5 themes that will define Web3 games in 2024

YGG co-founder Gabby Dizon shares his thoughts on five big themes that he believes will have a huge impact on Web3 gaming in 2024 and beyond.

Written by: BeepCrypto

Yield Guild Games (YGG) wraps up the YGG Web3 Games Summit (W3GS) – an exciting week of game demos, epic announcements, high-stakes tournaments, innovative game jams, and countless memorable on-stage moments etc. W3GS is buzzing with energy and community members are eager to reunite in the Philippines, the epicenter of Web3 gaming adoption, and hear industry leaders share why they believe the future of gaming has begun.

YGG has been at the forefront of web3 gaming for years, with new trends and narratives emerging all the time. On the first day of W3GS’s two-day conference, YGG co-founder Gabby Dizon shared his thoughts on five big topics that he believes will have a huge impact on web3 gaming in 2024 and beyond.

Theme 1: The future of gaming is now

Three years ago, there were very few web3 games for players to discover and explore. In 2023, more than 40 playable Web3 games were exhibited at the YGG Web3 Game Summit, attracting more than 5,300 game players on site and thousands of online players participating.

During the fireside chat, Gabby cited an article from BitPinas, the Philippines’ leading cryptocurrency and blockchain news publication, which listed 8 interesting Web3 games that are now playable. As many web3 games combine free-to-play (F2P) models with blockchain elements, games such as Ragnarok Landverse, Mighty Action Heroes, Anito Legends, Axie Infinity: Origins, Pixelmon, PROJECT XENO, Parallel, and MetaCene are reducing player engagement Threshold because they prioritize user experience and the possibility of ease of use.

At the height of the 2021 bull market, a lot of money poured into web3 games, and now, after two years in development, these web3 games are launching and proving that they are fun, easy to use, and appeal to a wider audience beyond native web3 players.

“We really want the games to be fun, and we want them to be easy for the average gamer to use,” Gabby said. “And then when they get more in-depth, we bring in web3 elements.”

Topic 2: Guild 2.0

Web3 gaming guilds have evolved to provide a more tailored experience for their members, with each guild honing its product around a specific focus. The core goals of most web3 guilds remain similar - to allow players to find their community and achieve their personal goals, thereby rising through the ranks in the open metaverse.

Within YGG, dedicated guilds showcase the diversity of communities within the ecosystem. Sando Metaverse is one example. The Sando Metaverse is led by YGG GAP Ambassador Kookoo, and its members have earned a solid reputation for their excellence in managing Discord servers and onboarding new players to web3 games. Another famous YGG sub-guild is The Guildhouse, which consistently tops the charts for games like Big Time, EV.io, and Castle Crush.

Other guilds that cooperate with YGG, such as Rome, a guild focusing on space exploration and strategy game “Star Atlas”, and Wardens, a guild outside of YGG (composed of professional gamers, content creators and web3 leaders co-led by global KOL yellowpanther collective), both demonstrate how guilds can find their niche and establish their own unique identity within the wider web3 community.

Gabby emphasized: “What is a guild, but a group of players doing things together? I don’t think this concept will really disappear. People want to get together and play games. I think guilds will always exist.”

Topic 3: Web3 tasks as user acquisition method

Traditional user acquisition (UA) strategies follow a top-of-the-funnel approach by leveraging ads on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. to market the game to a very broad audience, including anyone who might be interested in playing the game.

In web3, a “bottom of the funnel” approach has emerged, placing games in front of more targeted known players who possess the necessary attributes, skills and achievements, which can all be verified on-chain, thus Players are proven to be a good fit for the game’s style and requirements, and they are more likely to become fans of the game than download it and play it once. One of the ways players can build their on-chain reputation is by completing native web3 tasks.

“Quests are now the cornerstone of web3 user acquisition,” Gabby said during the fireside chat. In YGG’s own quest solutions, the Guild Development Program (GAP) and SuperQuest, players discover and learn about web3 games while acquiring and growing Skills for participating in web3. GAP Season 4 saw 6,184 YGG account registrations and 4,322 players joined the game in the first Super Mission event - Axie Infinity: Origins. YGG is defining web3 native UA with a focus on bottom-of-funnel targeting to convert highly engaged and skilled players .

