due to this, the efforts and time required to implement the Web3 features have significantly reduced. Also, the use of NFTs can help offset development costs as they provide a way for developers to monetize the game through the sale of unique in-game items or experiences.
How Mirage Helps This Future Become Reality?
At Mirage, we help game studios build better, sustainable Web2.5 games that seamlessly embed Web3 features using the Mirage SDK. Meta Apes, a win-to-earn MMO strategy game, is one of our first successful ventures. The game has gathered over 400k players and had over 38.9k UAW (30D) as of April 15, 2023. Meta Apes was also ranked as the sixth most used dApp on BNB Chain in 2023 by DappBay.
We also have a promising lineup of games set to release soon. Starfall Arena fits the definition of a Web2.5 game well. The AAA-quality MOBA will cater to both Web2 and Web3 crowds with top-notch graphics and fast-paced gameplay. Starfall Arena is a free-to-play game that will have Web3 features as an opt-in and uses NFTs to provide new experiences through a meta-game.
To help with the discovery of these Web2.5 games, we are building the #1 destination for discovering web3 games, socializing & trading collectibles for the gaming community, Mirage Plaza. With a focus on gameplay features rather than market prices, we want to help web2 gamers find these fun new games and make informed decisions about what to play and support.
We hope you enjoyed this article. Check out the website to learn more about Mirage. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn for updates.
