The main points
-
Even though the market is in deep winter, web3 games still have 800,000 users every day.
-
Web3 games are gradually improving, from Web3 games evolved from DeFi, to X2E with enhanced narrative, to AAA games and metaverses.
-
In the future, Web3 games need consensus and more high-quality projects to build an industry ecosystem.
The crypto market is gradually picking up. The compelling field of Web3 gaming is also attracting more buidlers to contribute.
While financial incentives attract many people in the early stages of Web3 gaming, eventually a sizable portion of players will enter the world of Web3 gaming primarily driven by gaming experience and community. Understanding how and why different users engage with Web3 gaming is important to gain a glimpse into the future of the industry.
In an era where mainstream audiences are increasingly receptive to new forms of immersive entertainment, Web3 games have huge potential for growth. This paper explores the evolution of Web3 games by analyzing the main categories, project characteristics, and motivations of different user groups participating in the current game market.
What is Web3 Game?
Web3 games are games built on the decentralized, peer-to-peer structure of blockchain technology.
The concept of monetizing games is not new, but Web3 games represent real user ownership and control over the gaming ecosystem. Players own in-game assets that are entirely theirs in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or cryptocurrencies and can be freely traded or sold.
Web3 games are in a stage of rapid development and represent the future of the gaming industry. While concepts like the open metaverse are still in their infancy, Web3 games already show great potential. As Web3 gaming transitions from emerging to mainstream, there are good reasons to be optimistic about the industry's growth prospects.
Who are the players in the Web3 game?
Web3 Game Users & Projects
Even though the market is in deep winter, web3 games still have 800,000 users every day.
It is difficult to classify users of Web3 games due to the many different ways of interaction that can be used for different purposes. There are some platforms that base their decisions on the number of unique wallet addresses, but this measure ignores the assessment of how active the game is and why.
Users of Web3 games participate for a variety of reasons, including real players looking to relax, investors looking to make money, bot accounts manipulating the system, and more. In order to assess the health and potential of Web3 games, it is important to understand the motivations and behaviors of users in different domains.
Additionally, Web3 gamers are typically younger, better educated, and more technically proficient than the average gamer. While the average gamer is 35 years old, the average Web3 gamer is between 25 and 30 years old.
Different types of Web3 games and their players
Early Web3 games: the combination of game shell and DeFi
Early Web3 games developed from DeFi, combining the asset allocation principles of DeFi with game elements. These Web3 games mainly put the DeFi principle directly into the game, and basically do not have a really perfect game system.
Users of Axie Infinity are primarily concerned with profitability.
The main goal of early Web3 games was to attract users interested in making a quick profit, rather than creating a truly immersive gaming experience. As a result, game design and graphics lack the depth and complexity of traditional games, resulting in a poor user experience.
Axie Infinity Daily Active Users
However, according to Footprint Analytics data, Axie Infinity has entered a period of stagnation, with only about 9,000 daily active users, compared with millions of active users during its peak period.
Axie Infinity Weekly Retention Rate
User retention rate is an important indicator in user analytics, it shows how many users are still using the product at a certain stage. Axie Infinity's primary user base is focused on making money, not the game itself. This creates a Play to Earn model where players are primarily driven by the potential financial gain rather than the fun of the game, resulting in a low post-market retention rate of around 10%.
To develop a successful Web3 game ecosystem, it is necessary to go beyond the form of DeFi and explore ways to creatively integrate it into games. Developing unique and complex game economies, innovative monetization models using blockchain technology, and making user experience a priority in game design are all ways to break the game.
Nevertheless, early Web3 games also introduced some innovative game mechanisms, such as breeding and fighting. Although the design is still relatively basic compared with traditional games, it also makes people see that Web3 games have become a successful ecosystem after basic design. system potential.
X2E Phase: Focus on Narrative and Realistic Meaning
X2E products often feature meaningful real-life activities or creative behaviors as core game mechanics. Unlike games that were completely profit-driven in the early stages, X2E attaches great importance to community culture and values. For example, STEPN not only promotes healthy lifestyles through sports, but also contributes to charitable activities through the STEPN Foundation.
