Blockchain gaming and the play to earn model were all the rage in 2021, but over time the model faltered as flaws were revealed and the broader NFT and cryptocurrency market hit some bumps. It is safe to say that the sector is “down, but not out” and it is entirely possible that the blockchain game could see another 2021-style surge once the market regains its momentum.
On Friday, the NFT Steez, a fortnightly space on Twitter submitted by Alyssa Exposito and Ray Salmond, met with the founders of Crypto Raiders to discuss the state of blockchain gaming, and the future of play-to-win projects. According to the founders, Crypto Raiders is a dungeon crawler based on NFTs, and in the episode each of them agreed that the current blockchain gaming landscape should focus on sustainability and “fun”, first and foremost. place.
Can the play to earn model work in Web3 games?
During the interview, founder Nick Kreupner spoke about adopting “hybrid models” for gaming and Kreupner stated that the current sentiment is more due to the nature of humans, who are “short-term reactive” and believe quickly that they should be discarded.
However, Kreupner acknowledges that while it is a natural tendency to assume the worst, in reality “the model [P2E] it needs tweaking and multiple tries, before it really works.”
In fact, the Crypto Raiders team has been studying the possibilities of hybrid models and how they can work as an interaction of games made on the blockchain and outside of it.
Kreupner said that it is important to note:
“Where do the profits come from? [de los jugadores]?”.
This sentiment stems from the current landscape of play-and-win models that generally make their profits from new players, thus it is often seen or portrayed as a ponzi.
According to Kreupner, a hybrid model would be presented as a paid game (P2P) and a free game (F2P). In this hybrid model, new players would be able to enjoy the game for free, but would need resources, or in this case, in-game assets farmed by P2P players to progress.
Fun over “financialization” is the path to mass adoption
When asked about concerns about monetizing fun and gameplay, Crypto Raiders acknowledged that both traditional and Web3 gamers are concerned that monetizing game mechanics could tarnish their hobby.
As a solution, Crypto Raiders prefers to “play to own” rather than “play to win” as a way of showing the value players receive from provenance compared to AAA games. Although many gamers have expressed a desire for more ownership and autonomy when playing the game, Kreupner says it’s no wonder gamers think negatively of Web3 players.
“Gamers are really against microtransactions” so when it comes to NFT games the backlash is expected, but interestingly many gamers would love the chance to be in the gaming industry “while making money doing it”, Kreupner says.
While traditional gamers seem to dislike Web3 games, David Titarenco highlighted the importance of the game being accessible when adopting it. Regarding the incorporation and success of a Web3 game, Titarenco framed the process of ideas as:
“Get your grandmother in the Midwest to play it.”
Tune in and listen to the full episode of NFT Steez, here!
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