Web3. This word has lately garnered global news, with tech leaders and startups rapidly hopping on board.

Web3's appeal among the IT community and investors is not without cause; it offers what today's consumers want: more freedom and control over their online presence.

While the term "Web3" will become increasingly common, many people are still unsure what it means and how they may benefit from this new technology.
 

First And Foremost, What Precisely is Web3?
 

The key phrase here is decentralization. While the current internet is mostly reliant on the systems and servers of large businesses to function, we may anticipate more self-governance in the Web3 future, since our online activities and data will be hosted on blockchain-based networks rather than corporate servers.

Web3 comes after Web1 and Web2, as the name implies. Let's look at the main characteristics of each evolutionary stage:

Web1: The first World Wide Web, based on open source and open standards. It resulted in the creation of some of the world's top online corporations, including Google and Amazon.

Web2: With a greater emphasis on user-generated content, Web2 heralded the era of blogs, wikis, and social networks. It used some of the same Web1 technology but also allowed for social interaction and content production.

Web3: The new Web3 contains a value-trade paradigm rather than the mere interchange of information, as well as self-sovereignty and significant Internet decentralization.

Anyone may join the Web3 world using an anonymous single sign-on without the necessity for a central authority to function as a gatekeeper. In other words, users will not be obliged to reveal personal information to accomplish specified functions, such as making transactions and will be able to authenticate their ownership using a public, transparent blockchain.

Why Should Internet Users Be Interested In Web3?

Consider the following scenario: you publish a post on your social media channels, the post becomes popular, and you receive full compensation for your involvement in the activity. This sounds amazing, especially for the makers out there.

Tokenization enables such a structure, whether in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or fungible tokens (cryptocurrency). Returning to our example, you could use an NFT to claim ownership of this article and then trade it with others to earn money without having to split profits with the platform that hosts the post.

Where Do We Stand with Web3 Gaming?

While Web3 is still in its early stages, more and more Web3 decentralized applications (apps) and games are being developed.

Web3-based games provide new income opportunities for both creators and consumers in the gaming business. While creators earn by developing valuable digital assets and monetizing them through ownership transfer, players win from investing in and trading in these digital assets. This looks to be a pipe dream, yet there are difficulties with today's Web3 gaming that must be addressed.

For starters, existing Web3-based games rely on simple gaming principles, which restricts player enjoyment and, as a result, may result in low retention and a short lifetime.

The digital assets (i.e. NFTs) in these games are frequently designed as luxurious collectables with artificial scarcity, which works well for niche groups but produces a double-edged sword that prevents more people from adopting these games. Because these games rely on new players to continue, the high barriers to entry cast doubt on the economic model's long-term viability.

Do We Require Web3 Games?

The development of Web3 is altering the whole gaming environment, offering new and revolutionary modes of play including blockchains, cryptocurrencies, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). But what is the most significant influence Web3 is having on this new world of gaming? It is democratizing many different facets of gaming and opening up entirely new avenues for gamers to achieve success! Never before have we seen a paradigm that puts so much power in the hands of the players, and instead of focusing that power in a single game, players may carry it across numerous games throughout the whole ecosystem.

The fact is that technology and player expectations will continue to evolve. Remember when you were a child and you used to play Snake? It used to be enough to keep you interested for hours, but that feeling may no longer exist. Because you have access to games with better visuals, more compelling plots, or fully involved communities, you will instantly select the 'better' option and consider these attributes to be something you will search for in a game that you play. Web3-based games, which give players more ownership and economic prospects, are an appealing alternative that both creators and players are rapidly embracing.

The capacity to personalize the gaming experience and play-to-earn skills will become the standards that players expect to see in a game sooner or later.

To return to our original issue, do we need Web3-based games? If not now, it will be a better option later.

To remain relevant, the industry must continuously track its progress and incorporate this technology.

What Precisely Is This Concept Of Decentralized Ownership?

Consider yourself to be in a game of action. You purchased a weapon in this game and then decided you didn't need it since you obtained a more powerful one. Most of the time, all you could do was hold on to your old weapon. This is not the case in Web3-based games. You may sell your old weapon as a digital item on secondary markets. This transforms your in-game weapon into a long-term investment rather than a one-time cost.

As additional Web3-based games emerge, you may be able to transport your digital assets with you and use them across several games. You may even exchange your digital assets with the assets of other players in a safe way because every transaction is recorded and confirmed in the blockchain. Of course, these skills will allow you to have a more personalized game experience.

Web3 Gaming Navigation

There is still more work to be done to establish how Web3-based gaming will change the industry. To solve this, industry participants must collaborate to create a universe in which players may invest in digital assets at reasonable costs and expand them via their active engagement in the games.

1. Ownership And Interoperability

In the Web3 metaverse, the potential of blockchains and NFTs to give genuine ownership and interoperability in gaming presents the largest opportunity for players.

NFTs are the new face of Web3 gaming, and their popularity has certainly skyrocketed recently. This is because they provide something that previous gaming models did not: the opportunity to own almost any type of unique in-game item or object.

In traditional gaming, a player would buy an in-game item that was unique to that game. But what happens when the same player moves to another? All of the time and money spent getting the item, or several items, is squandered. It's something we've all been through! Consider how many gaming items are presently rotting in cyberspace.

In Web3 gaming, interoperability is the best answer. Gamers no longer need to pay for these items because they can be moved between games. This provides gamers more control and allows them to flip between as many titles as they choose.

And there's no need to be concerned if a player no longer wishes to carry that item or finds it beneficial! They may just sell it on secondary markets, making in-game NFTs an investment rather than a one-time purchase.