STEPN Incorporates Real-Life Narratives, Attracts More Users
STEPN turns real-life behaviors into games with more user-friendly game mechanics and greater potential for long-term engagement. The game design encourages users to engage in physical activity, achieve specific goals, and submit proof of completion through the STEPN app. The game rewards users for their efforts, motivating them to continue their healthy and active habits.
STEPN Weekly Retention Rate
During the active period in March 2022, STEPN's weekly retention rate can reach more than 30%. This is because STEPN attaches great importance to the establishment of community culture and values, attracting users with strong social attributes and interaction needs.
In order to increase the penetration rate of the game, STEPN needs to further improve its game mechanics and user interface to create a more engaging and interactive experience. By providing a more meaningful and rewarding gaming experience, STEPN can foster user loyalty and help build a stronger user base.
STEPN Active User
However, the significant increase in sneaker prices has led to a surge in selling pressure, which could put STEPN at risk if not enough new users enter the ecosystem.
AAA games: Emphasis on gameplay and user base
AAA games are known for high-quality graphics, rich content, and a great player experience, factors that can significantly improve the quality of Web3 games. The participation of AAA game studios and capital can also bring valuable resources and professional experience to Web3 games, further promoting the growth of its indicators.
Illuvium aims to operate for a long time through its rich game background and excellent game mechanics.
Illuvium is a high-level Web3 game project with inherent advantages in product quality and user experience. Illuvium has gone to great lengths to create stunning 3D environments and models to suit the player's needs, and the control system is excellent. The game offers various PVE and PVP gameplay options. All of these factors combine to make Illuvium a highly engaging and long-term user draw.
Illuvium Active User Trend
Although Illuvium has fared better than other games in the bear market, according to Footprint Analytics, the platform still maintains a relatively low level of daily active users (hundreds of users). This may be due to the low overall user base of the platform and only a small number of long-term active users in Web3 games.
Illuvium Weekly Retention Analysis
Additionally, to address low retention rates, Illuvium needed to optimize its player return mechanics. Only relying on the platform's high-quality game graphics and strong team background cannot retain users. By enhancing user engagement measures and improving user experience, Illuvium can further increase its visibility and influence in the market, attracting more new users who prefer a more immersive gaming experience.
An Open Metaverse in the Future: Building a Virtual World and Shaping the Future
According to Report Linker, the global metaverse game market is expected to reach US$447.8 billion in 2027, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.3% from 2020 to 2027. This growth will be driven by factors such as rising internet penetration, popularity of smartphones and mobile gaming, and increasing popularity of virtual reality and virtual worlds.
Metaverse and virtual world represent the inevitable trend and direction of blockchain technology and Web3 game development. It will create a persistent and open digital space for users, enabling them to experience various entertainment and social activities. This will undoubtedly become an important part of users' digital life in the Web3 era.
For now, however, the metaverse and virtual worlds are still in the concept stage. Although early products such as Decentraland and Sandbox have been launched, there is still a lot of room for improvement in terms of openness, community activities, and degree of commercialization. This requires the community and project parties to continuously optimize and enrich the content to attract more users and capital.
future we can look forward to
Web3 Gaming 1.0 demonstrates the difference between Web2 and Web3 player attributes. The project needs to absorb the speculation in the early stage through the internal circulation, not just rely on the external circulation mode.
At present, the playability of most Web3 games is still insufficient, and the technology has not yet reflected the advantages of blockchain. In order to build a transitional Web3 game model, we need to start from the perspective of Web3 users and economic models.
In the future, Web3 games need consensus and more high-quality projects to build an industry ecosystem. As different projects develop, standardized protocols and frameworks need to be established to enable game developers to more effectively implement cross-platform transactions, game combinations, and interactions.
The future of Web3 games requires more research on game content, gameplay, and ecosystem architecture. A strong background is beneficial to the development of the project, and maintaining community consensus is crucial to prolonging the life cycle of the game.
This article is contributed by the Footprint Analytics community.
The Footprint Community is a global, mutually supportive data community where members leverage data visualizations to co-create communicable insights. In the Footprint community, you can get help, establish links, and exchange learning and research on blockchains such as Web 3, metaverse, Web3 games and DeFi. Many active, diverse, and highly engaged members inspire and support each other through the community, and a worldwide user base is built to contribute data, share insights, and drive the community forward.
Footprint Website: https://www.footprint.network
Discord: https://discord.gg/3HYaR6USM7
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Footprint_Data