We always look forward in Web3, as we well might, but should we take some time to look back too? Could retrofitting blockchain and NFTs into Web2 games improve them, or would it do more harm than good?
Token Gamer and NFT Insider have decided to combine forces to launch a weekly podcast, Mint One (formerly WAX Lyrical). John Nichols of NFT Insider and I will discuss a new topic every week, as well as feature special guests. If there’s a topic you’d like us to cover, make sure you let us know through the Token Gamer Discord or Twitter, or the NFT Insider Discord or Twitter.
In last week’s episode, we clickbaited with the revelation that NFTs are dead. This week, we tackle the concept of blockchain being integrated into current and past games, never intended for the technology.
Mint One, Episode 42: Is Blockchain in Web2 Games a Bad Idea?
The inspiration for this episode started on Monday this week, or last year, I’m not sure. This week I covered the closed beta of GamerGains, a Play-to-Earn overlay for Web2 games like CS:GO and Dota 2. However, the concept of applying Web3 technology to Web2 games is something I have looked at before, particularly with reboots of deceased games with blockchain integrated.
One of the first examples of this was RF Online, a previously popular MMORPG, long dead, resurrected with Web3 elements added. At the time I said:
“This has the potential to capture new players as awareness for the game spikes, bring in the P2E crowd which is sizable, and recapture past players who may want to wander down memory lane with added perks. If RF Online has any success — or perhaps even if it doesn’t — this could spark an influx of “new” blockchain games.”
Well, I was wrong. Or early; they look the same. We haven’t seen an influx of games resurrected with blockchain, but between Sandbox reviving old IPs such as Dungeon Siege and RollerCoaster Tycoon, and platforms that augment games with P2E such as GamerGains, it’s still bubbling under the surface.
So, the question is: should we do it? What are the pros and cons?
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