The Movement from Web2 to Web3 Gaming
Defining both iterations in gaming: the present and the near future.
Looking back on how video games started as static offline games played by either one or two players until they became online and interactive, it is clear how the gaming industry is both an established and a drastically growing one.
Then with the recent rise of the web3 industry and developers tinkering with merging blockchain technology into gaming, a new iteration of gaming was born. It is called Web3 Gaming.
In this article, I will define Web2 and Web3 gaming, give minimal comparisons to both iterations, highlight Web3 gaming in terms of its improvements from Web2, and debunk some misconceptions about Web3 gaming.
Web2 Gaming
So what is web2 gaming? This type includes the currently existing games that utilize the technology of web2. They are online, interactive, and dynamic. You may have an account with in-game characters or items on it. It has a concept of you owning those in-game assets digitally. For example, we have these popular games like Fortnite and Dota 2.
Also, web2 games have no blockchain technology integration. With that, they are tagged as traditional games by people who played firsthand and had a glimpse of web3 gaming.
What makes it traditional compared to web3?
We may know that privacy, security, and data ownership can be main concerns in web2. How so?
I was an avid gamer way back. I spent money for in-game items to maximize the full potential of my character or make it look cool in-game and have that bragging rights. But as time passes, a game is built and maintained by companies.
It’s inevitable for a gaming company to shut down if it becomes unprofitable or undergoes other unforeseen circumstances. If it happens, what will happen with the things you bought in-game? They will shut down along with it. This case shows that you do not own that digital item or character.
Web3 Gaming
This type is a new approach to gaming when it comes to ownership of digital assets like characters, weapons, armor, etc. These assets are in the form of NFTs. There is also cryptocurrency as in-game currency rewards.
Everything is on-chain, and there’s no uncertainty even if a game shuts down since all these in-game assets are stored immutably and decentrally.
Crypto Kitties
Crypto Kitties is the first ever Web3 game I encountered back in 2019. Dapper Labs, a Canadian-based studio, developed this blockchain game on Ethereum last 2017. It lets players purchase, collect, breed, and sell virtual cats as NFTs.
My interaction with this game was more of research. I did not breed or purchase any cats at that time. I was benchmarking its NFT aspect when I was developing the Crypto Slicer game, one of SparkPoint’s early game projects with its own NFT swords collection.
Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity has the same concept as Crypto Kitties with the mechanism of purchasing, collecting, breeding, and selling its NFT characters. However, instead of cats, they are tiny monsters called Axies.
The unique thing is that the game allows you to battle these NFTs online with other players or play offline via Adventure. On the side, you earn in-game rewards as an ERC20 token called SLP or Smooth Love Potion (formerly Small Love Potion). Sky Mavis, a Vietnam-based game company, developed Axie Infinity.
I experienced the game firsthand with the purchasing, breeding, and selling of its NFT characters. The game is strategic and fun, especially if you play for gaming and entertainment and not for profit.
Misconceptions
Since blockchain technology is new to the public and web3 gaming just started to rise, there are some misconceptions that skeptics believe.
Web3 gaming is a SCAM.
They are associated with scams, especially with people who lack knowledge and further technicalities in the space. In these projects, the chances of getting rugged are high. That’s why thorough research and maximum due diligence are highly encouraged before diving into this technology.
Web3 gaming can replace jobs and livelihood.
Here I’ll give Axie Infinity as an example. As it gained the spotlight in 2021, it had a significant market impact, especially in the Philippines, during the release of a popular CoinDesk article.
During that time, it was an ongoing bull market, and the pump of its tokens went along. It garnered massive profits for early adopters of the game. Then the term Play-to-Earn aspect was born.
Global and economic challenges came with the start of the bear market in 2022. At the same time, the unsustainable reward model of the SLP token and other factors in the Axie Infinity ecosystem and the $650M hack of its Ronin bridge badly affected the people who relied solely on playing the game for a living.
This incident proved that Play-to-Earn is not a sustainable model. The narrative of web3 gaming replacing real jobs and livelihood is not a good marketing ploy. Games, either web3 or traditional, are developed to be fun. Rewards should come on the side, and it is for deserving top players.
Conclusion
If I compare web2 and web3 gaming, web2 gaming is more in the safe zone and better for the short term since you don’t need to run through the technicalities of blockchain and web3 both in tech and regulation. On the other hand, web3 gaming is more for the long term since it runs on a new and emerging industry. Also, it solved one of the significant problems faced in traditional gaming — which is digital ownership.
Somehow, web3 gaming is already gaining traction, as notable game companies like Animoca Brands and Konami are slowly venturing into this new technology.
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