The world of gaming is undergoing a revolutionary shift. I can attest to the fact that things are becoming really heated up as a passionate gamer and watcher of the video game business.
The use of Web3 technology is at the forefront of the significant transformation that is taking place in the gaming industry. The day when we were restricted to enormous multiplayer worlds and hyper-realistic visuals is long gone.
The gaming metaverse is now taking center stage, allowing players to engage with one another and their surroundings in real-time while fully immersing themselves in the game. Player ownership and monetization are being redefined as a result of the adoption of Web3 technology, providing players with a completely new range of options. Being a member of the gaming community at this time is thrilling, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
NFTs aren’t just collectible cats
One of the major changes brought about by Web3 gaming is the advent of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs have transformed the way in which players interact with and monetize their in-game assets. With the emergence of NFT marketplaces, players can trade digital collectibles for other items of real-world value. This has the potential to address the skewed dynamics that exist between players and game developers, where players are often unable to monetize their in-game assets.
One example is QORPO Game Studio, who has implemented the use of NFTs in their free-to-play shooter game, Citizen Conflict.
In this dystopian metaverse where “Citizens” battle against “Corporations,” players acquire characters, masks, and weapons that are each represented as NFTs. By leveraging the Web3 standards powering NFTs, QORPO allows players to rightfully own, upgrade, and trade their assets using their digital profile. This opens up new possibilities for players to experience game rewards and interact with their in-game assets in new ways.
Animoca Brands, a $5.9 billion Web3 company, is also advancing digital property rights for gaming and the open metaverse. Other Web3-based games such as The Harvest and Illuvium are also pushing the paradigm of player ownership and monetization forward.
Exposing gamers to international markets
By incorporating NFTs, gamers now have access to new revenue potentials that were previously restricted to the game platforms they used. Before, players could only sell their game assets – skins, items, in-game coins – on authorized platforms, usually managed by the same gaming companies.
While that generally worked, this meant that the market was closed only to other gamers. And it also meant that, if games shut down, or servers were closed, these assets were lost forever.
But by using NFTs, game assets use open standards for digital assets, allowing them to be used, transferred, or traded across platforms, across games, across markets.
Since game assets resided not on closed servers but on non-custodial Web3 wallets that could connect to other compatible apps on the blockchain, players can now sell their stuff outside the games, even advertising their items on NFT marketplaces.
This also means that players own their assets, preventing anyone — including the game developer — from taking their assets without their permission.
The selling of assets as NFTs and periodic royalty payments are further advantages for game makers. The potential for player monetization and involvement is just getting started, with over $1.8 billion in royalties already being issued on the Ethereum network alone.
Gamer empowerment as owners and stakeholders
Game modding has proven that gamers have always desired ways to become more involved in the development and direction of the games they love.
Blockchain technology also offers promising ways to reflect that desire. For example, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are now introducing new ownership and empowerment concepts to the gaming space.
DAOs allow players to have direct influence in the game’s development and rules, including funding game development, managing in-game economies, and voting on game updates. With the help of trustless smart contracts, DAOs enforce fair play and resolve community disputes.
By giving players a voice in the game development process, DAOs create stronger emotional ties between players and the game’s evolution. QORPO’s CEO, Rastislav Bakala, says that DAO voting is “the cleanest and most honest statistic that the developers can get from gamers – pure feedback regarding their product from the perspective of gamers and their opinions.”
The gaming industry is at the forefront of the Web3 revolution, and its impact is expected to extend far beyond just the gaming space. The benefits of NFTs and DAOs in gaming can be applied to other areas, such as digital art, collectibles, and virtual real estate. The potential for innovation and growth in the immersive gaming space is enormous, and the future of gaming is set to be more exciting than ever before.