Web3 gaming refers to games that leverage blockchain technology to create new enriched experiences. Also known as Play & Earn, Blockchain games, or NFT games. These new generation of games provide gamers the ability to truly own in-game assets, trade fungible (currencies) or non-fungible (digital content) in open markets, and sometimes earn economic rewards for playing.

The fact that players in play-to-earn web3 gaming economies own in-game assets draws a stark contrast to traditional Free-To-Play (Freemium) game economies. These have largely exist within a closed ecosystem preventing players from trading in-game items for real world value.

Web3 gaming beginnings

In a Play & Earn game such as Tethan Arena, we as players can choose to invest in a premium Hero (an NFT). And start collecting rewards right away as we improve our skills and rank in the game.

Alternatively we can play as a free-to-play game with a basic Hero. With enough progress we can access a premium one, and again, collect real-world value tokens as rewards. If we get bored, or simply don’t want to play anymore we can choose to sell our assets on the open market.

On 2017 a few examples of this new model of web3 gaming appeared. Titles such as CryptoKitties and Axie Infinity really had an impact on us. But it was in early 2021 when this new trend really started to make headlines. Currently we see the coming of incredible titles and a fast growing audience for this new kind of gaming experience.

Titles like Metalcore, Tethan Arena, The Harvest and many others, are about to be released with much anticipation and excitement from their respective communities. The new generation is promising to enable a AAA gameplay experience, with all the benefits of web3.