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Web3 gaming is still in its infancy, but it is expanding quickly. There has been a significant increase in investment in Web3 gaming in recent years. The entire amount spent was around $4 billion in 2021, projected to increase to $9.25 billion in 2022. It seems that 2023 will introduce even more new developments and investments in new projects.
How it started
Blockchain gaming and gambling started getting popular with the introduction of decentralized applications, mostly developed on Ethereum blockchain. Before that, online gambling introduced Bitcoin payments into their routine. Pretty soon users understood that for the casino deposit crypto is the best solution. For example, such platforms as Coinplay step by step introduced convenient means of paying in various cryptocurrency, even incentivizing gamers to choose these payment options, providing lots of bonuses.
Meanwhile, the growing popularity of blockchain-based betting and gambling platforms boosted the whole industry forward. Developers started introducing non-gambling games with fungible and non-fungible tokens as means of payment, various gaming utilities and collectible items.
The benefits of blockchain were also obvious with the use of smart contracts for executing functions, providing a higher level of user experience and proving fairness in gaming.
How it’s going
While blockchain provides consumers an advantage in gaming, particularly in terms of ownership, there is still a lot of room for developers to build tools that improve the functionality of those games.
Despite the $50 billion value of the gaming skins market in Web2, gamers only truly own the assets outside the games they are utilized in. Skins can be converted into NFTs in Web3 gaming to get around this restriction in Web2 gaming.
Play-to-earn games, popular among players in developing nations because they may generate a sizable income from their game winnings, still dominate the contemporary Web3 gaming business. These games, however, are not renowned for their user interfaces or inventive settings. They tend to be utilitarian, which severely restricts their appeal. The weak part of these games is tokenomics – most of the games can’t provide sustainable developments due to the falling prices of their tokens, which also leads to lower user retention rates.
What is yet to come of Web3 gaming?
The potential of play-to-earn is boundless. By 2029, it is expected that the esports industry will have reached $5.48 billion. Play-to-earn allows users to earn money while they play, making it possible for more people than ever to support themselves via gaming. At the same time, we will witness more and more high-quality gaming ventures thanks to the significant investments made in the blockchain gaming sector (about $3 billion in 2022).
Decentralized gaming apps have a ton of potential, given the market gaps in Web2 and Web3 gaming. Additionally, there is much room for gamification in various businesses using the native Web3 incentive structures. Even if we anticipate the arrival of these games, many of them are still in the planning phases. It will take some time before they are available for public testing because they were only recently funded. 2023 will be a significant year for Web3 gaming, as several games are anticipated to debut in alpha or beta versions in Q1 2023.
Game7 introduced a $100 million award initiative in November to hasten the creation of Web3 games. They also disclosed some information on a new Web3 — Github plugin for Unreal Engine. Epic Games' well-known 3D production software and the game engine will soon be available on Web3. Traditional players and game designers criticize blockchain games for being less visually appealing and more transaction-focused. In 2023, Game7 will release a new Unreal Engine plugin that will enable creators to integrate Unreal features into blockchain games smoothly. Scalable immersive worlds and improved aesthetics will be possible.
Game7 remains true to its goal of hastening the creation of open-source Web3 games. Additionally, the NFT and gaming investor Animoca Brands has disclosed plans for a new $2 billion fund that would concentrate on investing in metaverse firms that will include gaming. While the battle between traditional and blockchain gamers is still in progress, it is evident that in 2023 there will be many options for all game producers interested in the Web3 domain to obtain support.
2023 will be the year of creative gaming partnerships
The inflow of creative talent has brought together the primary components required for the future creation of some legendary games into the realm of NFTs. There have been several collaborations in 2022 to introduce companies to blockchain gaming and the metaverse. Mythical Games collaborated with the NFL, Upland made a deal with FIFA, and Sandbox with several well-known brands.
However, the vision for Web3 gaming is growing as more games incorporate famous players. More people enter the realm of Web3 gaming as their understanding of the NFT user experience grows. Celebrities and NFT artists are becoming more aware of the transparency, ownership, and interoperability that NFTs provide.
More players will enter the blockchain gaming market as more established NFT inventors and collections see the long-term potential of gamification. Who knows where this will go when the range of creative outlets increases? How may gamified experiences will be created by AI artists, 3D modelers, poets, photographers, and musicians?
Since there is greater competition for user retention, it is getting harder to keep up with the needs of today's players as blockchain games develop quickly. It is easier to stop this tendency once players realize they can win, earn, and exchange their in-game goods.
Although 2022 had some of the most extraordinary collapses in crypto history, Web3 technology still has the potential to alter consumer behavior significantly. Crypto is already at the stage where it does not lack choices for infrastructure, thanks to a concentration on infrastructure into 2022. In 2023, crypto will require apps promoting user acceptance and opening the door for Web2 to become Web3. Therefore, in 2023, we will notice developers reorienting their attention away from creating infrastructure products and toward the application layer since gaming is becoming a part of life.