2. Our Past Integration

Every player has their favourite title. They might be the games they excel at or ones they grew up playing, among many other factors. It would be awful to abandon all of the current titles that have provided so much enjoyment for decades.

Fortunately, the Web3 gaming ecosystem is listening to users and facilitating the transition of these old titles into the new in-game purchasing and selling model. Imagine all of your favourite games being extended into the metaverse, which none of us could have predicted! Web3 is not only permitting the integration of our history, but it is also enabling the creation of an altogether new sort of game.

3. Player-Centered Gaming

With these new Web3 prospects, gamers will discover an environment that is suited to them, rather than simply big tech. There are several new opportunities to earn and win, particularly with the ecosystem's promise of digital asset ownership and interoperability. On top of that, it allows for our past rather than erasing it, giving the proper mix of the familiar and the new.

The function of gaming in the Web3 environment will be to restore full decentralisation and control to the players!

4. Simple Integration of Web3 Games

It was just a matter of time until we saw solutions that bridged the gap between Web2 and Web3 gaming, given the continued popularity of online gaming. This is mostly accomplished through APIs that connect established game development platforms with blockchains to facilitate production.

This is a dream come true for many devoted developers who can build on familiar technologies and quickly make games Web3 compliant. There are several advantages to this, including the ease of integration of crypto wallets, Non-Fungible Tokens, decentralised markets, multi-chain interoperability, mobile optimization, and alternative funding through tokenization.

This feature is anticipated to become more prevalent as the Web3 game environment evolves and develops since it provides several advantages such as efficiency, scalability, and personalization.

Web3 Gaming: A Vision of the Future

All Games Are Moving To Blockchain

The benefits of decentralised gaming are obvious. No data is tracked or sold to third parties, and all information is secure and anonymous. Because blockchains avoid the problem of double-spending, there are no fraudulent payments, as there are in traditional credit and debit payment systems.

Additionally, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Steam, and other centralised firms charge upwards of 30% for the "luxury" of selling games on their platforms. According to the majority of developers, this proportion is unwarranted.

Finally, we come to the meat of the issue. Web2 gaming revenues were characterised by huge actors who controlled the market and profited disproportionately. End-users were charged a premium and had no actual control, while game producers were not adequately compensated for their work. This is changing as Web3 games have cheap development costs and end users are given tokens or NFTs to build their holdings and make governance decisions about the game's future.
Given this, it's no wonder that developers are flocking to Web3. It's a place to form gaming communities, not gaming monopolies. The cornerstone of decentralised gaming development is collaboration.

Participating in Web3 Gaming

While the ability to create on Web3 may appear intimidating, it is easier than you may imagine, and no specialised expertise is necessary — patience and interest are the only requirements. For example, whether you are a developer, engineer, or simply a student, you may use BuildSpace to create an NFT-based browser game. It will familiarise you with dApps as well as the larger ecosystem of NFTs and cryptocurrencies.

The finest aspect is that you may collaborate with developers over a fixed communication channel. Game development is always done in groups. You may also utilise classic engines such as Unreal or Unity and link them to Web3 using the SDKs that are available (which are currently very limited in number).

Another option is to develop your decentralised application on Ethereum. This is possible using the Web3.js application, which supports smart contract interaction via Javascript. Because dApps are based on smart contracts, you must learn to code them (usually using Solidity) to get started with Web3 Development. The three fundamental components of all apps will be a front end, a wallet, and smart contracts.

Overcoming Existing Obstacles

Despite the obvious benefits, there are still challenges to face. To prevent a small number of users from becoming overly powerful, the tokenization incentives process must be flawless. It must also strike a balance among all parties, like developers, players, investors, and media sources. It's critical to understand that the problem isn't simply with investors or marketers; it's with when these groups have too much influence. They are still essential for extremely successful games.

It is tough to achieve a balance between incentives and an enjoyable gaming experience. At the end of the day, games like Axie Infinity are about investment rather than gameplay, which is not a road that designers will want to go. In an engaging game, rewards should be the outcome of work rather than the primary reason for the action itself. The distinction may look small, but play-and-earn should be used instead of play-to-earn.

There are also technical difficulties to address. Due to Ethereum network congestion, games like Crypto Kitties have to pay excessive gas prices. Solana and Polygon, for example, maybe quicker, cheaper, and more scalable. Despite all of the rhetoric about scalability and efficiency, many blockchain games remain sluggish owing to smart contract limits.

Conclusion

It's also worth noting that, while Ethereum continues to dominate the NFT and gaming markets, this may not always be the case. Even though it is a good place to start, it has been shown to have scalability and price problems. Solana might be a superior chain with faster speeds, more efficiency, and scalability. Polygon is also known to have completed several Web3 gaming acquisitions and collaborations.

Nothing has gone wrong with the current game business. Play-to-earn games, on the other hand, make a significant impact by incorporating blockchain functionality into gameplay. You may create games that allow you to make money only by playing them. Furthermore, participants may earn in crypto or NFTs, which they may exchange.

In any case, the future of Web3 gaming will feature interoperability across blockchains and subchains, allowing developers to work on very personalised and customised games for their intended audiences. Distributed ledger technology will result in more equal incentives and higher-quality published games for both gamers and developers.

With so much favourable press around popular "play-to-earn" games like Axie Infinity, it's reasonable to question how they'll do in the future. The strong backing of blockchain for security and transparency, as well as the engagement of NFTs and the building of enormous communities, would be significant features of new blockchain-based games. Let's witness how this new generation of games evolves with blockchain in web 3.0.