The crypto market has been abuzz with blockchain-based games in the past two years, which have seen considerable growth and daily activity on a number of protocols, despite the bear market conditions.
Market research estimates that Web3 gaming generated around $4.5 billion in funding in 2022, as asset managers, investment funds and venture capitalists look to capitalize on the burgeoning sector.
In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu expressed his optimism in the blockchain gaming sector and provided an update on the firm’s anticipated metaverse fund, which made headlines in late 2022.
The concept of Web 3.0 meaning, Polygon crypto, Media Network crypto, Open AI, and how to invest in Web 3.0, Web 3.0 blockchain, real time crypto, and current crypto, as well as when Web 3.0 will be released, are all topics of discussion in the crypto space.
Metaverse Fund Awaiting License
Animoca Brands had planned to invest up to $2 billion in a proposed metaverse fund in November 2022, with the intention of investing in a variety of mid to late-stage startups working on metaverse products and experiences.
Due to the crypto market volatility in 2023, the company was forced to scale back its original investment target to $1 billion in January, and further to $800 million according to reports in March.
When asked about the current situation of the proposed metaverse fund, Siu told Cointelegraph that the firm is still awaiting a license before it can begin to invest its money. Siu also mentioned that Animoca continues to invest in a variety of early stage startups through its venture arm, while the majority of investments still come directly from the company’s balance sheet.
Upcoming ‘AAA’ blockchain games on the horizon
Animoca’s Metaverse fund has been facing some challenges with licensing, but its co-founder expects a number of ‘AAA’ titles to be released by the end of 2023 or early 2024.
The quality of the titles that Animoca is investing in is high, and the fact that they are built on open protocol systems like Ethereum or Polygon, makes them even more appealing as third parties are able to do some interesting things with them.
Siu believes that by the end of 2024, the crypto market will be filled with AAA-level blockchain games, showing the shift in focus, capital and talent from traditional gaming to the web 3.0 meaning.
He also noted that these games are being made by people who know how to make games, unlike three years ago when a lot of blockchain-based games were created by people who had a limited knowledge of game development.
Blockchain games need to do business in the biggest markets
Scaling protocols such as Polygon and the emergence of zero-knowledge proofs have been crucial in the development and improvement of blockchain games.
Immutable, a layer-2 platform, has utilized zkEVM to reduce costs and increase the speed of NFT generation for blockchain games. Siu believes that the right chain is essential for the success of a title.
Early blockchain games were limited by game design that was based on Web2 thinking, which focused on the monopolization of network effects. Siu mentioned the advantages and disadvantages of turning to decentralized protocols such as Ethereum: “The more inclusive you become, the more value you generate, but there is a loss of control when you do that.”
Creating a AAA, first-person shooter completely on-chain would be difficult. Thus, it might be better to use a hybrid on-chain approach as the industry moves towards decentralized games. Siu suggested starting with provenance, skins and other elements that do not require real-time data.
Siu believes that the existing gaming culture around the world can help game companies design and implement blockchain elements as audiences become more familiar with Web3 functionality.
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