The next article is an op-ed by Daniil Shcherbakov,
As 2024 involves an finish, the Web3 gaming trade remains to be at a crossroads. Usually touted as the way forward for gaming, with guarantees of true freedom for gamers, it has additionally change into a graveyard for ambition — 75% of initiatives launched between 2018 and 2023 failed inside a 12 months.
And because the trade stands on the point of 2025, hopes are excessive, however the cracks are arduous to disregard. The market is holding its breath, awaiting this 12 months’s statistics.
However earlier than we speculate on Web3 gaming’s subsequent chapter, it’s essential to take a better have a look at 2024 — a 12 months that would sign evolution or underscore stagnation. Has the trade begun to adapt and mature, or is it doomed to repeat its errors, perpetuating its picture as a high-risk gamble cloaked in hype?
The Limitless Cycle of Rising and Fading Stars
One a part of the story is that 2024 has certainly added one other chapter to the graveyard of failed Web3 gaming initiatives — even for these initially perceived as trusted and sustainable.
Take Dimensionals, for instance, a venture that originally embraced NFTs however ultimately selected to abandon the Web3 mannequin altogether. Or Shrapnel, which was as soon as heralded as a promising enterprise however has destabilized its growth trajectory by inside authorized battles and abrupt group modifications. In the meantime, Illuvium, regardless of its bold plans to launch three interconnected video games concurrently, is struggling with a core problem — retaining and fascinating gamers.
This can be a acquainted narrative for Web3. Again and again, the trade has been undermined by recurring pitfalls: unsure regulatory environments, lackluster consumer experiences, and poorly conceived financial incentives. And in 2024, many contributors within the Web3 gaming sector nonetheless believed they might proceed to overpromise and underdeliver, focusing extra on speculative hype than on real leisure worth.
That’s why, regardless of rising recognition of blockchain’s potential in possession and monetization, the gaming area dangers turning into one other cautionary story akin to NFTs, ICOs, and early play-to-earn fashions. With out basic modifications, if initiatives proceed to compete solely when it comes to token and consumer acquisition, slightly than delivering gameplay experiences as compelling as Murderer’s Creed or World of Warcraft, the trade may stagnate additional.
On a Darkish and Gloomy Highway, Glimmers of Hope Shine By
However regardless of its turbulent historical past, 2024 has marked a possible inflection level for Web3 gaming — a 12 months when innovation began slicing by the noise.
Telegram, for instance, has moved past simplistic gaming fashions to launch video games with better complexity and depth. Examples embody DRFT Occasion, providing an final racing expertise; Durov Run, a Subway Surfers-style sport with a singular twist — an action-packed, continuous operating expertise on Telegram; Catizen, partaking cat-themed social leisure; and Tons of Dungeons, a treasure for followers of video games that includes limitless dungeons stuffed with rewards and traps.
By integrating blockchain options in a seamless, user-friendly manner and specializing in community-driven engagement, the platform is lastly embracing what gaming must be: immersive, significant, and genuinely partaking.
Main Web2 sport publishers like Ubisoft and PlayStation have additionally stepped up, proving that blockchain in gaming has actual demand and functions. Ubisoft’s Champion Ways has demonstrated how AAA studios can leverage expertise to ship true participant possession with out compromising gameplay.
Equally, PlayStation’s Off the Grid is a testomony to how blockchain can improve immersion and add significant worth slightly than serving as mere gimmick. These aren’t any small feats — Ubisoft and PlayStation sign that blockchain gaming is edging nearer to mainstream acceptance.
Much more telling is the institutional shift towards Web3 gaming. The Malaysian Digital Financial system Company’s partnership with CARV highlights a brand new wave of governmental assist. Such initiatives counsel that even nationwide economies see Web3 gaming not simply as a distinct segment expertise however as a scalable, long-term alternative.
And this momentum is altering the narrative. If Web2 gaming giants, a world superapp, and governments alike are prepared to put money into and champion Web3 gaming, they clearly acknowledge its untapped potential. The demand is actual, the evolution is seen, and for the primary time in years, the trade can really break away from its cycle of hype and failure. These aren’t simply glimmers of hope — they’re the constructing blocks of a sustainable future.
Players Are Wiser Now, Sadly for Many Who Got here Only for Fast Money
So, video games are positively slowly however steadily shifting from play-to-earn fashions towards play-AND-earn ones. However this transformation didn’t occur in a single day as a result of publishers randomly determined it was time for high quality initiatives. It stems from an simple actuality: gamers have gotten proof against poor experiences that rely solely on token drops as incentives.
Players have despatched a transparent message: they search leisure, not schemes designed to empty their wallets or waste their time with speculative incomes guarantees. Profitable initiatives perceive that compelling gameplay, not simply tokenomics, should sit on the core of their design.
One other vital evolution is how gamers understand blockchain belongings. Utility now reigns supreme. Gamers are now not swayed by hole guarantees of asset possession and interoperability. They demand objects that genuinely improve their gaming expertise — distinctive skins, characters, and instruments that add tangible worth, could be moved between video games, or are tradable with different gamers.
Initiatives that fail to adapt to those calls for danger alienating their core viewers, with participant retention charges dropping daily. This shift highlights an essential pattern: avid gamers are taking management of the trade’s future and shaping it on their phrases, whether or not or not some sport publishers settle for it.
This Time, Gamers Are Setting the Guidelines of the Sport
So, there’s excellent news and dangerous information. The dangerous information: Web3 gaming stays at a crossroads, with some initiatives caught between outdated gaming fashions and significant new designs. The excellent news: there are promising indicators of progress.
Over the subsequent 3–5 years, the sector’s trajectory shall be formed by the success of informal and cellular video games that combine blockchain expertise seamlessly and usefully. Fashions like Play-to-Personal and Create-to-Earn, which reward gamers for enhancing video games and encourage creativity, will prepared the ground.
Nevertheless, for many Web3 video games to realize true parity with their Web2 counterparts, they have to hit a number of vital milestones. First, accessibility should take middle stage: video games must be intuitive and fulfilling, even for gamers unfamiliar with cryptocurrency.
Second, forging priceless partnerships with established Web2 trade leaders shall be important for credibility and broader adoption. Third, the sector should navigate regulatory hurdles successfully, as no degree of participant engagement can compensate for an absence of safety and compliance.
Most significantly, Web3 gaming should reveal why blockchain integration is a necessity on this new period of gaming freedom. Solely by reaching these objectives can Web3 gaming fulfill its potential and emerge as a strong different to the legendary, basic tales of Web2 gaming.
