GDC 2025: YGG Champions the Long Game for Web3 Gaming
YGG returns to GDC in San Francisco annually to connect with builders, partners, and press — but this year, the energy felt more subdued, echoing the broader FUD facing Web3 gaming, as Gabby noted in his recent opinion piece for CoinDesk. Studios are running out of runway, and raising capital has been tough. But for those who weathered previous cycles, the current environment isn’t unfamiliar. And GDC proved that conviction remains strong among those who have continued to build.
To kick off the week, YGG co-hosted the Web3 @ GDC side event with thirdweb at the Founders Inc. offices, convening blockchains, investors, and developers for an unfiltered discussion on the state of the industry. Conversations ranged from the ecosystem trend of consolidation among Layer 2 blockchains, to the memeification and tokenization of everything, to the more urgent question of how to distinguish narrative hype from genuine player interest in Web3 games.
Throughout GDC, the YGG team mingled with ecosystem partners at the Ronin mixer, the Pixels Sauna, Alpha Night at WolvesDEN, and other Web3 gaming gatherings. YGG also headed to San Jose for its first-ever appearance at the industry-leading AI conference NVIDIA GTC, reinforcing its focus on AI as a catalyst for new economic and skill-building opportunities.
Web3 @ GDC: Answering the Toughest Questions in Web3 Gaming
The YGG x thirdweb event drew a packed crowd on the Monday prior to GDC, featuring panels with industry powerhouses and a highly anticipated fireside chat between Gabby and Limit Break co-founder and former Machine Zone CEO Gabe Leydon.
Since pioneering the “free-to-own” model in 2022 with the free mint of its Genesis DigiDaigaku NFTs, Limit Break has continued to push boundaries in Web3 gaming, building innovative monetization systems. Most recently, the company launched apptokens, programmable in-game tokens designed to give developers more control over their game economies.
During their fireside chat, Gabe offered a candid look at his experiences and thought process over the past few years, cutting through the controversy surrounding him and his views on Web3. The two founders tackled fundamental issues in Web3 gaming, with Gabe arguing that unrestricted composability has led to wash trading and a Web2-dominated ecosystem, with centralized exchanges controlling crypto. He advocated for “restricted composability” to restore value to developers, emphasizing the use of controlled apptokens and spend-only tokens as mechanisms to create sustainable revenue models.
Gabby reinforced the idea that Web3 gaming is still in an experimental phase, but innovations in monetization and ownership could redefine gaming economics. The discussion ultimately positioned Web3 as an evolution of free-to-play, with the potential to disrupt traditional gaming if developers can harness its unique advantages.
Other sessions hosted at Web3 @ GDC featured the industry’s top game publishers, VCs, and game developers, exploring how Web3 gaming is maturing beyond short-term speculation into long-term value creation.
- Gaming Ecosystem — Sky Mavis’ Aleksander Larsen sat down with B3, Immutable, Proof of Play, and XAI to discuss the evolving role of blockchains in gaming as the industry focuses more on delivering value to developers. With success today tied closely to user acquisition, the panelists agreed that developers should prioritize platforms that assist with community building and game distribution, not just infrastructure and funding.
- Gaming Venture — Moderated by thirdweb’s Furqan Rydhan, Play Ventures, a16z, LongHash Ventures, and Gam3Girl Ventures highlighted the industry’s improving infrastructure and more realistic understanding of token economies while acknowledging challenges such as short-term liquidity traps. The speakers also shared that VCs are more likely to invest in projects that wait until they have community support and a sustainable in-game economy before launching a token.
- Top Games — CCP Games’ Hilmar Veigar Pétursson led a conversation with Parallel, Sonzai, InfiniGods, and Pixels on the nuances of engagement versus hype in Web3 gaming. While hype can be a double-edged sword, the panelists acknowledged its role in driving attention and momentum. They also emphasized that monetization needs to be player-centric and built to withstand exploitative behaviors like botting, exploring AI’s potential to identify bots while enhancing gaming experiences.
“GDC has always been about celebrating the biggest innovations in the gaming industry,” Gabby said. “Despite the recent FUD around Web3 gaming floating around online, I strongly believe the best of this new way to play is yet to come.”
YGG Steers the Web3 and AI Conversation Forward
WolvesDAO brought WolvesDEN to GDC 2025, giving creators, builders, and VCs a week of community events, game nights, collabs, and more. Here, the Wolves hosted Alpha Night, where a select group of founders revealed a preview of their upcoming releases.
