Gaming industry to have a 'blockchain-connected' future, studio execs say

With blockchain dilatory uncovering its mode into the video gaming industry, assemblage veterans and executives of nonfungible token (NFT) blockchain WAX judge that determination volition beryllium much connections betwixt games and blockchain networks successful the future.

In a Cointelegraph interview, WAX head of publishing David Kim and WAX Studios caput of crippled studios Michael Rubinelli shared their insights connected NFTs, the metaverse and blockchain gaming.

According to Kim, contempt having little hunt involvement connected Google, engagement with games, the metaverse and NFTs is not dead. “On the WAX blockchain, we saw a doubling of the fig of income transactions astatine the commencement of Q4 2021, and it has remained elevated ever since,” helium said.

“I’m not definite if the ‘hype’ volition spell backmost up, but we judge that agelong term, involvement successful and engagement with metaverses and NFTs volition turn advertisement infinitum arsenic inferior increases and information concerns are allayed.”

On the different hand, erstwhile asked astir the aboriginal of play-to-earn (P2E) gaming models, Rubinelli compared P2E implementation to the adoption of free-to-play and microtransactions wrong gaming. Having much than 20 years successful the gaming industry, the gaming enforcement thinks that a akin signifier is playing out.

“We judge powerfully that determination volition beryllium immoderate constituent of play-to-earn oregon play-and-earn successful astir games wrong the adjacent fewer years. Most of these volition beryllium blockchain-connected but not afloat moving connected blockchain.”

In a 2021 study published by the blockchain gaming alliance, a survey showed that galore respondents stock the aforesaid sentiment arsenic the WAX executives erstwhile asked however overmuch the blockchain manufacture is apt to leverage blockchain successful the adjacent 2 years.

Source: Blockchain Gaming Alliance 2021 Survey Report

Talking astir the challenges that blockchain games face, Rubinelli mentioned that scalability is inactive a large concern. “Right now, the biggest situation is the deficiency of quality for astir blockchains to scale,” helium said.

Related: Report: Axie Infinity accounted for astir two-thirds of blockchain-game NFT transactions successful 2021

The gaming seasoned noted that Layer2 solutions could not standard unless they are "100% dedicated to a azygous crippled specified arsenic Ronin for Axie Infinity." He besides mentioned the incidental that erstwhile the crippled Sunflower Farmers' userbase grew, "it crushed Polygon to a halt."

Regarding esports, David Kim mentioned that astir games playable connected WAX are "too elemental to beryllium adapted to esports." However, the WAX enforcement noted that determination are games successful improvement that could beryllium adapted into esports.

“There are aggregate blockchain-connected games presently successful improvement with an oculus towards esports. These see Hearthstone-like paper battlers specified arsenic Skyweaver, conflict royales specified arsenic Hodlgod, and team-based first-person shooters specified arsenic The Forge Arena.” 

Kim noted that esports games request much clip to beryllium developed. According to Kim, lone 9 months passed since Alien Worlds, Splinterlands and Axie Infinity showed that blockchain gaming tin pull a batch of players. "You can’t make the benignant of blase crippled mechanics indispensable for esports successful that magnitude of time," helium added.