2024-12-188 min read
The video game industry has undergone significant changes in recent years due to the introduction of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. The emergence of Web3 games has caused a massive interest in earning cryptocurrency through fairly simple actions. At the same time, it is difficult to call Web3 gameplay interesting, especially compared to classic smartphone games.
The idea of making money from games is not new. Steam’s trading platform, since time immemorial, allows you to earn money on selling game items. Simultaneously, the idea of earning cryptocurrency from games is only gaining popularity. Web3 games differ from traditional games in that they are based on decentralized technologies and include blockchain, smart contracts, and decentralized applications (dApps) that allow players to own their in-game assets with the promise of later exchanging them for real money.
In this article, we explain everything about Web3 games, DAOs, and NFTs based on SapientPro’s 7+ years of experience working in this industry. You’ll find out the Web3 gaming industry size, the Web3 gaming future, and how to make a Web3 game.
Web3 gaming is the industry's new frontier, where blockchain enables decentralized ownership and economics, as well as actual control over digital assets within games. It often features play-to-earn models whereby gamers can make cryptocurrency or other rewards through playing, thereby making it an economy of participation.
Since Web3 gaming combines the elements of gaming with those of DeFi and NFTs, this provides players with much greater freedom than ever before, blending entertainment with economic opportunity.
People “tap” in Web3 games to earn tokens for performing simple actions. This process requires little effort but is potentially lucrative. For Web3 game developers, the main interest lies in the possibility of creating sustainable economic systems, attracting and retaining users through innovative game mechanics and rewards.
The mechanism for developers to get money from such projects is quite simple. You connect paid advertising of various applications and services, and players actively familiarize themselves with advertising projects and bring money to the advertiser. There is also a way to attract players to other projects of the same developers for subsequent payment for subscriptions and services.
It's not clear if Web3 games help users make real money. On the one hand, there are known successful cases of withdrawing in-game currency. On the other hand, there are so many active game users that the developer company will not be able to cover all the money players earn.
For example, there were 28,539,037 players in Catizen as of August 2024. The game raised $20 million only from in-game purchases, not considering paid partnerships and social media. It was evaluated that each player would get a drop of around $33.9 depending on their activity.
Ownership is the biggest difference between Web3 gaming and traditional gaming.
Traditional gaming involves the storage of all assets, items, and progress on servers that are under the control of the developer or publisher of the game. In other words, players don't really own their in-game items. They can't trade, sell, or transfer those items out of that game, and if that game goes down, there goes all your hard-won and bought access.
In Web3 gaming, however, asset ownership in the form of a blockchain is decentralized. The ownership of NFT or in-game assets on a blockchain can be done fully by the players themselves, which can also be traded or sold independently outside the game in Web3 games. A further ownership model creates play-to-earn possibilities, whereby players earn Web3 gaming tokens by playing the game and generating real-world economic value in return.
Web3 gaming offers a much more participative open economy where players can have an element of investment and control. In contrast, traditional gaming is a much more closed and controlled environment aimed absolutely at entertainment.
When interacting with the game, users are not involved in keeping the system running in the context of validation and verification within the blockchain. At the same time, users form a community, watch advertisements, and learn the necessary tools to utilize future projects from developers, thus keeping the Web3 gaming idea working.
The distribution of tokens in modern Web3 games is similar to the long-standing system of airdrops — rewarding users for interactions with the project. When interacting with Web3 games, the phone resources are used no more than when playing any other game downloaded from the official application store. We mean only the battery resources are used.
Web3 games' tokenomics plays a key role in their success. It involves the development and management of tokens that are used in the game for various purposes. This includes:
The benefits of investing in gaming tokens include the ability to participate in the economics of the game and profit from the growth in the value of the tokens. However, such investments come with risks associated with both the volatility of cryptocurrencies and the carelessness of project participants.
A Gaming DAO is a community-owned organization that employs blockchain technology to make decisions collectively regarding managing a gaming ecosystem. Unlike traditional game companies, where there is one central decision-making team, Gaming DAOs give ownership to players, developers, and investors, having a say in the direction the project takes.
All decisions about game development, asset management, the design of games, and financial investment are typically supported by members' voting with the support of a token-based voting system. This aligns the members' interests with the game's growth and success. Such a structure makes the game democratic and more transparent, while providing an incentive for the players to continue being a part of it as a stakeholder.
A Gaming DAO is a community-owned organization that employs blockchain technology to make decisions collectively regarding managing a gaming ecosystem. Unlike traditional game companies, where there is one central decision-making team, Gaming DAOs give ownership to players, developers, and investors, having a say in the direction the project takes.
