Phil Spencer and Yat Siu’s take on Blockchain Gaming and its Future

The week after Gamescom. I hope everyone had a good and fun time in Cologne. Many people could see each other after such a long time. From many I heard it was a fruitful week! It is clear our game industry needs these events, where people can talk live and have informal talks during drinks and dinners.

Blockchain Gaming and its Future

Thanks for the positive responses on our announcement. W3 Play has a mission in the world of Play To Earn, and our first project is live, you can check it here. Keep in mind, it is only version 1, our phase 2 has started now. Keep you posted.

My story of today is about two well known people; Yat Siu of Animoca Brands and Phil Spencer of Microsoft Gaming.

Gaming community has a love-hate relationship when it comes to blockchain gaming. There exists a polarized view on blockchain gaming and a deep division is evident.

Some support it while others are reluctant and vehemently criticize it. Same is the case at corporate level where some big guns are favor it and considers it a revolution, while others are a bit cautious about it.

Yat Siu is the chairman of one of the leading studios in blockchain gaming, Animoca Brands. He believes that the blockchain technology and decentralization will revolutionize the gaming.

Blockchain gaming is gradually making its way into the mainstream. Take for example the Q1 of 2022, a total of 128 blockchain game companies raise $1.2 billion at lofty valuations.

Moreover, it is also experiencing a massive welcome and embrace from crypto fans, Asian gamers, mobile gamers, and those who encourage and embrace experimentation.

Yat Siu is clear about it, Animoca Brands has a clear mission statement where it aims to deliver true digital copyrights to all. Talking about the resistance blockchain games face, Yat Siu is of the view that majority of it is coming from the West.

Active criticism stems form the USA and some European places. On the contrary, Asian gaming community is showing massive support. He further added that free to play model in its nascent days also went under same criticism. Now, it is a different story altogether with astronomical popularity.

So, how to create a sustainable system in NFT games? Yat Siu talks about the freedom that developers seek. The idea is to get your money upfront through NFTs sales and from players who are willing to invest in the game.

Another way is to provide free NFTs upfront which will provide players with an option to make money off their assets early on. Consequently, a sustainable framework powered by the community will propel the game. These business models hold massive potential, players and developers need to understand them more.

However, there is also a flip side to what Yat Siu thinks. Xbox’s Phil Spencer is still cautious about it despite all the hype surrounding it. Spencer is of the view that blockchain games create a workforce out of players working for certain players to monetize it.

Moreover, Spencer’s views on NFTs is also clear and terms them as exploitative. However, he is also of the view that the underlying technology of blockchain will serve the industry in a positive way.

Phil Spencer’s remarks on NFTs made headlines when he voiced his concerns over the current state of NFTs. His main concern is the exploitative nature and a lot of speculation and experimentation in the niche. So, more exploitation vibes and less entertainment in blockchain games.

“I don’t think it necessitates that every NFT game is exploitive. I just think we’re kind of in that journey of people figuring it out. I think anything that we looked at in our storefront that we said is exploitive would be something that we would take action on. We don’t want that kind of content.” Spencer concludes.

What are your thoughts? See you next week.