Page 15 - EngineerIT November 2022

WEB3 GAMING

Beyond the spam: The new era

of crypto gaming is about finding

sobriety, reducing complexity and

reshaping technology

here is perhaps one word that captures the seismic digital shift that’s taken
place in the Web3 space over the past few months – sobriety. Crypto currencies
Thave dipped, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have slowed and there is, as McKinsey
puts it, a significant amount of ‘digital debris’. However, the firm also points out
that bad actors and poor use cases do not make a failure of this technology. The
opposite is, in fact, the reality. While there are risks to NFTs, crypto gaming and crypto
currencies, there are equally opportunities – the technologies that underpin the
innovations are proving their value across multiple sectors, applications and industries.
Web3 gaming projects have shown significant gains over traditional crypto
currencies like bitcoin. For example, last year bitcoin grew from 20k to 68k while Web3
game Star Atlas was up 19 465% over a similar period (from $0.00138 to $0.27). Most
of these gains have since been erased, illustrating the risk reward in this nascent sector
versus the “blue-chip” cryptos such as bitcoin and Ethereum. Ultimately there is far
more room for gains on projects that can survive and iterate.
So, as the market sobers up and starts thinking clearly, the key trends for the
future of Web3 gaming are slowly emerging, and they’re bringing within them the Timothy McCann
interesting, the simplified and the extraordinary.

Trend 01: A year of sobriety and reliability market analysts and investors are still
Like most hyped-up technologies, Web3 gaming has been done a disservice by paying attention to the potential that lies
the cash grabbers and unethical actors that leapt on the digital train, but it is within its digital hands.
likely to continue its steady move towards sobriety with lower valuations but with “The process of selecting
improvements in service delivery and functionality. Companies that have invested into investments comes down to a blend
this space with a clear vision of the long-term value it delivers are digging down into of objectivity and subjectivity,” says
the foundations of the platforms and technologies to make them less complex and McCann. “Objectively, does the company
more reliable. have a team that has shown it can pull
“There will be a washout of the cash grabs while those in it for the long haul will off this project? Does the company have
get down to solving the major issues that face this space,” says Timothy McCann, fund sufficient runway to make it to market?
manager at Metavest Capital. “There is a lot of work to do, especially when it comes Subjectively, does the game look fun?
to reducing the pain points of a first-time user. As a result, there will be a much higher This is a trickier question because often
adoption of games that integrate elements of blockchain over the next two years the Indie studio of five produces better
alongside an increase in the 10m wallets active today.” games than the billion-dollar studio, but
This is a view echoed by a recent analysis of the Web3 gaming market in this is where it’s key to rely on gaming
VentureBeat that underscored how the Web3 gaming high barrier to entry – siloed analysts to provide their assessments to
economies and experiences – will inhibit gamer uptake because, as the publication ensure viability.”
points out, ‘high friction equates to low fun’. The next 12-24 months will see the
launch of impressive offers from Web3
Trend 02: Investment into potential gaming that will garner attention from
Despite limitations and perceptions currently inhibiting the full growth potential of the global gaming audience and will be
the market, it remains one of the most high-growth sectors in the investment space a catalyst for traditional gaming studios
today. In 2022, investment into blockchain gaming achieved the $US 5 billion mark and and publishers to start seriously investing

EngineerIT | November 2022 | 15