The Future of Web3 Gaming: The Prospects and Challenges of Blockchain in Gaming

Blockchain technology has brought new possibilities to the gaming industry, but it also faces some challenges. This article will explore the application prospects of blockchain in gaming, as well as some existing issues.

Blockchain Brings Opportunities to Players

1. True ownership of assets

Blockchain technology allows players to truly own in-game items. Players can freely trade, resell, or even transfer these items across different games, greatly enhancing player engagement. For example:

• Blockchain card games allow players to enjoy the collection and trading fun similar to physical cards, while making transactions more convenient.
• Some blockchain RPG games allow players to develop a deeper emotional attachment to their game characters.
• Players can own game items with special significance, such as weapons used by world champions.
• Game achievements can be transformed into permanent NFT collectibles, which can be preserved even if the game is closed.

2. Decentralization promotes content innovation

The decentralized nature of blockchain allows players and developers to freely create new content on top of the game without the fear of being shut down. This reduces the risk of innovation and encourages more people to participate in the game ecosystem. For example:

• Third-party developed trading markets often perform better than official markets.
• Some games are completely based on user-generated content, providing incentives for creators.
• Some teams are trying to build autonomous game worlds, allowing developers to collaboratively contribute to the game rules.

Blockchain Opportunities for Developers

1. New Business Model

Blockchain enables game developers to explore new monetization models:

• Raise funds for early development through the presale of NFTs.
• Use tokens to incentivize and rapidly attract players.
• Issue game tokens to obtain additional marketing budget.
• Forming a new business ecosystem around games, such as Web3 guilds.

2. Composability and Open Source

The open-source nature of Blockchain encourages developers and players to build businesses around games:

• Third parties can provide services such as game data analysis.
• Players can create game-related websites and profit from them.
• Developers can design a recommendation reward mechanism on the blockchain.

3. Community Promotion

Web3 games often cultivate loyal communities:

• Players have a strong sense of belonging to their owned NFTs and are willing to actively promote the game.
• Early community members were emotionally and financially invested in the game, becoming advocates for it.

Challenges Faced by Players

1. Actual value is questionable

Some critics argue that blockchain has not addressed the actual problems faced by players:

• Players may not care whether they truly "own" in-game items.
• If the game may still shut down, the significance of asset ownership is not great.

2. Real currency may affect the gaming experience

Linking in-game items to real currency may:

• Bring unnecessary pressure to a game that should be relaxing.
• Diminish players' sense of achievement.
• Destroying the fun of exploration and growth in the game.

3. High barrier to entry

Blockchain games currently still face issues such as high difficulty of use and susceptibility to scams, which may affect player experience.

Challenges Faced by Developers

1. High development costs

Integrating blockchain into games will increase additional development costs.

2. Negative Viewpoints

Some players hold a negative attitude towards Blockchain, worrying about environmental issues or believing it to be a scam.

3. Self-competition in the secondary market

The free trading among players may compete with the developers' revenue, and it is currently unclear which model is more profitable.

Conclusion

Blockchain technology has brought new possibilities to the gaming industry, but to fully realize its potential, more innovation and exploration are still needed. Future success may lie in creating unique gaming experiences rather than simply grafting blockchain onto existing game models. Only in this way can true value be created for players and developers, driving progress in the gaming industry.