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In an eagerly awaited announcement, the GAM3 Awards 2023 has unveiled its final shortlist of nominees, setting the stage for a thrilling showdown on December 14, 2023. This marks the second year of the highly anticipated Web3 gaming event, described by many as the “Oscars of Web3 gaming,” presented in collaboration with Magic Eden. With a generous prize pool exceeding $2 million, the GAM3 Awards will showcase the crème de la crème of Web3 gaming.
This year’s event will feature 40 shortlisted games spanning nine blockchain networks. The selection process for the final nominees was no small feat, as 214 initially nominated games faced the scrutiny of over 70 gaming experts. The criteria for selection included gameplay, mechanics, replayability potential, the “fun” factor, accessibility, and overall quality.
The result is a diverse shortlist that reflects the explosive growth of Web3 gaming, with 40 games making the cut compared to 106 nominees in the inaugural 2022 edition. Noteworthy inclusions this year are four shortlisted finalists from the Arbitrum blockchain, making its awards debut. The top five networks represented in the final shortlists are Polygon, Ethereum, Immutable X, Arbitrum, and Avalanche. The next stage welcomes community voting, commencing today, November 22nd, for the 40 shortlisted games.
GAM3 Awards Spotlights Excellence
The GAM3 Awards prides itself on bringing together a jury comprising traditional and Web3 gaming experts. This year’s panel includes executives and leaders from industry giants such as Amazon, Google, Ubisoft, Microsoft, and Samsung, alongside representatives from Web3 gaming ecosystems, venture capitalists, media outlets, and content creators.
The prize pool for the winning games surpasses $2 million and encompasses various rewards such as cash grants, tech service credits, marketing support, sponsored tournaments, infrastructure support, and cloud gaming functionality. Partners contributing to this substantial pool include Amazon, Magic Eden, AD Gaming, Ultra, Blockchain Gaming Alliance, Naavik, Aethir, and Horizon, among others.
In the second phase of the GAM3 Awards, the decision-making process combines input from both jury members and public voting. In this stage, the jury’s votes carry a 90% weight, while community votes contribute the remaining 10%. This arrangement essentially assigns the public a role equivalent to possessing 7 seats on the jury in terms of influence. This dynamic could serve as a tiebreaker or potentially tip the balance in favor of certain finalists over others.
Nevertheless, certain categories, including the ‘People’s Choice Award’ and ‘Best Content Creator,’ exclusively hinge on community votes. These categories have already garnered more than 50,000 nominations, showcasing over 500 games and 300 creators worldwide as fan favorites. Furthermore, the ‘Games’ Choice Award’ is decided by shortlisted game studios casting votes for what essentially amounts to their own version of the game of the year.
In the current year, the jury identified certain games that notably stood out. Big Time, Wildcard, Parallel, and Deadrop led the pack with the highest number of nominations, each receiving 5. Following closely behind were Illuvium and MetalCore, each securing 4 nominations. The grand finale of the GAM3 Awards is set to livestream on December 14th, 2023, and will be hosted on various platforms, including Twitch, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter).
The event promises gameplay premieres and exclusive trailer debuts from titles such as Star Atlas and The Unioverse, among others. In the previous year’s ceremony, several games, including Mythic Protocol Riftstorm, Mighty Action Heroes, and NFL Rivals, showcased public premieres and exclusive footage. Notably, NFL Rivals has achieved over 3 million downloads for its mobile game since then.
Community engagement remains a focal point, with Magic Eden offering exclusive rewards for voters, including an exclusive free mint providing early access to future mints, gaming raffles, and exclusive quests. The community also has a chance to win rewards from a prize pool exceeding $100,000, featuring in-game items, early access passes, gaming PCs, gaming consoles, and accessories.
Celebrating Innovation in Web3 Gaming
As the Web3 gaming industry continues to evolve, industry leaders express optimism about the quality of games. George Yousling, Director of Business Development at Polygon Labs, notes the encouraging trend of high-quality games reaching open beta and early access, emphasizing polished core loops, tutorials, in-game economies, and progression systems.
He said, “Despite the macro headwinds, I’m encouraged by high-quality games reaching open beta and early access. Games that are fun to play with fleshed-out core loops, tutorials, in-game economies, and progression systems. User flows that remove friction through account abstraction and help get players enjoying the experience upfront as opposed to clunky onboarding.”
Robby Yung, CEO of Animoca Brands, reflects on 2023 as a milestone year, highlighting, “2023 is going to be remembered as a milestone year, on the one hand, because the economic downturn meant that only the most dedicated developers continued building, but on the other hand because the kinds of games that we’re seeing launch now are far more polished than the first generation of Web3 games.”
Looking ahead to 2024, Chris Akhavan, Chief Gaming Officer at Magic Eden, expresses excitement about the future of Web3 gaming, acknowledging the significance of nominated Web3 games at the GAM3 Awards. He said, “We are thrilled to see over 200 Web3 games nominated for the GAM3 Awards. Can’t wait to see who the winners will be on December 14th, and in the meantime, we all have a lot of playing to do!”
The GAM3 Awards, established in 2022, celebrates innovation and creativity at the intersection of blockchain and consumer entertainment. In its second year, the event, presented by GAM3S.GG, has garnered support from new partners such as Magic Eden, Amazon, and Google. Magic Eden, the leading cross-chain NFT platform, has facilitated over $3 billion in transactional volume, bringing dynamic cultural moments onto the blockchain. The GAM3 Awards will reward top game developers with monetary prizes and services valued at over $2 million, solidifying its position as the industry’s leading Web3 gaming awards.
To access the complete roster of nominees, please visit gam3awards.com for detailed information. The final voting phase commences on November 22nd and continues until December 1st, exclusively on GAM3S.GG‘s platform on the GAM3 Awards page. Keep an eye out for exclusive content, interviews with the jury, announcements of finalists, and other updates leading up to the ceremony on December 14. For additional details, visit gam3awards.com.