Gabby Dizon, the CEO and co-founder of Yield Guild Games, anticipates a transformation in the most successful Web3 games in the upcoming year. Dizon suggests a shift from the prevailing play-to-earn (P2E) model to completely free-to-play games in order to attract a larger player base. He emphasizes the need to minimize financial and technical barriers to entry in the gaming sphere, diverging from the current structures seen in games like Axie Infinity, which necessitate players to purchase multiple Axie non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to engage.
According to Dizon, the future trend for super-successful Web3 games will revolve around offering free-to-play models that later incorporate opportunities for players to mint NFTs or earn tokens during gameplay. The new games will not necessitate NFT ownership initially, placing gameplay at the forefront and token economics as a secondary element.
This shift, Dizon believes, serves a dual purpose: addressing the over-speculative nature of Web3 gaming and enhancing player engagement. By emphasizing gameplay first, developers aim to create an environment where players reinvest their capital into the game, preventing the in-game economy from turning into a profit-driven mechanism.
Contrary to the recent downturn experienced in blockchain gaming, which coincided with the cryptocurrency market's decline, Dizon sees a potential reversal of this trend. He notes that the industry saw an influx of funded teams inspired by Axie Infinity's success, but building a high-quality game typically takes 2 to 3 years.
Anticipating the fourth quarter's launch of numerous new Web3 games, Dizon and other industry leaders are looking forward to titles like Parallel, a blockchain-based trading card game released in public beta on the Epic Games Store on November 16. He expects an influx of high-quality games driven by experienced teams experimenting with various token economics and monetization models.
Dizon is particularly enthusiastic about the ERC-6551 token standard's introduction, enabling the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into games. This innovation allows players to attach AI behaviors to their avatars, assigning tasks such as defeating monsters or gathering resources, while the AI executes these commands. Such automation, Dizon believes, will reduce the grind in games, letting players engage in the more enjoyable aspects while the AI handles routine tasks.
He anticipates this innovation heralding a new era of gaming where players can interact with AI without the need for continuous gameplay, setting parameters for the AI to perform actions in the game world and allowing for more varied player experiences.
