Game Guild: The Transformer of Chain Game Economy

In 2021, the outbreak of Axie Infinity has promoted the "gold-making" craze of P2E games, and the game guild is an important driving force behind it.

According to the data released by YGG, the game guild with the largest number of players, YGG currently has more than 20,000 Axie scholarship players, which is equivalent to the 24-hour user volume of Axie Infinity yesterday.

In addition to YGG, game guilds such as Merit Circle, GuildFi, and Unix Gaming also gathered a large number of Axie Infinity players.

Game guilds provide players with low-cost and fast opportunities to start blockchain games.

Taking YGG as an example, YGG’s market is mainly in Southeast Asian countries. The epidemic has kept the unemployment rate in these countries high. Unemployed people who want to obtain income through P2E games face obstacles such as lack of encryption knowledge and high game costs. YGG provides these players with Training services and "gold-making" strategies help them quickly enter the game.

Through the Axie scholarship program, novice players can get 3 Axies for free, which greatly reduces the economic cost of playing the game. To a certain extent, the game guild introduces crypto novices into the blockchain game and crypto world.

Up to now, there are more than 40 game guilds around the world. The members of the top game guilds are concentrated in Southeast Asian countries, and the game guilds help Southeast Asian people increase their income. The game guild service group is centered in Southeast Asia and spreads globally. South America, Africa, and South Asia have become new markets for game guilds.

As a new track in the encryption field, the game guild ecology and game guild functions are gradually improving. The main functions of the game guild include DAO, investment, pledge, LaunchPad, etc. New functions will be added in the future according to the development of the industry.

The game guild is an important part of the GameFi field. On the premise of achieving a virtuous circle with chain games, players, investors and other elements, continuous optimization and improvement can achieve sustainable development.

This article will discuss the development of game guilds in detail from four aspects: the introduction of game guilds, the current status of game guild ecology, the introduction of game guild projects, and the prospects of game guilds.

Introduction to Game Guild

Definition of gaming guild

A game guild is a product of game development. It refers to a game guild formed in the game with the main purpose of playing games. It has stable core members, a clear organizational structure, division of powers and responsibilities, rules and disciplines, and at least one independent game Means of communication, a game player communication platform with a specific name or logo.

The game guild in the chain game field is the combination of GameFi and DAO.

At the level of guild formation purpose, chain game game guilds provide players with low-cost opportunities to participate in P2E games, and players get rewards by participating in P2E games.

At the organizational structure level of the game guild, the organizational form adopted by the chain game game guild is DAO. Players join the DAO and have the right to participate in governance by holding NFT, tokens, etc.

Why do you need a game guild?

• Provide chain game entrance for players outside the circle

Game guilds introduce outsiders into the encrypted world through chain games. The most typical case is the Axie Infinity player in the Philippines.

YGG’s documentary shows people in the city of Panavantuan in the Philippines earning two to three times the local minimum wage by playing Axie Infinity. At the same time, the cooperation between YGG and Axie Infinity has greatly lowered the threshold for Filipino users to enter the game.

The Axie Infinity community launched the Axie Scholarship Program, which provides 3 free Axies for newcomers. There are managers in the YGG Game Association to provide training services for newcomers to help newcomers get started with the game quickly and at low cost.

In addition to lowering the threshold for newcomers to enter blockchain games, the game guild is a one-stop platform for newcomers to quickly learn about popular blockchain games.

Take Merit Circle as an example. Merit Circle has specially set up a section to display the games that are currently online and the games that will be online soon, and attach detailed game introductions for players' reference. Some game guilds will attach game links on the page, and players can directly enter the game. By aggregating information, the game guild greatly reduces the time cost of players' search.

 

• Help chain games pull new ones

From the example of cooperation between YGG and Axie Infinity, we can see that game guilds have cultivated new players for blockchain games. Game guilds and blockchain games are complementary. On social media, you can often see the news of cooperation between Xinfa Lianyou and game guilds. Xinfa Lianyou has reached cooperation with well-known game guilds to provide game guild members with a new place to "make money". While enhancing the stickiness of users within the guild, it introduces high-quality players to the new blockchain games.

With the gradual increase in the number of game guilds, game guilds have become a new position for chain game promotion and competition for high-quality players. To a certain extent, the promotion of game guilds reduces the promotion cost of game guilds.

• Aggregate player resources

The game guild gathers chain game players in the form of DAO. The key value lies in information sharing, DAO governance and collective wisdom.

The explosion of the GameFi track has brought more and more opportunities for "making money" in the blockchain game field. At this time, information sharing among game guild members is particularly critical. There are veteran players and newcomers in the game guild. Senior players have a stronger ability to screen and process information, and disseminate information through the internal communication platform of the game guild. After the source information is disseminated and interpreted layer by layer by members of the game guild, and the information is added, the value content of the information is enhanced.