All decisions about game development, asset management, the design of games, and financial investment are typically supported by members' voting with the support of a token-based voting system. This aligns the members' interests with the game's growth and success. Such a structure makes the game democratic and more transparent, while providing an incentive for the players to continue being a part of it as a stakeholder.
Various types of gaming DAOs exist for various uses within the gaming ecosystem, including but not limited to:
Each of the gaming DAO types serves as one of the pieces that redefine the whole gaming industry. They create new ways communities can collaborate, invest, and shape the future of games.
Here’s a quick overview of the essential tech stack that powers Web3 games. Each component brings unique functionality to create a decentralized, player-owned gaming experience.
| Component | Description | Examples / Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Blockchain Network | Provides decentralized infrastructure for asset ownership, transactions, and tokenized economies. | Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Binance Smart Chain |
| Smart Contracts | Automates game mechanics and player transactions on the blockchain. | Solidity, Rust |
| Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) | Represents unique in-game assets and allows ownership, trading, and interoperability. | ERC-721, ERC-1155, Solana NFTs |
| Cryptocurrency Wallets | Stores and manages in-game assets and tokens, allowing players to interact with the game’s economy. | MetaMask, Phantom, WalletConnect |
| Backend & Middleware | Facilitates real-time data interactions between on-chain and off-chain systems. | Chainlink, The Graph |
| Decentralized Storage | Stores game assets, metadata, and large files off-chain for continuity and security. | IPFS, Arweave, Filecoin |
| Front-End Frameworks | Enables interaction with blockchain networks and provides a user-friendly game interface. | Web3.js, Ethers.js, React, Unity |
| Tokenomics & P2E Models | Defines the in-game economy, including earning and spending mechanisms for a balanced and sustainable ecosystem. | Custom token models, staking mechanisms |
Each aspect of Web3 game development services contributes to the total cost, with prices scaling based on the complexity and functionality of the game. Here’s an overview of Web3 game development components and their estimated costs.
Component | Description | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Blockchain Integration | Selection and integration of blockchain (e.g., Ethereum, Polygon) | $10,000 — $50,000 |
| Game Development & Design | Visual and technical game development (2D, 3D, VR/AR) | $30,000 — $200,000 |
| Smart Contract Development | Creating, testing, and deploying secure in-game smart contracts | $15,000 — $100,000 |
| Tokenomics & Economy Design | Designing a balanced in-game economy and tokenomics | $10,000 — $50,000 |
| Security & Auditing | Auditing and implementing security measures for smart contracts and in-game assets | $20,000 — $80,000 |
| Legal & Compliance | Consulting on digital asset and NFT regulations, multi-jurisdiction compliance | $5,000 — $30,000 |
| Marketing & Community | Promotion, community building, and player engagement campaigns | $20,000 — $100,000 |
| Total Estimated Cost Range | $110,000 - $610,000+ | |
If you’re planning to build your own Web3 project, you must know how to choose a reliable team that can help with all the features. Check out our previous article for inside tips & insights.
Here’s a look at some of the core challenges facing the Web3 gaming industry today.
A very serious problem is regulatory uncertainty. Most of the world's governments are just now beginning to put regulations in place concerning blockchain gaming, particularly regarding tokenized assets and NFTs. This lack of clarity makes long-term planning difficult for companies.
Another critical challenge introduced through Web3 games is new kinds of intellectual property issues. This is particularly evident when players create and trade in-game assets, with copyright, IP, and content ownership concerns arising.
Web3 games also face a lot of security concerns. Smart contracts, integral to so many functionalities in gaming, are prone to bugs that may facilitate hacks, loss of assets, and data breaches. The decentralized nature of Web3 might further enhance its vulnerability to scams and fraud, where players sometimes get exposed to fraudulent NFTs or fake projects that result in lost funds or assets.
Most games and metaverses run on blockchains that hardly work in harmony with each other, thereby complicating the dream of a connected gaming ecosystem in which assets can move freely between games. Technical barriers to interoperability are still at large, each having unique standards that provide a disjointed experience.
There also is the issue of adoption and awareness. So far, Web3 gaming has appealed only to a niche audience since the majority of gamers enjoy their hobby on more traditional platforms. Closing this gap can be done by a game that speaks equally of entertainment value, user experience, and blockchain benefits.
Many potential users have little idea how blockchain games work or hold negative perceptions about NFTs and cryptocurrencies. So education and awareness are going to be very important in the widest adoption.
If you’re planning to launch a Web3 game development project, you should:
SapientPro is your reliable tech partner for Web3 game development services. We’re a reliable and experienced Web3 game development company that will help you build your project from a simple concept to full-scale production. Let’s team up today!
Contact SapientPro for Web3 development services and get an estimate for your project.
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