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08/13/2024

The Future of Web3 Gaming — Blockchain Futurist Conference

According to a 2024 OnePoll survey of 2,000 adults, 52% of respondents said they didn't know what blockchain gaming was. Executives from World3, Helika, and Anomaly Games took the stage at this year's Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto, Canada to discuss the current state and future of Web3 gaming. Long Do, CEO of Anomaly Games, opened by explaining his company's focus on stripping away the complex technical components of the blockchain experience so that users don't even realize they're interacting with blockchain systems.

According to a 2024 OnePoll survey of 2,000 adults, 52% of respondents said they didn't know what blockchain gaming was.

Executives from World3, Helika, and Anomaly Games took the stage at this year's Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto, Canada to discuss the current state and future of Web3 gaming.

Long Do, CEO of Anomaly Games, opened by explaining his company's focus on stripping away the complex technical components of the blockchain experience so that users don't even realize they're interacting with blockchain systems.

Do went on to highlight the stark contrast in earning potential between traditional game developers and Web3 game studios:

"I believe around 50% of game developers earn a combined total of less than $2,000 over their entire careers, yet a Web3 game developer actually earns more than a Web2 game developer."

Michael Grills, Chief Product Officer at World3, expanded on this theme by discussing the potential to build robust player economies as a core value proposition of Web3 gaming.

He explained that, much like trading card games, the community-driven trading of in-game assets would be a primary blockchain use case in video games:

"Community is the opportunity in Web3, because the ability to actually trade and own those assets — and the ability to exchange them — is exciting and returns more value to the community than the game itself does."

Anton Umnov, co-founder and CEO of Helika, argued that onchain games serve as a "gateway" to bring more users into the broader crypto ecosystem, claiming that 50% of transactions on some blockchain networks originate from onchain games.

The Rise of Telegram Gaming

Umnov's remarks were illustrated by the growth of Telegram games and the use of simple Telegram Open Network (TON) games to funnel users into the Web3 space. Ruslan Fakhrutdinov, CEO of X10, believes this strategy could help Telegram onboard the first billion users into the crypto ecosystem.

To that end, in July 2024, Helika and Notcoin — a popular tap-to-play game on Telegram — announced a $50 million gaming accelerator program to drive the growth of Telegram-based games.

More recently, former executives of the Telegram Open Network Foundation launched a $40 million development fund to support the growth of mini-apps within the TON ecosystem, following the massive success of Telegram games like Hamster Kombat and the launch of the mini-app store inside the Telegram app.