Newsletter #23: Building Back Better (Web3 Gaming Edition)

From the Editor,

GM Tigers

The growth of popular crypto niches like DeFi and the NFT market has come to a standstill, while web3 gaming is running full steam ahead. Over the course of the last two months, we’ve seen several implosions in the DeFi market(we’re looking at you Celsius, Voyager, and Babel). The NFT market is still filled to the brim with collectible collections of animal pictures that don't have any utility. Even Bankless came out and said the only sectors worth keeping an eye on going forward are L2s, the Cosmos ecosystem, decentralized socials and Web3 gaming(to be fair, they did say that DeFi might see a resurgence with L2s, but that’s yet to be seen).

But what makes us say that Web3 gaming is booming despite the bear market? Here are a few indicators:

Big players are moving in: In the last week alone, the creators of PUBG(a game played by 30+ million) announced a blockchain gaming title called Artemis, while, Sega, the global gaming behemoth, also unveiled a new web3 gaming venture in conjunction with HOME verse. We've also heard that stonks legend GameStop is developing a web3 gaming platform. Apart from these web3 game announcements, there’s also an influx of experienced web2 game developers, publishers in the space.
Massive funding: FrameWork Ventures co-founder Michael Anderson claims that web3 gaming has the potential to become the biggest form of employment in the world, and he’s not the only investor that’s betting big on web3 gaming. The space has attracted nearly $750 million in investment since August 2022. Out of which, $200 million was raised by Gabriel Leydon’s new web3 gaming Limit Break alone.
Games are improving: Most industry-outsiders still think that web3 gaming is full of boring, dull games. However, a series of next-generation games like Big Time, Star Atlas, Bulliverse, Superior, Mirandus and Illuvium are soon to change this notion. These are AAA-style titles developed by teams with deep pockets and loads of experience. Each new technology is first adopted by mostly hustlers that are looking to make a quick buck out of it. It seems that web3 gaming is now maturing out of its hustler phase.
Increasing focus on sustainability-The downfall of early web3 games like Axie Infinity, Crabada, Splinterlands, Alien Words in the bear market has seemingly scared the industry straight. Almost every upcoming web3 title now talks in depth about sustainability in their roadmap. Games are looking at integrating sinks that don’t ruin the gameplay while helping to keep the token from inflating out of control. We don’t think that every game will succeed in achieving the ideal combination of amazing gameplay with a sustainable economy, but this increased focus on sustainability is definitely a net positive for the industry.
Quick Rebound - We’re starting to feel that this bear market was a blessing in disguise for the web3 gaming space. While we have empathy for all the people that lost money in the market crash, it’s also important to notice that the crash brought to light many dysfunctional pieces of the industry that are now being changed. This would potentially save hundreds of millions from losing more money to these early faulty systems.
Onboarding web2 gamers- Gaming is the biggest entertainment market. More than 3 billion people play games, according to Statista. Guilds, web3 gaming evangelists are now making intentional efforts to bring in more traditional gamers to the industry. They are doing this by partnering with some of the biggest web2 esports organizations in the world. Some of these esports companies have creators that have millions of followers.

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Last week hosted Big Time, arguably the best web3 game in the market right now. Listen here to learn how the creators of Big Time change the way web3 gaming is perceived.