Web2 vs. Web 3 games, what’s the difference?
Web 3.0 games are on the rise. Many gaming studios have already started to experiment with blockchain technology. We’ve seen the likes of Ubisoft, Square Enix, and many others make their first steps into the blockchain, but why? What’s the benefit for gaming studios on the blockchain? What’s in it for the players? What makes Web3 games different from their Web2 counterparts?
Traditional gaming vs. Blockchain gaming
Let’s start by taking a look at the players in traditional video games. Good games are rarely free, and players have to make an initial investment (in most cases, up to $60 for AAA games). Another factor is the system requirements and in the landscape of the past few years, acquiring a proper GPU at a reasonable price was impossible. Last but not least, in-game ownership is a mere illusion, as players are never the owners of game assets.
All of this changed with the rise of blockchain gaming. Blockchain games utilize blockchain technology and incorporate the use of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This gives them a great advantage over traditional games as it provides players with true ownership over their assets and allows them to own, buy, sell and trade in-game items with other players.
The rise and fall of Play-to-Earn
Blockchain games started out with the Play-to-Earn model, which features a rather high barrier to entry. This meant that in order to play, gamers have to pay upfront a certain sum, similar to Web2 titles from traditional gaming. The added benefit is that they can then, at least hypothetically, earn that money back and even gain a positive return. The high barrier to entry of this model prevented many players from joining blockchain gaming, causing developers to find a solution.
Ever since then, the industry has evolved, and it’s now ditching the old model in favor of free-to-play Play-and-Earn titles. Many of the blockchain games are essentially free, and they’d soon rival their traditional counterparts in terms of quality. On top of that, they’ve also made some notable changes to the long-term sustainability of their ecosystems.
Blockchain gaming pros
Some advantages of blockchain games over traditional games for players include :
- True ownership — Thanks to blockchain tech and NFTs, gamers can have real ownership of the assets they use in the game.
- Secondary market value — Assets in traditional games are stuck within the title, and players can’t extract value from them. On the blockchain, there’s an entire market for NFTs of all types.
- Community governance — Something we have never seen in traditional gaming is community governance. Through the blockchain, users can directly have a say in the future development of their favorite game.
- One profile for all — Creating a new profile for separate games can be tedious. Blockchain games solve this by allowing players to authenticate with their wallet, which also holds all their digital assets.
- On-chain history — Assets on the blockchain can be traced all the way back to the moment they were minted, making it possible to verify attendance in certain events and various achievements in-game.
- Easy payment through Web3 — Thanks to the infrastructure provided by blockchain tech, payments are easy and seamless. This makes it easy to distribute winnings from tournaments, and the whole process can be automated through smart contracts.
The list is by no means a complete one, but it already shows a clear difference and the player-centric approach of Web3 gaming. It becomes clear that blockchain games have some solid advantages for gamers. It’s only a matter of time before this knowledge becomes more common and attracts a wider audience.
More for the creators
But what about creators and gaming studios? There are numerous improvements on the development side. Thanks to NFTs, creators get to enjoy lifetime royalties from their work:
- More ways to monetize — One of the biggest advantages for gaming studios is that it’s much easier to monetize from the players. Why? Because players are already incentivized to purchase assets as they become true owners and have secondary market liquidity.
- Interoperability — This one is still far away, but in a perfect utopia, assets from one game will be free to use in another game. Currently, there are many technical obstacles that prevent true interoperability, but there’s most certainly a way to make it happen.
- Higher revenue for creators — In traditional gaming, the percentage of revenue that goes to the creators is fixed. On the blockchain, it’s noticeably higher, and creators also benefit from on-chain royalties (earning from every re-sell of the asset).
- Greater retention — Due to the increased total value that players put in blockchain games, retention is much higher. Another factor that adds to this is the sharing of rewards with creators, encouraging a proper symbiosis between developers and gamers.
None of these features are possible within the Web2 gaming space. We’ve already mentioned that some big studios are making a move toward the blockchain. The advantages listed above were clearly enough to convince them, but this goes double for smaller studios that usually have a hard time monetizing their player base.
The future of blockchain gaming
Blockchain gaming has been around for a few years, and it’s still at a very early stage. Web3 gaming is a brand-new sector that is definitely not perfect, as developers are still trying to figure out the best model for a sustainable in-game economy. The Play-to-Earn model was what got players excited in the first place, but it relied on a never-ending influx of new players and enforced pay-to-win. Right now, blockchain gaming studios are experimenting with its successor, Play-and-Earn. A model which puts gaming back in the spotlight and rewards player skill. This sounds similar to the world of esports and competitive events from the traditional gaming scene. If that’s where blockchain gaming is truly heading, then it’s certain there’ll be an audience. After all, who doesn’t like a good spectacle of skill?
Web3 gaming seeks to find the perfect balance of being attractive to users while simultaneously extracting value and rewarding gamers. It’s not an easy task, but as the industry matures and more people join in, the answer will surely be revealed.
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