The economy of the entertainment industry is changing its face as gaming becomes a leader in this industry. The gaming companies’ revenues in the United States last year (2021) reached more than $ 60 billion. Global revenues from the thriving gaming industry have crossed the 180 billion mark and more are on the way.
With the help of the serial entrepreneur and gamer And Ibn We will try to assess whether the market share of blockchain games in the profitable industry is likely to skyrocket and what they need to do to become part of the mainstream.
Real blockchain hits, is there such a thing?
We first asked if there were any real blockchain hits in the last two years. On Yavin who founded in 2017 the Cointelligence Which has performed within a few years over a thousand due diligence in the fields of crypto and blockchain, is happy to answer that. He explains that this is indeed the case, although he admits that at this stage most of the games in this niche are not good enough. It is true that there are successes, but for every success there are many more titles that remain in the shadows or fail to take off.
At this point several titles were launched that stood out above all others, with one of the hits being undoubtedly Axie Infinity which managed to record an income that crossed the $ 1 billion mark.
It is interesting to note that the game has been very successful in international markets and in particular in exotic markets such as the Philippines. The success there was so great that many citizens who lost their jobs during the Corona began to make a living from “working” in the game. The mechanism of the game makes it possible to make real money (for example by selling out-of-game NFT), and in the Philippines it has been proven that this model can work big.
In order to understand how great the game’s success is in its field, it is possible to emphasize an interesting statistical point. In three months, all blockchain and NFT games generated about $ 2.3 billion, while the single game generated a total of over $ 1 billion. By the way, blockchain games currently drive about a quarter of all NFT trading activity.
On Yavin takes insights from Warcraft to Blockchain
Yavin, a serial entrepreneur and investor Angel, founded the Cointelligence Fund in 2021, where Yavin serves as a managing partner, investing in blockchain games. But he does not come to this field solely as a technological entrepreneur or crypto expert alone. As a veteran gamer for years (even today), well acquainted with titles like Warcraft, his insights are intriguing.
Yavin explained that in his business role he needs to assess whether one game or another is likely to succeed. By the way, he still makes sure to spend quite a bit of “screen time” in front of gaming hits as an active player in the community. In his professional role, the due diligence he conducts will determine whether investments will flow into a particular game or not. He is pleased to have been able to combine a hobby with a professional occupation, and explains how his insights from the worlds of Warcraft and gaming in general, help him make business decisions.
Successful games need to be based on a few things, in order to be successfully accepted in the gaming community. One thing, Yavin emphasizes, must be a good story. It is impossible to deduce from the value of a good story that it can be developed in all sorts of different directions. Of course, another thing is the way the developers built the game. His mechanism and playfulness should be very good. Another element is the visual quality and beauty. Players today are looking for spectacular worlds that are fun to be sucked into. Elaborate graphics and an experience that is a feast for the eyes, add a lot.
But, he adds, with all the importance of these elements, gamers today are looking for something else, which is excellently reflected in all community network games, with the mass of participants (MMO). These games, he believes, are different from the games of the previous generation, of a player against a computerized opponent.
In his early days as a gamer, the social element did not exist. There was no thrill of playing next to human players, against human players and teaming up with teams with a common goal. Today the point is to defeat other teams and not a computerized “boss” who has no flesh and blood players behind him. And this central social aspect enhances the experience, which becomes the talk of the day even outside the virtual environment, at work, in the pub, on social networks, everywhere.
Axie Infinity, a one-time flash?
Like many others, Yavin was exposed to Axie Infinity and tried it out as a player and investment tester in P2E games. He explains that the potential exists, since in the traditional gaming industry and in the old titles, there is a built-in problem. As an actor, there is a sense of basic unfairness, given the investment of time and emotion of the actor. Keep in mind that gamers can spend not only hundreds but even thousands of hours on their favorite games.
In the game they accumulate assets, resources, but despite all this, all these resources end up staying within the platform and they remain the owners of the game. P2E games put this perception on its head, and thus they can shock the industry. So even though at this point there are still not many hits like Axie Infinity, the potential of this field is huge. The whole idea is that now players can become real owners of the assets and property they accumulate in the game. Blockchain assets that can be deposited in a digital wallet, just like depositing Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency. And like the coins, those NFT assets are worth money, even if someone decides to break the rules and close the game.
Think like a gamer, create hits
But what might revolutionize blockchain games, if they have potential but most of them are just not very good? Unfortunately, at this point the companies developing the P2E games are treating them as a sophisticated platform for NFT trading. What must come at some point, is that someone will grasp the situation and understand that developers and investors in the field need to think like gamers.
On Yavin believes that there are strengths and basic advantages that will make P2E games a success in both the economy and the entertainment industry. First of all, as in MMO games they have the social and community element.
You can see guilds there, you can see collaborations between players there. Guilds are formed there and there are tangent lines to the field of DAO companies based on blockchain. DAO companies are already joining, but there is another element. These games really give real value to the player, and it’s not just about the game experience or the community. As mentioned, the players who invest their time, get digital assets while playing. And again, these would mean that you have to spend for these processes. As value increases and gameplay improves, blockchain titles may well expand their impact on the gaming and entertainment industry in general.