The co-founder of Solana game MixMob, Pavel Bains, says most of the funding for Web3 and NFT games is being allocated for the wrong reasons. He said the key to a successful game is a pool of developers with experience in multiple industries to improve Axie Infinity, for example.
Bains said the real innovation lies in combining human capital and technology. An impressive pitch deck can impress investors, but the resources required for such games are often overlooked.
How games can go beyond Axie Infinity
Bains said it takes time to build good Web3 games. Those in 2024 will benefit from the lessons learned in first-generation games like Axie Infinity.
Read more: Top 14 NFT games to earn
For example, the newer games will learn to improve the in-game tokenomics based on Axie’s mistakes. They could also improve aspects of the gameplay to maintain user immersion, Bains surmised.
“Many of the games that entered development in 2022 and 2023 will have playable versions in 2024. We don’t need five or ten games to be great. You only need one or two.”
For example, if a player has to leave the game to enter their crypto wallet address to exchange in-game assets, the experience is ruined. Gamers also don’t like being taken advantage of, according to Michael Sanders, a builder of infrastructure for NFT and Web3 games.
Web2 gamers are also more interested in gameplay than blockchain. To win them over to Web3, developers must prioritize gameplay, Sanders suggests. All crypto-related transactions and activities must be carried out behind the scenes, without the gamer having to worry about crypto keys and wallets, for example.
Read more: Crypto Gaming: What is it and how does it work?
Will these NFT games convince gamers?
DappRadar’s NFT Gaming Report predicts which titles will be popular in 2024. Most have vastly improved graphics compared to first-generation games and may have a better chance of attracting traditional gamers.
Revenue forecast for NFT transactions in games | Source: S&P Global
Illuvium, a game built on Ethereum rollup ImmutableX, is an open-world game that allows players to own land NFTs and capture Illuvials creatures. Open-world Web2 games like Far Cry and Unchartered have proven popular with gamers, which could be a good sign for Illuvium.
Torque Drift 2 is a car racing and drifting game still in development at Polygon. According to the developers, the game captures the drift culture of Tokyo in its gameplay.
This focus could attract fans of similar games on Web2. The game also does not have a native token, but is part of a decentralized REVV ecosystem.