Strength in Numbers
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Games can offer a reprieve from the challenges of an increasingly complex and dangerous world. Sometimes a little magic, a few shared experiences with friends, even just a simple distraction can go a long way. Games can offer that and a lot more, here is the latest:
- BigTime TGE and Coinbase listing draw attention
- Ronin Gifting Portal is launched
- Rocket League removed P2P trading
- The FiveM server tightened IP oversight
- Gaming was found to reduce stress and anxiety
- Minecraft community shows its frustration
Let’s dive in!
BigTime Creates a Stir With TGE
BigTime kicked off the preseason and jump started its game economy with an airdrop event. TGE was closely followed by listing announcements from Coinbase and OKX, which got the community excited.
Price of BIGTIME
While BigTime has been building for quite some time and has a team with storied roots in the web3 space, many were not aware of it, and got caught off guard by the listings. This was both comical and illustrative of the awareness difficulties for games using web3.
BIGTIME’s FDV stands over $1.2B, which buoyed by constrained liquidity, is likely aimed at attracting farmers to the game. It will be interesting to see if BigTime has learned from past play-to-earn mistakes and will be able to successfully use the token as a user acquisition tool.
Ronin Focuses on UX With The Gifting Portal
Ronin’s new gifting portal enables users to gift assets using a simple link or a secret code. The ecosystem continues to build out tools to enhance user onboarding and gaming distribution. This latest tool should improve rewarding, gifting and perhaps airdropping processes.
The industry has been captivated by the appchain races, with Polygon, for instance, proposing a zkEVM powered Ape Chain. However, Sky Mavis completed its migration to Ronin a long time ago and so has been able to focus on UX/UI, user acquisition and retention.
The gifting functionality may not be revolutionary, but it fits nicely with recent releases in the Ronin ecosystem designed to bolster user experience. It also coincides nicely with the increased efforts on the IP front, and could lead to surprising growth for the ecosystem.
Rocket League Ends P2P Trading
The end of trading came as a shock to many as there was seemingly no cause for it. Perhaps Epic Games is trying to get the game in line with its other titles to increase direct sales, and bolster the faltering bottom line.
The sudden policy change is doubly curious because Epic Games has been rather friendly towards games utilizing web3. These games often use the tech to facilitate the formation of marketplaces where players can trade assets.
The move will drastically change the economy surrounding Rocket League, and negatively impact the likes of Rocket League Garage . This should serve as a stark reminder that traditional studios can give and take as they please, with no input from the gamer base.
The FiveM Servers Tighten IP Controls
It has not been long since Take Two acquired the Cfx.re that operates the FiveM GTA RP servers, but it looks like change is already here. The team has issued a warning against copyright infringement that is targeting use of real world brands and designs in mods.
This highlights the importance of defining asset ownership. Even in the web3 space that term often carries unclear implications. In the context of many 2.5 games it has come to be reduced to the right to trade NFT-based assets on a marketplace.
However, for the interoperable and omniportable future to be possible ownership needs to extend or at the very minimum be clearly defined at the IP level. There are a number of teams exploring this field, but nothing has gained widespread adoption yet.
Gaming Reduces Stress and Anxiety
The world is becoming an increasingly more difficult place to live in, and according to the recent Power of Play 2023 Global Report from ESA games have been making things more bearable for people around the world.
Across the globe gamers have indicated that games help them deal with stress, anxiety and loneliness. More than half of the people surveyed indicated that games help them get through difficult points in their lives.
It is nice to finally get some recognition for the fact that games go far beyond simple entertainment. These magical worlds help bring people together and help brighten their days. Teams working with web3 technology need to build games with that in mind.
Minecraft Community Shows Its Frustration
The petition to boycott Mob Vote is closing in on an astounding 500K signatures. Propelled by some creative social media banners, the campaign to stop the Minecraft event has revealed the magnitude of gamers’ discontent with Mojang.
The player base is questioning previous outcomes and also raising concerns about the rate at which new content is produced for the ecosystem. The challenge with creating enough content has become a major pain point for centralized gaming ecosystems.
These circumstances should be studied by gaming teams working with web3. There are still many that are thinking of releasing a nebulous governance token, and appeasing gamers with content focused voting. At scale, this may actually lead to more frustration.
This wraps it up for this entry. As always, if you are working on something exciting in the web3 gaming space, or are a traditional gaming team looking to explore the possibilities, don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us at Sanctor Capital. Have a great rest of your week!
Ilya Abugov (@AbugovIlya)
Disclaimer: This commentary is not investment advice. It does not purport to include any recommendation as to any particular investment, transaction or investment strategy, or any recommendation to buy or sell any investment. It does not reflect any attempt to effect any transactions or render any investment advice.
