Delphi Digital: Looking ahead to Crypto games in 2023, how to truly achieve mainstream adoption?

Piers Kicks: In 2021, the crypto gaming industry experienced a large-scale speculation wave, mainly driven by the rise of Axie Infinity (AXS) earlier this year. This year truly changed the minds of those in charge of the traditional gaming industry. Around November, December, and even into January of this year, over 50% of all financing related to crypto was related to gaming. So we clearly saw a huge wave of interest in crypto gaming, during which people were obsessed with the idea of 50-100x token returns, even though there was nothing playable yet. Then we saw many gaming projects enter this field, which was very encouraging, but they need time to build, and that's one of the things we're tracking.

Piers Kicks: In terms of broader market awareness, many people may feel that the Crypto gaming industry is quite boring, but we have actually had conversations with many people in this field, which will make you feel very excited. Some world-class developers have entered this field, and they are more patient. Some of them have already been deeply involved in the battle. We have talked to more than 200 teams and learned what we can from early Crypto games. I think this knowledge will be well translated into the next batch of games. I think we have attracted the attention of more mainstream operators, and the large studios and game publishers you know are now paying attention to this, which has already proven the idea of Crypto games.

Question 2: Which projects stood out this year?

Piers Kicks: One project that really impressed me was Webaverse. I believe these individuals are building a game engine that is entirely web-native and built on open web standards, which is very exciting. They have some native webxr support and deep integration with crypto, and the engine is also open for broader use. Seeing the progress these guys have made and the little money they raised about 12 months ago, I think people will be very surprised when all of these come together.

Another project that I want to shout out is Vail VR, which looks like it could become a major contender in the VR shooter game category. As of now, Crypto doesn't seem to be the core of their game. They recently held the first-person VR shooter esports championship. As time goes on, I'm curious to see what they might do in terms of wearable crypto digital collectibles.

Question 3: What would you like to say to skeptics of Crypto games?

Piers Kicks: I don't think their concerns are unfounded, because Crypto is just a tool, like anything else. I believe it can bring benefits, but it can also bring harm. In particular, I am keeping an eye on Gabriel Leydon's company, LimitBreak, in 2023. You know, they raised hundreds of millions of dollars and also released their first project, DigiDaigaku. Gabriel's previous company, Machine Zone, adopted a free-to-play mobile monetization model, which was very aggressive and predatory. So, whether this will be a better path than "fun games" remains to be seen.

Of course, I hope the answer is negative. I think many of us are excited about the potential for more elegant and fair coordination among all stakeholders, investors, players, and developers in the ecosystem of Crypto games. This is something that we need to verify and prove for a long time. Changing the minds of mainstream players is not something that can be achieved by writing blogs and the like. As an industry, it depends on us to establish and demonstrate some truly interesting games. So for the skeptics of Crypto games in 2022, we are working hard to provide something in the next 1-2 years that can truly explain why we are so excited.

Yes, I think we are really close.

Question 4: What can attract millions of players in 2023?

Piers Kicks: To be honest, I'm not sure if there will be something that can attract millions of players in 2023. I think many teams that excite me are working hard. They have established professional teams, and we have seen a large number of talents from traditional gaming fields, including senior developers from companies such as EA and Riot Games. These people are working hard to build high-quality games. They have seized the tail of the Crypto gaming bull market in 2021, such as Ember Sword, Illuvium, and Guild Of Guardians. In about 6 months, they will have some publicly playable content. I have been following these builders.

But whether they can attract mainstream players remains to be seen, so yes, I don't want to say that 2023 will be a year of explosive growth for crypto games. I think some funded teams will still keep a low profile in 2023, and it will be very interesting to closely monitor them.

Question 5, what is the best way to track Crypto games in 2023?

Piers Kicks: Considering the large amount of funds entering the Crypto game industry and the large number of projects entering the market in the next few years, it will be difficult to keep track of everything. We have launched a monthly Delphi game newsletter, which is a good way to stay informed. In addition, many game teams choose to remain anonymous, so you may see many such projects in the second half of 2023.

Question 6: What will Crypto games look like in 10 years?

Piers Kicks: I think interoperability is an interesting concept, but we are still many years away from the kind of thing that is usually touted (unless a small group of games agree to do so). I think some things will be unlocked over time, which will be very interesting, and crypto will prevail in that world because you can get amazing granularity in terms of royalties. If I am an asset designer and the texture pack I create is ultimately used in 1000 different games, crypto can basically track all the currency flows in these games in some ways, which I think is very interesting and exciting.

Question 7: What will make Crypto games truly mainstream?

Piers Kicks: I think seeing Epic Games launch some digital collectibles, some things related to crypto, will be very exciting. You know, Fortnite is still a huge game, with billions of dollars in revenue every year. I think starting maybe not with selling things, but maybe allowing you to have skins or items that you can use yourself, is a possible way to integrate digital ownership, rather than selling something that might make players feel uneasy again.

Additionally, I believe that Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, demonstrated a deep understanding of decentralized system technology in his 2019 speech. He has an impressive grasp of "decentralization" and proposed two paths. One path is to truly obtain a cutting-edge chain that is fast and scalable enough to meet the needs of some economies. The other is a joint model consisting of large game studios and publishers who choose to maintain a blockchain that meets technical requirements but may sacrifice decentralization. I think this will be a very interesting development.

If one day, Epic Games chooses to form an alliance with Sony and other gaming companies, in my opinion, this would signify a major step forward for the widespread adoption of crypto games. Of course, this is currently just a hope.

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