DAO governance can reflect collective wisdom. Members of the game guild have the right to vote and decide important matters of the game guild. Through DAO governance, the organizational structure of the game guild can be optimized to improve efficiency. Forming a virtuous circle helps to increase the game revenue of guild members.

Status quo of game guild ecology

Overall situation

According to the ecological map of game guilds produced by investment research institutions and estimates from various sources, as of now, there are more than 40 game guilds around the world. This research report selected 30 game guilds as samples for research.

amount of users

In terms of Twitter followers, as of March 9, among the 30 game guilds, 9 game guilds exceeded 50,000, of which 3 game guilds exceeded 100,000, namely YGG (171,000), Good Games Guild (146,000 ) and GuildFi (111,000).

In terms of the number of players, YGG is the game guild with the largest number of players, with more than 20,000 members. Among the top game guilds, GuildFi, Merit Circle, Avocado DAO and other players have more than 1,000 players.

Token Ecology

Among the 30 game guilds, 16 game guilds have launched tokens and listed them on exchanges. Among them, the top 3 currency holding addresses are YGG (15666), Good Games Guild (11777) and Merit Circle (6772). positively correlated.

Among the 16 game guilds that launched tokens, 5 game guilds allow users to earn rewards by staking tokens. Taking GuildFi as an example, users can pledge GF tokens to obtain rewards such as GF, GXP, and NFT airdrops. As of March 10, more than $40.28 million tokens have been pledged.

 

location distribution

The game guild headquarters and service targets are concentrated in Southeast Asian countries. The nine Southeast Asian gaming guilds listed by GameFi Drops are from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Except for Singapore, the other five countries are economically underdeveloped. The epidemic has led to an increase in the unemployment rate in these countries, and the emergence of game guilds has allowed the unemployed to obtain a source of livelihood through "gold".

The three game guilds with more than 100,000 Twitter followers are from Southeast Asian countries, namely the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. The Philippines has the largest percentage of members of these gaming guilds, followed by Vietnam.

The game guild is centered in Southeast Asia and spread to the world. China, the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries also have game guilds. YGG promoted game guilds to India by establishing its SubDAO IndiGG.

 Cooperation with head chain games

The game guild has reached a cooperation with the head chain game, and by launching more games in the guild, it can win more high-quality players for itself. Conversely, head chain games can absorb high-quality players from game guilds, increasing the interaction volume and influence of the game.

According to the information compiled by Momentum 6, the top game guilds have a cooperative relationship with Axie Infinity. It is worth noting here that Axie Infinity is the most played game by YGG members, and YGG and the Axie Infinity community have a deep cooperative relationship.

In addition to Axie Infinity, chain game projects that have more cooperation with leading game guilds include multiplayer action role-playing game Big Time, metaverse game Star Atlas, metaverse game The SandBox, and MOBA e-sports game Thetan Arena.

 Investment agency

A number of well-known investment institutions have set their sights on the game guild. Among the investment institutions, Animoca Brands is the most active. Among the 10 game guild financing situations compiled by Coinko, Animoca Brands participated in the financing of 4 game guilds. Among the three game guilds with the highest market capitalization, Animoca Brands has invested in two of them.

In addition, well-known investment institutions investing in the game association include a16z, Coinbase Ventures, AU21 Capital, Hashed, Three Arrows Capital, etc. Judging from the investment lineup, game guilds have become a hot track for financing.

 Features of the game guild

At present, the game guild mainly has four functions: DAO, investment, pledge and game LaunchPad.

• DAO

DAO is the core function of the game guild. The game guild creates a player-based DAO. The DAO sets up different roles. Players have different role divisions in the DAO and have decision-making power in the affairs of the DAO. Astra Guild Ventures and Merit Circle are both cases focused on building player-based DAOs.

• invest

As the main body of investment, the game guild participates in the investment of some projects while cooperating with chain games, and strives for more rewards for guild members. Ancient8, the largest game guild in Vietnam, invests in games in the early stages of development, participates in NFT pre-sales, participates in game testing, obtains early game rewards, NFT airdrops, and provides these as rewards to guild members.

• pledge

The game guild issues tokens, allowing token holders to obtain rewards such as tokens and NFT airdrops through pledges, bringing more actual benefits to token holders. As mentioned above, GuildFi users can pledge GF tokens to obtain rewards such as GF, GXP, and NFT airdrops.

• LaunchPad

The game guild provides a distribution platform for the new chain game, and the new chain game attracts guild members to experience the game in the early stage of game release through the release of the new chain game, forming a high-quality player base. Provide financial support for game development and optimization through the function of LaunchPad.

Game guild project introduction

• YGG

YGG, a game guild in the Philippines, is currently the largest game guild and was an important driving force behind the outbreak of Axie Infinity last year. Axie Infinity is the most played game by YGG members. So far, the number of Axie scholarship players in YGG has exceeded 20,000.

