The Future of Web 3 Gaming

The gaming industry has a market size of over $200 billion.

The Web 3 or blockchain gaming industry has a market size of around $6 billion.

It is no mystery that there is lots of potential for Web 3 gaming to grow.

In fact, Research and Markets forecasts that blockchain gaming will reach a market size of $104.5 billion by 2028, which is still half of Web 2 gaming.

With this kind of potential, many big companies are looking to put their foot in the door.

Let’s look at who they are, and what they are doing:

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Why Blockchain Gaming?

Blockchain technology is nowhere near fully explored. Game developers operate in a very innovative, forward-thinking, and creative way. So the allure for many of the existing gaming companies to come into blockchain is simply the endless possibilities.

Many argue that there is a lack of reward for the gamers that put an ample amount of time and effort into a game. Because cryptocurrency and NFT’s are native to the blockchain, it would make it much easier to integrate a play-to-earn element to many games.

Crypto transactions happen fast and at a very low cost depending on which blockchain you use. Games often have some sort of in-game marketplace which is the perfect argument to integrate blockchain. It would make it easier to purchase, sell, and trade items.

While there is a host of Web 3 companies already building games, there still hasn’t been a real breakout moment for the industry. I believe that has much to do with the fact that games take 3-5 years on average to develop and it’s still very new. I can do a whole separate newsletter on those companies, but let’s look at some Web 2 giants that are making their way into the space.

Which Companies are Getting Involved?

Razer

A few weeks ago, gaming hardware company, Razer, announced they were creating a Web 3 Incubator called zVentures to help fund the next generation of Web 3 games.

Per their website, they believe that blockchain technology has the potential to enhance the gaming experience, however has not yet connected with the core gamer community.

The company says that many of the existing Web 3 games spend too much time trying to use blockchain, and not enough time utilizing it to expand the overall game.

Therefore, Razer is looking to extend their venture arm into the blockchain space to help fund and supply great Web 3 games.

Epic Games

I am sure you have heard of Fortnite. Well, the company responsible for that game are too dipping their feet in. Epic Games General Manager, Steve Allison, recently said that there were “close to 20” new Web 3 games coming to their store.

The first one that came to the store called Blok Party was said to do pretty-well. While the crypto space is still home to a few bad actors, Epic Games aims to keep a close eye on any sketchy activity in the new games. This helps make Web 3 games feel more welcoming to the real gamers.

This trend is going both ways. Just this week, Yuga Labs hired Epic Games Executive Michael Seavers, as their CTO. Yuga is the company that created the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection and are looking to expand their metaverse gaming vision with this new hire.

Pokémon

This is a bit more speculative, but worth mentioning. Pokémon posted a job listing this year that got Web 3 people very excited. The listing was for Corporate Developmental Principal, but in the job description it said they were looking for someone with deep Web 3 experience.

It is clear they are showing some interest and have some drive to push in that direction. Nothing would scream mass adoption harder than an NFT-based Pokémon game.

Square Enix

Creators of hit game Final Fantasy, Square Enix, have partnered up with Elixir games to help put Web 2 and 3 games side-by-side on Elixir’s PC marketplace.

Earlier this year, Square Enix announced a partnership with Web 3 giant, Polygon, to launch their story-driven NFT game called Symbiogenesis.

This was all prefaced with the company’s president, Yosuke Matsuda, saying that Square Enix was going to be making “aggressive investment” into blockchain technology and NFT’s in 2023.

There are of course many other players making moves in the gaming sphere, but the point is, there is a true future in Web 3 gaming.

These companies making investment into blockchain will help connect the core gaming community with the technology.

If the focus is making the gaming experience better, there is no doubt that crypto gaming will take off.

What are your thoughts on the future of Web 3 gaming?

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