GameFi Evolution：How Will Blockchain Games Advance in 2022？

2022-03-02, 07:15

Summary

1. 2022 may be the year when GameFi evolves towards the GameFi 2.0.
2. The big problem that exists in GameFi 1.0 is the lack of gameplay. More capital, outstanding practitioners, and even traditional game manufacturers are expected to cross the border and enter GameFi in the future but only when the problem of gameplay has a solution.
3. Simple economic model is another problem with GameFi 1.0. As more experiments are made by developers, the economic system for GameFi 2.0 will become sustainable
4. There is also a trend that GameFi 2.0 is to be integrated with DAO, which will endow GameFi 2.0 with a higher degree of freedom than traditional games.
5. The interoperability in GameFi 2.0 between various game platforms will be greatly enhanced. Also, the content of all games will also be linked to each other through smart contracts and other forms, which will bring more substantial game content that is enough to be called a "universe".

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Since GameFi catapulted to fame in September 2021, it has become one of the most powerful and enduring narratives in crypto. Starting in 2021, GameFi went viral by virtue of the Play-to-Earn gameplay and rose to fame because of the metaverse. In 2022, it may evolve again towards GameFi 2.0.

Although blockchain has made games transparent and scarce and endowed them with property rights, the existing GameFi 1.0 is still faced with lots of problems. The birth of GameFi 2.0 is meant to chip away at these problems. Despite that the current definition of GameFi 2.0 remains unclear, the author believes that GameFi will make progress in the following aspects.

More exciting gameplay

A big problem with GameFi 1.0 is the lack of gameplay. Except for the more advanced blockchain games such as Axie Infinity, most others are simple in design and graphics and have monotonous gameplay.

Their outlook seems to have retrogressed to the age of web games ten years back. Presently, the gameplay of blockchain games is basically limited to the simpler types of "lower technical threshold" such as token collection and pet raising. And the mainstream game brands such as MOBA, FPS, and RTS haven’t created a "3A masterpiece" blockchain game yet. The simplex gameplay is not enough to drive mass adoption as most of their players have long been experts in the crypto space. Even if users try it in an attempt to earn income do not plan to play for a long time.

This problem is attributed to the fact that currently bad and good blockchain games are intermingled. And most of their developer teams are weak in in-game R&D. Even some project parties just entered the game just in an attempt to take a share of the profits. GameFi is first "Game" and then DeFi, and Play-to-Earn cannot achieve "Earn" without "Play". Blockchain games are also games and should be interesting first. Only when a game is full of fun and supports various gameplay can it attract players constantly and maintain its long-term operation.

Image: Trading market of blockchain game Star Atlas

More capital, outstanding practitioners, and even traditional game manufacturers are expected to cross the border and enter GameFi in the future when the problem will be solved. And it is also hoped that many more sophisticated masterpieces will change people's original impression of blockchain games.

A better economic model

Another problem with GameFi 1.0 is that it has a simple economic model which is similar to each other. It often overly relies on profiting users who are expected to continuously enter the market to create token demand, which makes GameFi sometimes a DeFi product parading as a game, or even simply a financial product. Thus, some traditional game players have begun to resist the use of NFTs in GameFi and in-game NFTs.

This economic model will not last long. Once there are no new funds, the price of related assets will be unsustainable and players will quickly sell their assets and stop playing, which will cause the token price to decline dramatically. The failure of blockchain games such as BnbHero in 2022 has clearly exemplified this. Regarding the relationship between Game and DeFi, Game, instead of DeFi, should be the main part of GameFI. After all, Gameplay should not be compromised by its financial attributes.

In terms of the economic model, the "macro-control" of tokens will also be a feature of GameFi 2.0. An increasing number of games will realize the balance between the acquisition and burning of tokens, and more blockchain games will adopt the more stable dual-token mechanisms like Axie Infinity. These are the advancements we will see in GameFi 2.0.

Image: Axie Infinity, with SLP+AXS dual-token mechanism

GameFi+DAO

DAO is short for Decentralized Autonomous Organization. In a DAO, members with a common goal get together and cooperate under a set of rules composed of smart contracts, known as "The Code Is Law". We can say that DAO is a new paradigm of cooperation in the world. Currently, GameFi 2.0 also appears to integrate with DAO.

Compared to traditional games, blockchain games boast of the decentralization feature that frees players’ assets from the control of an official. This essential characteristic is actually consistent with the core of DAO's independent decision-making. Moreover, the token economy of blockchain games can also be directly used in DAO, and ChainGame tokens can also be an incentive element within DAO. The spontaneous decision-making of DAO can control the supply and burning of tokens in the game, and the players constantly brainstorm to increase the game content, which endows the blockchain game combined with DAO with a degree of freedom far beyond traditional games. Furthermore, since the R&D is decentralized and no operators can take profits, the DAO's income can be better used to build the game's community.

Towards the Metaverse

In the second half of 2021, the popularity of the metaverse has also prompted GameFi to advance further. Although people often regard GameFi as the embryonic form of the metaverse, the existing one is far from being able to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the metaverse. In the era of GameFi 2.0, GameFi will break down the barriers between games and establish a metaverse ecology where multiple games will be interoperable, the value of game tokens will flow between different projects, and various NFT items will be able to be utilized in different games. For example, Decentraland and Sandbox may become two "islands" in this metaverse, and the costumes players have in Decentraland can also be applied in Sandbox.

The GameFi 2.0 will greatly enhance the interoperability between various game platforms. There will be an "arbitrary door" between each world to transmit to each other, which will upgrade players' experience to a new height. Likewise, the content of all games will also be linked to each other through smart contracts and other forms, which will bring more substantial game content that is enough to be called a "universe".

Image: blockchain games like The Sandbox are considered to be the prototype of the metaverse

Conclusion

Blockchain and NFT technologies are what changed the games in the gaming space. We believe that GameFi will create more exciting gameplay, launch a more reasonable economic system, and finally upgrade from 1.0 to 2.0 and even become a real “metaverse” as a growing number of professional gamers realize the infinite potential in the GameFi field, and as blockchain game practitioners draw lessons from their predecessors and continue to innovate in the GameFi operation model. At that time, not only game practitioners but also common players will benefit.

Author:Gate.io Researcher： Edward H.,Translator: Cedar W.
*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
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