Web3 Gaming Has Problems Too

Today’s Web3 games are often referred to by mainstream gamers as being:

1. A scammy cash grab via NFTs. Game developer Pixelmon raised over $70m prior to revealing details about their Web3 game. When the game content was released, the outcry was real.

2. A Ponzi scheme around play-to-earn. One needs not look any further than what has recently taken place around Sky Mavis’ Axie Infinity game. Its economy collapsed as new user growth slowed, and without the influx of new money to prop up and expand the economy, everything collapsed.

3. An unnecessary use of technology for gaming. In December 2021, one of the largest game publishers, Ubisoft, unveiled its plan for Quartz; releasing limited edition NFT content into its Ghost Recon game. In the way it was created, the NFTs lacked value outside of Ghost Recon and did not even need to be associated with the blockchain in its application–a simple database would suffice.

4. Damaging or harmful to the environment. Most web3 games are run on the Ethereum blockchain, which is proof-of-work (PoW). PoW requires miners to solve complex mathematical puzzles in order to secure the transactions on the network. To accomplish this, compute power is consumed, resulting in wasted electricity.