2022 will be a year to forget for GameFi as the Play-to-Earn (P2E) movement faltered. Unsustainable tokenomics and a dearth of genuinely great games meant there was little progress to celebrate in the emerging GameFi sector.

As users realized that many of these games weren’t particularly fun and token prices fell across the board, so did the earning potential of these P2E titles. Not surprisingly, some GameFi companies tried to move away from the Play-to-Earn moniker and embrace what is increasingly being called Play. Y To win. The difference may seem slight, but it is crucial.

The new improved GameFi, forged in the fire of cryptocurrencies horrible year, revolves around the notion that games should be fun first and foremost, with earning potential built in through things like NFT markets to make it easy to trade in-game items. However, such provisions should be viewed as an add-on rather than a core game feature.

This year GameFi will come of age and its growth is likely to be fueled in part by Web2 companies porting their most popular titles to Web3.

two turn into three

2023 has the potential to be a breakthrough year for Web3 games. A number of highly anticipated native titles are finally coming to market, including Star Atlas and Illuvium. The big question is whether we will also see a number of Web2 game developers switch to Web3. mass to capitalize on the monetization opportunities offered by GameFi.

Last year, more than $7 billion was invested in Web3 games and several well-known traditional gamers tentatively entered the space. These include Epic Games, as well as the makers of the phenomenally popular PUBG and Grand Theft Auto. For example, in 2022 Blankos Block Party and Grit debuted in Epic Games stores.

For GameFi advocates, it’s a matter of when not Yeah traditional game studios are entering the fray in greater numbers and using the many properties that are unique to Web3.

Web3 provides an opportunity for game developers to unlock new revenue streams and also expose classic games to a new audience. While gamers will focus on the immersion, graphics, and fun of these games, behind the scenes it’s critical that these versions of Web3 run smoothly, with minimal latency and maximum uptime.

To facilitate this, game developers will rely on specialized infrastructure providers, particularly those that can help game companies scale to meet the demands of Web3. One of the main drivers of this trend will be the increased availability of tools to move traditional gaming to blockchain-enabled infrastructure. Products like Ankr’s Gaming SDK will be crucial in facilitating this by breaking down the barriers to Web3 compatibility. This allows developers to combine the fun gameplay that users already know and love with the incentives and monetization mechanisms that are an integral part of Web3. The Ankr SDK makes it simple to convert any asset into an NFT and embed it directly into a game along with an NFT marketplace and native token.

Of course, one of the barriers that must be overcome for Web3 games to thrive this year is breaking the app store duopoly. Apple and Google’s dominance of the mobile app market has resulted in the removal of Web3 apps like Stepn from the former’s store. While Elon Musk is likely too busy to follow through on his threat to build his own smartphone to bypass Apple’s censorship, the arrival of the Solana mobile SDK and phone deals offer hope that Web3 games will find a safe home.

More gameplay, more fun

This year, we can also expect to see much more immersive and playable Web3 games with better user onboarding and a cleaner user experience. The best titles will be equipped with token-powered economies that have sustainability built into them. This will prevent the initial popularity spike from being followed by flat metrics once the rewards token has been squeezed.

The total market capitalization of all the assets that make up the GameFi sector currently stands at around $5 billion. This makes it 35 times smaller than the overall gaming industry, which last year was worth around $184 billion. It’s clear that GameFi has a long way to go, or rather grow, before Web3 gaming is taken seriously by the industry at large.

However, it takes time to develop good games, and the billions that have been poured into the emerging GameFi sector through 2021-22 will start to pay off this year. The Block estimates that only around 30% of all GameFi titles are currently playable, with the rest still in development.

While native Web3 game studios may have underestimated the time it takes to get a good game to market, the wait time to convert a Web2 title is significantly less. For this reason, don’t be surprised if the Web3 games whose names come up this year sound a little familiar to you.

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