What is a Web3 Game?

Web3 gaming has been one of the main drivers of growth for the crypto industry in recent years and remains a key source of adoption even during widespread downturns in the market. Here’s a closer look at Web3 gaming, how it works, and how non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are being utilized to transform gaming as we know it.

What is a Web3 game?

Web3 gaming is the intersection of traditional games and blockchain technology. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) play a vital role in this integration as they allow unique items earned in gameplay to be stored and tracked on the blockchain, allowing players to transfer those assets as they see fit, opening a new realm of possibilities. With this capability, NFTs can represent all manner of items of varying scarcity, including in-game objects, playable characters, and even virtual plots of land within the gaming ecosystem.

How do Web3 games work?

Playing a web3 game is similar to the traditional gaming experience except for the key difference of operating on a blockchain network. This fundamental difference adds financialization to the process, with cryptocurrencies serving as the primary method of transacting value.

The integration of crypto with gaming has different kinds of models such as the play-to-earn (P2E) model, which allows players to earn rewards in the form of digital assets which can be used in gameplay or sold on the open market. Instead of spending hours of gameplay with little to show besides specialized items that are locked within a specific game, P2E allows players to transform their gameplay into a form of income by exchanging the items they earn for real-world money. Adding this capability has played a large part in boosting the industry’s growth and has attracted a new cohort of people to the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Web3 gaming projects

One of the most popular web3 games is Axie Infinity, a Pokemon-like P2E platform that exploded in popularity in 2020, with the highest level of adoption in countries like the Philippines where citizens turned to the game as a source of income amid the challenging economic times brought about by the COVID pandemic. At the time of writing, data from DappRadar shows that Axie Infinity has roughly 74,000 active users, making it the ninth most active blockchain game by user count. The game with the most active players currently is Alien Worlds, with 400,000 active users.

How is an NFT used in gaming?

NFTs can represent a game character or any in-game item that includes an element of scarcity and uniqueness. An example of this is STEPN, a move-to-earn (a variant of P2E that rewards users for physical activity) game that rewards players with one-of-a-kind digital sneakers, in NFT form, that track their progress and can be sold on an NFT marketplace. Another example is the popular trading card game Splinterlands, which uses NFTs to represent each individual card in its trading card collection.

With Axie Infinity, the loveable Axie characters are also NFTs that can be transferred on the blockchain, giving players an easy way to monetize their gameplay. The common theme among all these games is that an NFT is required to access the game, showing the fundamental role the technology plays in Web3 gaming.

Aside from main characters, NFTs can also represent in-game items, such as a wearable item for an Axie. Another example is the game Decentraland, which is known for its virtual world where users can create different scenes and structures on virtual plots of land sold as NFTs.

And finally, game-based NFTs can also be utilized with staking as an alternative way for users to generate passive income. Staking allows users to lock up the NFTs they possess but don’t want to use or sell, enabling them to maintain their collection while also generating some cryptocurrency rewards on the side in exchange for their continued loyalty to the game.

How to play Web3 games?

The first thing required to play a web3 game is a crypto wallet that is compatible with the blockchain that the game operates on. Users must then acquire NFTs or tokens that enable gameplay within that ecosystem, and that NFT needs to be stored in the crypto wallet they created.

This can be accomplished using one of the following methods:

1. Users can purchase the NFT from an NFT marketplace, such as OpenSea.
2. Users can receive the NFT via an airdrop (especially for new games)
3. Users can obtain the NFT from another player who transfers it from their wallet.

Web3 gaming in 2023

P2E gaming has undergone a significant transformation in 2023 amid the extended crypto winter of 2022 and the ongoing struggles of the cryptocurrency industry. Many of the popular games have seen their valuations plummet, leading to an exodus of players who can no longer earn a living wage due to the collapse in value.

This has opened the door for a new cohort of games with better tokenomics to enter the space and get established as the next major players in P2E. Developers for these projects have taken the lessons learned from the mistakes of previous generations and are beginning to roll out their gameplay with long-term sustainability in mind. This includes a greater focus on making games fun for users, which has been the primary component missing from most P2E games. Games where players are enthralled by the playability are more likely to reinvest in the game, which helps it grow, attract new users, and increase the overall earning potential.

What Asta Nova is doing differently?

Gameplay in Astra Nova is all about fun, playability, and the introduction of heavy guns as must-haves in this Web3 gaming experience. Through the incorporation of AAA graphics built on the same engine as Fortnite, Unreal Engine 5, Astra Nova offers a visually stunning user experience that will captivate their every moment and leave them yearning for more.

The ecosystem offers a variety of gaming modes, including adventure quests, solo quests, multiplayer battle royales, speed runs, races, and special quests tailored for NFTs, among others. In addition to this, Astra Nova also has an ever-evolving storyline that will keep players entertained and bring a sense of newness and dynamism to the game over time, ensuring long-term loyalty and engagement.

All that is necessary to access the uncharted realm of Astra Nova and start earning through its unique gameplay is a willing desire to explore a new realm for the chance to earn rewards. Astra Nova is a free-to-play game that offers multiple monetization options, and those wishing to enhance their gameplay and earning ability can do so by utilizing the Deviants NFT — the game’s playable characters and the creatures that populate the Universe of Astra Nova as one of the monetization options.

To learn more about Astra Nova’s world and the Deviants, click here.