Web 3.0: Why are Indian gaming companies attracted?

Web 3.0 is billed as the internet’s next great step forward. According to industry analysts, it has the potential to revolutionize games and improve the overall gaming experience for people.

In basic terms, users are paid for in assets they possess in Web 3.0 games. More significantly, those assets have a monetary worth that is independent of the game.

“For a game to be enjoyable, it must be meaningful, and it must be playable with or without the blockchain.” That is a nice game if you do that.

On the touchline of the India Game Developer Meeting 2022, held in Bengaluru last week, Aakash Mandhar, Vice President of Studio Engineering at Mutability, told indianexpress.com that blockchain enhances the experience by giving you digital ownership and rewarding you for your interactions in the game.

In the future of Web 3.0 games, he believes the dynamic between “games with economies” and “gamified economies” will be key.

“If you flip it, which is that the entire game is about playing an economy and everyone’s angle is to extract value from it, it’s no longer fun,” he continued.

That isn’t to suggest that there won’t be some early interest in these “games.” With so many people joining the field for speculative reasons, Mandhar predicted that numbers will rise quickly in the short run. However, he believes that this is not a long-term approach.

“As there are enough high-quality games available, there will be a competition to see which games people will play.” These games will suffer as a result,” he stated.

Another reason why gaming businesses are optimistic about Web 3.0 games’ prospects in India is that players are spending more money on games and in-game purchases.

“The perception that Indian gamers are not spenders is shifting. “All game firms are looking at India, and user behavior is changing,” nCore Games CEO Dayanidhi MG remarked.

He admitted that Web 3.0 games do not yet have the same level of quality as traditional high-end games. “When Web 3.0 technology was first introduced, people rushed to get their games on the market.

“The studios who created these Web 3.0 games didn’t have time to bring in triple-A quality, to begin with, so they developed in a haste so that they could get to market quickly,” he explained. However, he believes that this will change in the future.

“The next generation of games that will enter the market, which is presently in production,” he continued, “will all be solid in terms of their economy and game design.”

But what about AAA titles like FIFA, GTA, Halo, and others? Will they, at some point, adopt blockchain as well? Mandhar believes it is possible, but that it will take some time.

“There are a lot of unknowns in the blockchain world, particularly in terms of regulations, and countries are trying to find out how to deal with it,” he said. 

“Once we have widespread acceptance of clients, the overall sentiment around blockchain will be more positive.” “I believe the larger AAA games will arrive,” he stated emphatically.

Meanwhile, the CEO of nCore Games holds a different viewpoint. When these regions unite, he believes AAA games with Web 3.0 elements will draw more gamers.

“People will not hesitate to invest and then own those Web 3.0 pieces if the next generation of games – the AAA quality ones – offer a similar kind of user experience to gamers and, on top of that, they provide ownership,” he said.

He’s also more optimistic that the shift will occur sooner rather than later. “Give it a year or two because AAA games have significantly longer development cycles.”

When these games are finished, they’ll provide a similar experience to what you’re used to, but without the Web 3.0 aspects. But I think the mix of the two will be quite interesting,” says the author.