Not everything in the game runs on-chain. More on the premise of web3 and why crypto exists in my deep dive here.īlockchains can’t contain much data, right? How can entire games run on them? This is a great question. Web3 is powered by decentralised apps (dApps) and oiled by cryptocurrencies, with digital ownership enabled by the technology of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) that represent unique assets on the blockchain. These days, web3 gaming is also called blockchain gaming, which makes sense because of what web3 means: the next-generation internet built on blockchain that takes the web back to its decentralised roots.

Web3 takes the internet back to its decentralised roots. Web3 gaming is the idea of great games supported by the benefits of blockchain technology, rather than crypto with gamification built on top. This is what web3 gaming is about - an evolution of GameFi and P2E into something more desirable for actual gamers, not just investors who want to get rich quick.

Within the crypto industry, studios and their backers finally realised that compelling gameplay needs to take primacy above all else. ( Note: Crypto-based earning in games has been around since 2013).Īfter the economic collapse of flagship P2E titles like Axie Infinity in 2021 (more on that later), this experimental niche of a gaming industry began evolving towards a more sustainable Play- and-Earn model. GameFi and P2E placed earnings ahead of gameplay.

That was the general basis behind P2E, and it drew tons of players eager to earn an income doing what they loved - playing video games. GameFi is the fusion of gaming with decentralised finance (DeFi), which spurred an array of web3 games during the 2021 bull market that typically paid gamers cryptocurrencies swappable for stablecoins on decentralised exchanges (DEX). The term web3 gaming is often used interchangeably with GameFi or Play-to-Earn (P2E), but there are important distinctions.

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