Web3 gaming adoption
NFTs have emerged as an entry point for mainstream players into the world of blockchain gaming.
Last updated
NFTs have emerged as an entry point for mainstream players into the world of blockchain gaming.
Last updated
While blockchain-specific games have found success with early adopters, mainstream players—highly engaged individuals who can drive game adoption and virality—are increasingly drawn to NFT-powered and play-to-earn games. These games cater to a consumer-driven demographic aged 18 to 35, who seek to invest in virtual identities and curate collections of owned objects while earning rewards for their in-game time and efforts.
In Q3 2021, the trading volume for NFTs highlighted the gaming sector's growth in the NFT market. In-game collectibles backed by NFTs accounted for 22% of the overall NFT trading volume, amounting to $2.3 billion in sales.
What sets Gravity apart is its ability to empower developers to integrate NFTs into their games and reward players with straightforward "play-to-earn" elements. Its features cater to a more consumer-focused, contemporary, and social media-oriented demographic. Gravity enables developers to connect their games with a broad audience of players. Web3 developer adoption is rapidly increasing, with developers exploring Web3 technologies across various sectors, including gaming. Electric Capital's 2021 developer report provides insight into this growth by analyzing nearly 500,000 code repositories and 160 million code commits related to Web3 development.
A note of caution regarding broader blockchain gaming, also known as "gameFi" adoption, is the macroeconomic risk and potential regulatory challenges (both from government regulations and private platform regulations, such as those imposed by the Apple App Store). This risk can be partially mitigated by improving the developer, creator, and player experience when entering blockchain-backed gaming, which Gavity considers to be a key hurdle to wider gameFi adoption.
This sentiment is echoed in a recent survey conducted by the Blockchain Gaming Alliance in 2021. They surveyed game studios and asked, "What are the pain points for blockchain gaming?"
Several of the top "pain points" reported above can be addressed with Gravity´s technical ecosystem:
Technology limitations
Poor user experience
Lack of technical experts
Difficult to implement
Too niche
Lack of on/off ramps
Lack of interoperability
Gravity believes that simplifying each step in the pipeline is key to the broad adoption of blockchain-based gaming. This approach broadens the addressable market for each constituent group. Gravity has largely achieved these aims:
For Developers: Gravity offers a simple Software Development Kit (SDK), initially in Unity 3D, the dominant mobile game engine. This SDK provides access to an equally simple set of API methods. Real-time dashboards are also provided to developers, offering game analytics and "live operations," including control of blockchain elements.
For Creators: In-game authoring tools are currently deployed, allowing for the creation of avatar cosmetics. These tools enable creators to trigger a minting process to bind the item to an NFT, all within the mobile experience. The creation modules are also available to developers through the SDK.
For Players: Gravity has shifted from a "wallet" metaphor to a "verified profile." Profile verification is a cryptographic step where the profile is bound to an NFT and inherits functions associated with a wallet. This shift enables transactions to appear inside metaphors like "my inventory" or "my purchases" going forward.
Each of these steps aims to transition blockchain gaming from the domain of "innovators" and "early adopters" to the next level—the "early majority." This process is commonly referred to as crossing the chasm.