Web3 games are moving away from pure token incentives towards systems such as YGG’s Reputation and Progress (RAP), which provide participants with the opportunity to build web3 reputation based on their achievements on the chain, and none of this will Disclosure of users’ personal data.

Gabby explained: “Having all these different reputation plans means that I, as a member of the web3 community, can be part of the DAO, part of the game, perform tasks and build my reputation. Putting these on-chain actually does a lot of good for me.” Who’ and what I’ve done and the accomplishments that I choose to share. And, importantly, that doesn’t mean that I have to give up my real name or what country I’m from. So that really establishes my On-chain reputation—the reputation that users have, that’s very important.”

Topic 4: E-Sports and Content Creators in Web3

Esports mimics much of the traditional sports industry, including its cost model. Unfortunately, this approach is not easy to maintain. Gabby said: “I think web2 esports is going through a winter right now. There’s a lot of money coming in, but it’s not sustainable. Now, people are looking for new business models.”

Instead of large arenas or expensive paid partnerships, web3 eSports aligns incentives with the community and gives the community ownership early so true believers can grow with the game. Gabby emphasizes building esports communities from a grassroots level, and YGG prioritizes supporting small content creators so they can share in the growth of their games and communities.

The shift from token rewards to more novel participation models also prioritizes long-term commitment and meaningful contributions over grinding. Dedicated contributors can be rewarded over the long term, aligning their success with the overall trajectory of the gaming ecosystem.

Esports media company MetaSports, backed by guild and gaming infrastructure BlockchainSpace, is a prime example of their partnership with established and emerging content creators, including Yellowpanther and Kookoo, as well as brands, communities and DAOs such as esports-focused Paladins DAO) cooperation. These collaborations foster a competitive yet welcoming community designed to attract any player willing to participate in the next wave of gaming.

“I’m a big fan of grassroots, community tournaments,” Gabby said. “Let’s see if players actually enjoy this game. Let’s see if this game is a good fit for esports. And then, long term, let’s make a plan.” , for the sport to work with different organizations to grow the sport. I think we are starting to see the beginnings of this and we hope to participate in and host a lot of these competitions in the near future.”

Topic 5: AI NFT and ERC-6551

Gabby also pointed out that new technology standards such as ERC-6551 are driving the development of Web3 games. ERC-6551 is also known as a “token-bound account”. NFTs can own other NFTs, so that NFTs can act as wallets with transaction capabilities. Combined with artificial intelligence, ERC-6551 NFT can directionally collect other NFTs, tokens and other resources in the game.

This kind of experimentation can create entirely new types of games. Spacebar, a fully on-chain game exploring web3 identity applications, and Parallel Colony, an upcoming sci-fi game, are two examples of games leveraging ERC-6551 and AI elements to enable new experiences, such as AI characters and their characters’ possessions that can interact with other An NFT wallet where human and non-human players interact and even trade.

Gabby said: “We also want to use tokens in different ways to bind accounts. We want people to be able to sign up for a guild and then have their own guild badge. The guild badge can have its own wallet. We can do it in the name of the guild rather than as an individual. Do quests and get reputation and rewards. That’s something we hope to achieve sometime next year."

The Philippines remains the hub of Web3 gaming

Finally, Leah asked Gabby, “Which region of the world do you think will lead the adoption of Web3 games?”

Gabby replied: “There are a lot of great developers from all over the world, but for at least the next two years, the market seems to be still going to be in Asia. All of these games are launching in Southeast Asia first, but the leading country in web3 game adoption is still the Philippines .So for those of you here, you are seeing the future of real-time gaming brought to you by the best developers in the world. Thank you!”

W3GS has become a gateway to the future, and Gabby’s vision sets industry expectations for the coming months. YGG has been building non-stop throughout the winter, and as the market starts to heat up, the guild has never been more ready to show the world the fruits of its hard work.

Visit the YGG Facebook page to watch Gabby’s fireside chat at W3GS, as well as other recordings from the event.