Investment in the blockchain gaming sector surpassed $3 billion in 2022, compared to $4.2 billion in 2021. This growth has been driven by pioneering games such as the highly popular Axie Infinity, which boasts over two million daily players, alongside other notable titles like Upland, Splinterlands, and Blankos Block Party. These successes have significantly increased awareness of the “play-to-earn” (P2E) gaming model.
However, despite these promising indicators, blockchain gaming, in its current form, may struggle to survive or, at best, remain a niche market without achieving widespread adoption. For blockchain gaming to grow beyond this point, the current model, which relies on isolated economies and fragmented experiences, will need to evolve. Otherwise, it risks alienating all but the most dedicated P2E enthusiasts.
This presents a challenge, particularly given the habits of the global gaming community, which includes around 3 billion players. For most of these gamers, high entry barriers and complex systems reduce enjoyment. Therefore, although investments in blockchain gaming are significant and public awareness is growing, much more progress is needed to achieve mainstream adoption. The path forward requires fundamental changes—but what should those changes look like?
Scaling Blockchain Gaming
The financialization of in-game items and, more importantly, players' time has opened new opportunities within gaming. This shift has attracted not only new types of players but also non-player personas, such as investors and gaming guilds. A sustainable blockchain gaming model will undoubtedly incorporate investment, economic ownership, and the play-to-earn (P2E) concept. However, the key challenge lies in achieving mass adoption. The blockchain game that successfully appeals to mainstream players, or “normies,” can potentially become the most significant driver of Web3 adoption worldwide.
The billions of gamers across the globe play because gaming is fun. Most rely on free-to-play content and use readily available mobile phones. A blockchain gaming model that fails to align with these mainstream behaviors will be neither sustainable nor scalable. Therefore, the foundation for any successful blockchain gaming model must focus on what made gaming enjoyable in the first place fun.
Building from this core, the model should offer a diverse, flexible experience catering to various participants, including investors, guilds, NFT collectors, game studios, independent creators, P2E scholars, and casual gamers. Achieving this balance where all these stakeholders are engaged without compromising the fun factor is the ultimate goal of blockchain gaming.
Platforms, Not Just Games
For blockchain gaming to thrive long-term, it must offer players scale, simplicity, and choice. This suggests the need for blockchain gaming platforms rather than individual blockchain games. Why?
Simply put, it is impossible to create a single game, whether blockchain-based or not, that appeals to and retains billions of players. People will continue to enjoy multiple games, just as they do now, but managing tens of thousands of separate blockchain economies isn’t practical. Players would accumulate numerous wallets and tokens across various blockchains, far from the seamless user experiences and payment infrastructures we see in mainstream gaming and entertainment, such as music or video streaming services.
Instead of focusing on creating the next blockbuster game, the goal should be to develop a platform for blockchain gaming, something comparable to the scale and diversity of Steam or the Apple App Store. However, unlike the closed ecosystems of Web2 tech giants, these platforms could incorporate the foundational principles of Web3: transparency, decentralization, and community ownership.
The Key to Winning Blockchain Gaming
If we succeed, transitioning from Web2 to Web3 gaming will be far more transformative than a typical hardware or software upgrade, like moving from PS4 to PS5 or iOS 14 to iOS 15. Rather than just offering cosmetic improvements, it will provide an opportunity to rebuild core aspects of the gaming world. This shift would ensure fair rewards for players’ time and talent, give them ownership of their favourite games and experiences, and allow them to influence the evolution of these games.
To achieve this at scale, blockchain gaming must appeal to everyone from play-to-earn enthusiasts to casual gamers, offering multiple ways to play and engage. Ideally, these experiences should be housed within a few multi-functional ecosystems that integrate multiple games under a unified economy and seamless user experience (UX). This would eliminate the interoperability issues that have plagued Web2 “metaverse” platforms.
If the industry fails to move in this direction, blockchain gaming risks becoming a fragmented collection of niche P2E experiences, limiting its potential for mainstream success.
Conclusion
While blockchain gaming has attracted significant investments and raised awareness with pioneering titles, its future hinges on achieving widespread adoption beyond niche play-to-earn (P2E) communities. To thrive, blockchain gaming must evolve from isolated economies and complex systems to platforms offering simplicity, scalability, and enjoyable experiences. The key to mainstream success lies in prioritizing fun, aligning with the behaviors of the broader gaming community, and embracing diverse participation from investors, creators, and casual gamers alike. Rather than focusing on individual games, the industry must build integrated platforms that offer seamless user experiences and unified economies. Only by achieving this balance can blockchain gaming move from a fragmented niche to a transformative force in the gaming world and become a significant driver of Web3 adoption.
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