This included YGG, who sponsored the event and gave attendees an exclusive first look at LOL Land, a game that will take its active staking format to the next level. Developed in partnership with the Pudgy Penguins team at Abstract Chain, LOL Land is set to launch on April 15, and has been steadily generating buzz among Web3’s most plugged-in degens since the details on it first dropped.
At Ronin After Hours: GDC Edition, co-hosted with Forgotten Runiverse makers Bisonic and Fableborne devs Pixion Games, YGG joined longtime partner Sky Mavis in celebrating the transition of Ronin into a permissionless network. The team also went to the CCP Games mixer, enjoying a lively evening with the EVE Frontier dev team in one of the week’s most notable crossovers between Web2 and Web3 gaming. Several members of the YGG core team were also spotted at BITKRAFT’s reception welcoming the global Web3 gaming community to GDC.
Pixels hosted an IRL sauna party at GDC, allowing conference attendees to simultaneously unwind, network, and exchange insights. Founder Luke Barwikowski shared updates on Pixels’ upcoming live ops events, staking program, and redesign for improving the game’s new player experience.
YGG also connected with the AI community and tracked key insights from high-profile discussions exploring the intersection of Web3 and AI. This included the Stanford Blockchain AI Summit, where team members had front-row seats to many industry-leading conversations. The summit featured sessions led by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin about the challenges of AI-driven attacks, the rising costs of AI development, and how Web3-native tools like zero-knowledge proofs can help safeguard the continuing advancement of the AI ecosystem.
YGG co-founder Beryl Li, Future of Work Head Trish Rosal, and Head of Corporate Development Andy Chou also attended NVIDIA GTC, one of the most influential AI conferences, to explore the latest advancements shaping the industry. The team cited the acceleration of AI into the physical world as a key takeaway, particularly the prominence of Chinese initiatives in AI and robotics, as well as the prevalence of doing AI training in virtual worlds.
Discussions at the event highlighted AI’s growing presence in major sectors such as gaming, healthcare and biotech, transportation, and defense. They also underscored AI’s impact on driving down production costs and speeding up development through faster simulation and inference.
“Years ago, people talked about neural networks. Two years ago, people talked about generative AI,” said Beryl. “This year, AI agents. This is how fast AI is moving.”
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote covered his vision for the future of agentic AI, where developers will have a platform to create advanced AI agents working independently or as teams. Meta Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun spoke about human intelligence being “superspecialized” and the need for a diverse population of AI assistants representing all languages, cultures, value systems, and sectors of interest. UK Member of Parliament Peter Kyle discussed the country’s goals for sovereign AI, arguing that computers are only as good as the people using them and the data put into them.
Scaling to achieve this vision for AI will depend on keeping humans in the loop within the AI ecosystem. With AI’s inevitable disruption, YGG looks forward to empowering its community with AI through its Future of Work initiatives.
Touching Base with the YGG Network
Throughout the week of GDC, YGG met with key figures across Web3 gaming, including Collider Ventures’ Adiel Yaakov, Joyride Games’ Omar Siddiqui, Gam3Girl’s FD, M10’s Maitham Mohammed, AEY Guild’s Mark Engelhardt, Avalanche’s Parker Heath, RIFT Games’ Daniel Barnes, Offchain Labs’ Kiet, Xsolla’s Patty Wang, Soneium’s Yuji Kumagai and Tatsu and Amihan’s Kenny, among others. These conversations helped reinforce partnerships and explore new opportunities for collaboration.
The YGG core team also gathered for their annual offsite at Montage Healdsburg, an invaluable chance to connect in person after working remotely year-round. Each team shared updates and major initiatives for the year ahead, setting the stage for an exciting 2025.
Emfarsis Directors Leah Callon-Butler and Nathan Smale also joined in, lending their strategic insight to the discussion and planning around communications. Over sumptuous food and drinks, the team spent quality time together, with newer team members like Head of Engineering Ve Sharma and Head of Programs Marielle Noble getting to know their colleagues beyond the screen.
As the industry moves toward a new era defined by AI agents and more sophisticated implementations of onchain economies, YGG’s time at GDC highlights how Web3 gaming is far from slowing down — it’s hitting a new stride. Although skeptics will always be a part of the conversation, the industry has navigated these cycles before.
Beyond gaming, AI is transforming industries at an unprecedented pace, opening new frontiers in work, learning, and economic growth. YGG’s presence at NVIDIA GTC reflects its broader commitment to ensuring that its community is not just prepared for the future but actively shaping it. As both AI and Web3 evolve, YGG continues to explore how these technologies intersect to drive the future of digital economies — not only staying the course, but leading the charge.
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