In addition to Axie Infinity, YGG is gradually expanding its game territory. From October to November last year, YGG successively reached cooperation and invested in 8 blockchain games, including CyBall, Thetan Arena, MOBOX, Aavegotchi, DeHorizon, etc.

YGG expanded its user base by establishing SubDAO. YGG established YGG SEA and IndiGG, respectively targeting the Southeast Asian market outside the Philippines and the Indian market, and participated in the investment in new blockchain games through SubDAO.

YGG's operating model:

1. Build a global community for players to earn while playing (P2E), players earn rewards by playing games;

2. Earn income by renting out or selling NFT assets owned by YGG;

3. Allow the community to participate in the governance of the DAO through proposals and voting;

4. Coordinate the research and development of players in the DAO, and gain income by maintaining competitiveness in metaverse-related games.

Comments: The organizational structure of YGG is relatively mature. After Axie Infinity gradually subsided, the cooperation between YGG and other leading chain games maintained the activity within the game guild. The number of users and activity are the best among all game guilds, and they have broad prospects under the GameFi boom.

• Merit Circle

Merit Circle creates a DAO based on chain game players, and MC holders have the right to participate in decision-making. Merit Circle has set up a SnapShot voting page and a governance forum, through which MC holders can express their views on the proposal.

In addition to decision-making, chain game players of Merit Circle can earn money by playing games. Merit Circle sets a 70/30 income distribution ratio. The project side gets 30% of the game revenue, and the players get 70% of the game revenue.

 Merit Circle has ample capital reserves. Up to now, Merit Circle has earned more than 2 million US dollars through chain games. Through investing in NFT and participating in pre-sales, etc., the asset management scale has reached 113 million US dollars. The capital reserves will be used for DAO operations and project optimization.

Merit Circle's operating model:

1. Establish a global community for players to earn while playing (P2E), players get rewards by playing games, and guilds get certain benefits from it;

2. Earn income by renting out or selling NFT assets owned by YGG;

3. Allows the community to participate in the governance of the DAO through proposals and voting.

Evaluation: The DAO governance of Merit Circle is relatively mature and has a relatively complete governance mechanism. Merit Circle actively participates in the purchase of NFT and investment projects, and has a certain asset management scale. DAO governance and game links are easy to use and the user experience is better.

• GuildFi

GuildFi offers players three ways to play.

1. Gain income by playing P2E games launched on the platform;

2. Regularly release NFT blind box airdrops;

3. Pledge GF tokens to obtain income.

GuildFi's operating model:

1. Players earn income by playing P2E games launched on the platform;

2. Integrate game and player data, and by analyzing the performance of ID accounts, GuildFi provides players with additional benefits;

3. GuildFi cooperates with game developers to provide early investment opportunities for NFT assets or tokens of new games, and the distribution amount is determined according to the level and participation of players in GuildFi.

4. GF holders can earn income through staking, participate in DAO governance, and participate in metaverse games.

Evaluation: GuildFi provides players with additional benefits in three ways, which help to enhance the user stickiness of the platform. The platform participation method is more direct and the experience is better. The fly in the ointment is that the experience of players participating in community governance is not strong.

• Ancient8

Ancient8 is the largest game guild in Vietnam. Its functions include chain game scholarships, game communities, and investment.

The chain game scholarship means that Ancient8 has reached a cooperation with the chain game, and purchased the NFT of the chain game and distributed it to the players as a reward. At present, Ancient8 supports players to apply for scholarships of Axie Infinity, CyBall and Thetan Arena. After winning the scholarship, players can invest it in the game to obtain more income.

The game community and investment will not go into too much detail. Vietnam is an important market for chain games. As the largest game guild in Vietnam, Ancient8 provides a local chain game communication platform for Vietnamese players. This is also an important condition for Ancient8 to gain a foothold in the competition. The investment mainly focuses on NFT pre-sale, NFT secondary market purchase, P2E game income, and provides financial support for community operations.

Ancient8's operating model:

(1) Players earn income by playing P2E games launched on the platform;

(2) By reaching a cooperation with the chain game, the NFT purchased from the chain game will be issued to the player as a reward;

(3) Obtain NFT through NFT pre-sale and NFT secondary market purchase, earn income by playing P2E games, and increase the scale of asset management.

Evaluation: Based on the Vietnamese market, Ancient8 is supported by Vietnamese capital such as Coin98. Combining with the characteristics of the Vietnamese market, Ancient8 provides chain game income-increasing solutions for Vietnamese players, and its development is relatively mature.

• Avocado DAO

Avocado DAO is a DAO based on P2E chain game players, and Axie Infinity is the core game of Avocado DAO. The two have reached a cooperation, and Axie scholarship players can get more rewards. Up to now, there have been more than 11,000 Axie scholarship players on the platform, and they have received more than 95 million SLP rewards in total.

