Web3 gaming has skyrocketed in popularity following the debut of Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the Metaverse during the 2021 bull run.
According to the latter report According to DApp Radar, the blockchain gaming sector was responsible for the majority of on-chain activity, with a market dominance of 28%, while the average number of daily active wallets was $6.8 million.
But despite its remarkable growth over the past three years, it’s clear that Web3 gaming has not yet reached the level of adoption that stakeholders envisioned in the past. For context, a popular Web2 game like Fortnite has over 650 million registered players, while Call of Duty (CoD) has over 100 million monthly users, according to the latest data. statistics.
What are Web3 games missing to achieve mainstream adoption? The most obvious shortcoming is the quality of Web3 games, but more importantly, do players get the value initially promised in the concept of incentivized gameplays and can these rewards be redeemed for external value outside the crypto ecosystem?
Incentives: The Key to Mainstream Adoption in Web3 Gaming
The Web 3.0 ecosystem is often touted as the stimulated economy; what this means is that participants are rewarded with value, often in the form of tokens or in-game items in the case of Web3 games. This model has allowed pioneering blockchain networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to achieve mainstream adoption for the simple fact that miners and validators are compensated with ‘valuable’ digital assets.
Likewise, the Web3 gaming ecosystem has an opportunity to return to its glory by paying more attention to the lucrativeness and sustainability of its incentive models. There have been several cases where games like Axie Infinity, which almost went viral worldwide, became just another name in the industry. To provide some context, SLP, the rewards token for Axie Infinity players, is down 99% from its all-time high.
A two-pronged Shock and Awe approach
On the plus side, innovators in the Web3 gaming ecosystem have the flexibility to try out more flexible incentive models. A double shock and awe approach is one of the effective ways that stakeholders in this space can leverage to achieve mainstream adoption. But what exactly does this strategy entail?
Simply put, this means allocating a significant amount of money to life-changing rewards for participating or completing tasks in a Web3 game, massive prize pools, and the scalable infrastructure to match the level of incentives in more advanced gaming ecosystems like esports -industry.
A great example of a Web3 gaming ecosystem that is already implementing an incredible rewards strategy is Funtico. This full-stack chain-agnostic platform is designed to bridge the gap between the fun and reward aspects by introducing a Web3 gaming ecosystem powered by incredible rewards.
At its core, Funtico prioritizes big rewards for the Web3 games within its ecosystem. The platform features multiple tournaments, including branded tournaments, community tournaments, leaderboards, and private spaces that organizations looking to run organized Web3 gaming tournaments can use to incentivize players.
Currently, Funtico is hosting a tournament called “THE BIG BANTER SHOWDOWN Quarter Final” for one of its internal games, Formula Funtico, with a prize pool of up to $5000 USDT. The platform’s tap-to-earn game, Lucky Funatic, also offers tournaments with a large prize pool, coupled with the thrill of players seamlessly participating in the game by simply tapping to earn these rewards.
It is also interesting to observe other Web3 games in the tap-to-earn ecosystem that use the incentive model to attract more users, such as Hamster Kombat. This TON-based game involves gameplay where players act as hamsters tasked with conducting a crypto exchange to earn in-game rewards.
More importantly, the shock approach does not end with the first rewards. There are many times when Web3 gamers find themselves holding devalued coins, as was the case with Axie Infinity, not to mention that most Web3 gaming ecosystems do not have sustainable continuity models and thus no longer have incentives for users already on board.
In order for Web3 gaming innovators to consistently attract new audiences, innovators must adopt more sustainable incentive elements such as affiliate programs combined with an advanced user interface, transparency, and superior gaming systems that can not only rival those of Fortnite and CoD, but also increase participation increase with rewards that can be redeemed both internally and externally.
Wrapping up
As mentioned in the introduction, the Web3 gaming ecosystem is one of the most active crypto subsectors, but it is nowhere near the level of adoption it should have. While implementing more “incentivized tokenomics” may seem cliché, the key lies in making these rewards sustainable.
The next era of Web3 gaming adoption will likely be defined by incredible rewards that are not limited by speculative narratives, but accompanied by the value these rewards provide to players and the models innovators use to keep them valuable for longer periods of time. of more stimulus programs around the world. Web3 games life cycle.