Key Considerations for Successful Web3 Gaming Launches – Why Businesses Failed
August 9, 2024
Web3 gaming has been on a rollercoaster ride ever since its inception, and a proper Web3 strategy is paramount to a successful game launch. From ‘Play-to-Earn’ to ‘Play & Earn’ to simply ‘Web3 Gaming,’ gamers in the web3 space have played through it all. While the future landscape is hard to predict, there are best practices to avoid seeing your web3 game fail.
Develop a Proper Web3 Strategy
Understanding and implementing a correct Web3 strategy will help all phases of a Web3 Gaming project. Firstly, understand what constitutes a Web3 game. Web3 games are defined by their integration of blockchain technology. This can include minting new Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), utilising cryptocurrency tokens, or recording gameplay actions on the blockchain.
There’s a spectrum of best practices that Web3 gaming projects must conquer to ensure smooth sailing during production and when the game launches.
- Create hype for their project before it’s released
- Utilise a strong X and Discord community where gamers can interact with each other and the founders
- Ensure funding is not reliant on only the community
- Picking the right genre, team, and blockchain (more on that below)
- Have a unique selling point to the game
- When describing the project, compare it to two popular established games, e.g. it’s Pokemon meets Minecraft on the blockchain
- Implement a fair launch by not inflating the NFT assets or tokens
- Mirror good user interfaces and user experiences like in traditional web2 AAA (video games produced by a mid-sized or major publisher game)
- Consider paid ads and an Influencer program to reach new audiences
These factors and many more can guarantee more success for the Web3 gaming project and longevity whilst understanding the importance of a strong team and compatible blockchain.
Picking the Correct Blockchain
Many new gaming projects venturing into Web3 underestimate the critical importance of blockchain selection. The chosen blockchain must be capable of handling the high volume of microtransactions typically associated with gaming. Additionally, these projects often overlook the significance of an existing community. Some blockchains already host established communities of diehard gamers, which can be a valuable asset for new Web3 gaming initiatives.
Choosing to build a video game on a blockchain dedicated to gaming makes a world of difference. For instance, Ethereum can generally handle 15 transactions per second, whilst Immutable X, a Layer-2 built on top of Ethereum can do roughly 600 times the transactions of Ethereum. This results in less time used for the various microtransactions that happen in gaming. Plugging into blockchains with an established gaming community is a surefire way to get players and feedback on your gaming project quickly. Other blockchains scaled for video gaming include Avalanche, Polygon, Ronin, Enjin, Wax, Skale, Gala, and Binance Smart Chain. Many also include launchpads or funding to persuade new projects to build on their blockchain.
Grasping how zero or small transaction fees can make or break your game. Cryptokitties is widely considered one of the original Web3 games that amassed a cult following online.The game’s core mechanic involved breeding digital pets, which were represented as NFTs. In 2017, the popularity of Cryptokitties reached such heights that it caused significant issues for the Ethereum network. The high volume of expensive transactions required for breeding these digital pets led to severe congestion across the entire Ethereum network
Strategically selecting a scalable blockchain for gaming and a supportive team is crucial to capitalising on Web3 opportunities like the Play-to-Earn movement.
The Play-to-Earn Movement and Downfall
If you were lucky enough to be around during 2021 Web3 gaming, you would’ve witnessed the parabolic rise of ‘Play-to-Earn’ (P2E). P2E was mainly pioneered by a CryptoKitties-inspired game called ‘Axie Infinity’. It involved breeding Axies to battle and earning the in-game reward token ‘Smooth Love Potions’, which could be traded for other cryptocurrencies. This gave birth to a tsunami of P2E games that provided similar concepts of being rewarded with a cryptocurrency for playing the game.
Axie Infinity brought about unique concepts never discovered before in the realm of Web3. One of these was ‘scholarships’ that had predominantly Philippine-based players use other owners of Axies to play the game for the owner. Then, a split of the revenue would go to the scholar (player) and owner of the NFT assets. This movement helped fill the gap between investors not having enough time to play the game and players not having enough revenue to buy the assets.
During the 2021 ‘gold rush’ of P2E gaming began. Guilds like Yield Guild Games bought up assets from all different games and had scholars play the games and earn the in-game cryptocurrencies. The P2E market exceeded 4.6 Billion USD in 2022, until the eventual downfall of the 2022 bear market + oversaturation of P2E games.
With the P2E movement officially over, web3 businesses need to be wary of the mistakes of P2E. Looking into the future, a new wave of games are being developed using Web2 fundamentals and are ready to launch in 2024 and beyond.
Web3 Gaming in 2024 and beyond
The Web3 gaming landscape is now hitting maturity, with many predicting that Web3 gaming will be the next big narrative for the impending bull market. Learn from some more seasoned gaming studios creating hype around their games.
Now that Web3 video games have been in production for 3+ years, it’s nearly time for player sentiment to catch up. Many games, like NEXUS, Illvium, GRIT, and Wilder World, are now playable on the Epic Games Store or Steam. This is a huge step forward from previously browser-based games.
Using fundamentals from traditional video games, the emphasis is on multiplayer and fun gaming experiences vs financial incentives to play. Highlighting immersive experiences and lessons from failed business launches, the outlook shines bright for the next breakout game to hit the blockchain.
We hope this article has opened your mind to the key considerations for a successful Web3 launch and maintaining an audience. GG Well Played.
If you’re seeking marketing help with your Web3 project, Take3 will help you accelerate to a new level. Feel free to reach out. Keep building, and we’ll see you soon ✌️
Words: Kevin Li