 Avocado DAO will soon launch a staking service, and AVG token holders can obtain additional income by staking tokens.

There is a strong lineup of investment institutions, including Three Arrows Capital, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Solana, Hashed, etc.

Avocado DAO's operating model:

1. Invest in NFT assets of different games, and establish a scholarship NFT loan system to generate income;

2. Train game guild members and provide them with game strategies;

3. Organize offline/online community events;

4. Invest in high-quality chain game projects.

Comments: Avocado DAO sets revenue-increasing functions around players, and connects players, investors and games through DAO. The platform functions have a sense of hierarchy, and the AVG token economic model is clear. The fly in the ointment is the lack of new features that are different from other competing products.

Game Guild Outlook

The combination of GameFi, DeFi, NFT, DAO, and SocialFi is an important trend in the development of the GameFi track, and the game guild is a comprehensive platform that can well combine multiple parties.

Therefore, if the game guild wants to achieve substantial development in the future, it needs to do the following: in-depth cooperation between the game guild and blockchain games and NFT projects; improve the DAO organization construction; enrich the DeFi gameplay in the game guild; avoid excessive homogenization.

In-depth cooperation between game guilds, blockchain games and NFT projects

There is a complementary relationship between game guilds, chain games, and NFT projects. Currently, game guilds gain income by participating in early chain game projects and NFT pre-sales, and provide additional benefits for guild members.

In order to make this model sustainable, game guilds can consider reaching in-depth cooperation with chain games and NFT projects in the future. Game guild members have the opportunity to participate in the decision-making of important matters of chain games and NFT projects, and improve the interaction and cooperation between game guild members and cooperative projects. The sense of participation connects the development of game guilds, the development of chain games/NFT projects and the improvement of revenue.

The current scholarship program of Axie Infinity is an excellent practice. Optimizing the scholarship program and promoting it among chain games and game guilds is a good strategy for sustainable player income and improving user stickiness of chain games and game guilds.

Improve DAO organization construction

DAO is an important organizational form in the Web3 world and an important trend in future organizational development. Among the game guilds, YGG and Merit Circle provided high-quality cases.

The reference experience provided by YGG is SubDAO, which is like a company opening a subsidiary. The subsidiary not only owns the business of the head office, but also expands its business to places that the head office cannot take care of, launching special services according to the characteristics of local users.

SubDAO has enriched the organizational structure of game guilds, and can fine-tune adjustments for specific groups of people energetically and strategically. This is an experience that game guilds can refer to when expanding their business territory.

The reference experience provided by Merit Circle is the more mature DAO governance. Game guilds should avoid DAO without governance. On the basis of building DAO, game guilds provide members with opportunities to make proposals, platforms for discussion, and voting channels, and clearly provide ports for governance. It is more scientific and efficient in DAO governance, improving the efficiency of information accessibility, which helps to enhance the sense of responsibility of DAO members and enhance the cohesion of DAO organizations.

Enrich the gameplay of DeFi in the game guild

At present, 16 game guilds have launched tokens. These game guilds can consider improving the use cases of tokens, and launching more applications related to DeFi and NFT around tokens, not limited to the current methods of staking and lending NFT.

In addition to chain games and NFT, DeFi is an area to be explored by game guilds. How to use and circulate the important tokens of game guild members to enhance the economic value of tokens is an important issue that game guilds need to consider about tokens.

Due to the deep cooperation between game guilds, NFT projects and chain games, tokens can become a link for deeper cooperation and mutual penetration between game guilds and these projects.

Avoid excessive homogeneity

With the gradual increase in the number of game guilds, competition among game guilds for users has become increasingly fierce. Newly established game guilds need to consider launching differentiated functions if they want to gain a place in the competition.

At present, the functions of game guilds are relatively single, and there is still a lot of imagination in the combination of DeFi and NFT. New game guilds can consider launching functions with their own distinctive characteristics, and design platform use cases on the basis of determining the target group.

Game guilds that have been developing for a period of time need to consider launching new features that combine the current popular gameplay to optimize user experience while giving users a sense of freshness.

Summarize

The upsurge of chain games and NFT will continue, and game guilds have become a rigid demand in the market. The game guild is created based on chain game players, and constantly improves itself through DAO governance and investment to consolidate the guild member base.

As mentioned above, the game guild is a bridge connecting chain games, players and investors. Under the background of the gradual intensification of chain game competition and forcing each company to innovate, the game guild provides a platform for chain games to disseminate information and compete for players. Position, this is the advantage of the game guild development.

On the premise of making good use of background advantages, game guilds optimize themselves in the above four aspects and strengthen the ability of differentiated competition. We will see more high-quality guild operation templates emerge in the fierce game guild competition.