Opinion of: Daryl XU, co-founder and CEO, NPC Labs
Although the game has been down constant since the end of COVVI-19 locking, 2024 hit the industry particularly difficult, with layoffs and studios closings even striking the most important studios.
Although unsustainable development costs and an innovation crisis seem to be the main guilty behind the collapse, the web game has become a potential solution promising to return power to developers – and it has collected billions of dollars in investment to do so.
However, despite a continuous increase in the adoption of the crypto, the web3 game failed to capture the attention of traditional players or to solve the fundamental problems of the game. Why? The first block chains were designed for financial applications. The game developers were forced to rely on blockchains that were not designed for their use or to create their own channels that isolate themselves from the blockchain ecosystem. One or the other of the choices has led to a bad experience of players and to overestimation on the Tokenomics.
Many developers choose the latter, choosing control of connectivity. Inadvertently, it led to closed gardens that were not different from those who contributed to the collapse of the traditional game.
A solution that has created more problems
A recent article in the New York Times has revealed that over the past 30 or 40 years, the leaders of the video game industry have bet on better graphics to call on players and profits rather than creativity. The development of traditional games is expensive, regularly exceeding $ 100 million per title. Independent developers often find it difficult to compete with large publishers who ultimately control funding and distribution.
The blockchain seemed to be a promising solution for independent studios, providing them with new paths to collect funds and give them control of the distribution. However, the first web 3 game platforms ended up recreating the same closed systems as Blockchain was trying to correct. With acquisition costs of high players and limited web3 players, web play platforms have deepened their moats to prevent users from moving away. As its development progresses, Web3 Gaming presented its own problems.
An impossible choice for game developers
The technological infrastructure of layer 1 blockchains as Ethereum and Solana were created for finance and not aligned on the requirements of the game. Beyond the transaction speed, layer 2 solutions were not designed either to manage the unique needs of the game.
Game developers – attracted by the web3 financing model, property promises and user engagement, are forced to rely on existing blockchains and compromise the gameplay or launch their own chain – which diverts attention and resources far from what they want to do: make better games.
Recent: Web3 game investors no longer throwing money on “axis killers”
While crypto native players may think that it is a valid compromise, the general public players want engaging experiences. A DAPPRADAR report in January has shown that the web 3 has reached 7.3 million unique active portfolios, but speaking with the community anecdotally, around 10,000 of them represent the real game cohort which are not in games only to cultivate rewards. This number can be higher but does not exceed the maximum of 50,000 to 100,000.
Disalizing with the culture of the game
The thing that converts traditional onchain users is not non -buttocks (NFTS) or decentralized finances, its significant property of games in assets. Traditional players have spent decades on arcade games, Nintendo or mobile games. If it is combined with the real property of active active ingredients, this familiarity is powerful enough to create a convincing experience for developers and players.
While web games claim to revolutionize games, most projects do not listen to real players. In reality, they end up competing for the same crypto-native users. Rather than focusing on fun and engaging gameplay, most web 3 games are led by cryptographic technology and Tokenomics. Within this bubble, the success in the web3 game meant to take users of crypto from each other rather than bringing new players on.
With rare exceptions, the industry has lost sight of what is important: making fun games that people want to play.
This disalember also extends to game developers who wish to enter Web3 to create better experiences of players and sustainable income models. Game studios include web3 potentials but hesitate to navigate the complex crypto systems, which require technical skills to create protocols with sufficient liquidity and user bases while providing a transparent gameplay simultaneously.
Make fun games again
As major studios continue to fight, Web3 has a second chance to keep its promise. But this time, we have to rethink how games interact. We must focus on creating access for creators and players instead of building new wall gardens. This requires specific infrastructure to web3 games which provides both the control of developers and the cross -collaboration of the ecosystem.
The path is clear. We must restore the economic freedom of the creators and put control in the hands of the players. This means income models that reward collaboration instead of isolation. More importantly, it means to come back to the roots of the game – to make games fun again.
The future of the game does not concern better graphics or tokens incentives. It is a question of creating an industry where creativity and collaboration can prosper. When developers can focus on carrying out engaging experiences instead of building moat, everyone wins.
Opinion of: Daryl XU, co-founder and CEO, NPC Labs.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and must not be considered as legal or investment advice. The points of view, the thoughts and opinions expressed here are the only of the author and do not reflect or do not necessarily represent the opinions and opinions of Cointellegraph.
