Web3 Gaming: Exploring Challenges and Solutions in Token Economics and Player Retention
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Web3 Gaming: Exploring Challenges and Solutions in Token Economics and Player Retention
By following industry developments, understanding the motivations and behaviors of various participants, and planning the next stages of development and operations, Web3 gaming can achieve steady growth and ultimately return to the hands of ordinary people.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: lesley
Translation: TechFlow
Developing and managing Web3 games involves various challenges, making the importance of strategic approaches evident. Effectively addressing these challenges can play a crucial role in the overall success of a game. Thoroughly testing the game before launch and continuously delivering new gameplay and content afterward are among the strategies that help ensure stability in the game's economic system.
In addition, this article discusses several other interesting topics such as airdrops, bot issues, tokenomics design, and meta-design for Web3 games. Understanding player needs and building a complete gaming ecosystem—balancing profitability while attracting new players—is essential to support a thriving game community.
Outlook and Improvement of Web3 Game Tokenomics in 2023
The Web3 gaming space offers numerous exciting opportunities for developers, with many projects already demonstrating potential—such as Shrapnel, Axie, and Illuvium. However, developers must be aware of key challenges to ensure their projects succeed within this rapidly evolving ecosystem.
A common trend in the market is the early release of tokens and NFTs, which many developers and players believe is critical to a game’s success. However, developers should exercise caution and avoid releasing excessive tokens before the game has been thoroughly tested and is ready for launch. Instead, offering new gameplay and content after release helps maintain player interest and build a stable economy. Releasing too many tokens too early may lead to instability and undermine long-term success.
To prevent this, consider the concept of “toys on the shelf.” This metaphor suggests that, like toys in a store window, pre-sales and NFTs can appear attractive and generate investment and interest. Yet once the game officially launches, those pre-sale items quickly become outdated. To attract and retain players, developers need to deliver fresh, engaging gameplay and content. This approach fosters a loyal and active player base, helping secure a game’s position within the Web3 ecosystem.
Airdrops in Web3 games are often used as a method to retain players, but they have frequently been viewed as toxic features—players participate solely for profit without contributing meaningfully to the game’s ecosystem. The use of bots to automatically join multiple airdrops and claim more rewards has also become a growing concern. These behaviors weaken the game’s ecosystem, causing instability and depreciation in the value of game assets.
In reality, airdrops themselves aren’t inherently bad—their effectiveness depends on targeting the right player demographics. In contrast, a game focused on compelling gameplay and solid economics tends to have longer-lasting appeal. For example, World of Warcraft features a system where players progress from low-tier materials to higher-value ones, each with distinct in-game worth tradable for gold. This creates segmented markets: new players need basic materials, while experienced players sell surplus high-tier items. Developers who prioritize gameplay and sustainable economies are more likely to attract players genuinely interested in game design and mechanics—not just those driven by potential returns on investment.
Therefore, while airdrops can still draw players in, they should not serve as the primary retention strategy. Games should strive to create a virtuous cycle of engaging gameplay and robust in-game economies, where players find intrinsic value in participation.
Retaining Players Through Web3 Game Design and Its Ecosystem
Regarding how to make airdrops and other game assets valuable, developers should satisfy early investors by introducing limited-edition items or achievements requiring manual input to preserve uniqueness. This helps increase the value of initial investments over time and maintains game enjoyment while avoiding power inflation. This discussion highlights the importance of building games with stable economic systems that encourage engaged, active players—not just those motivated purely by financial returns.
Uniqueness plays a vital role in player retention, and developers can implement various mechanisms to embed uniqueness into their games. For instance, skins in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) are highly unique items that can sell for large sums due to their rarity. Similarly, MIR4 introduces manual achievements that require player input, making them difficult for bots to replicate. These elements of uniqueness enhance engagement, preserve the value of in-game items, and help sustain player interest and activity.
Likewise, maximizing player retention through effective tokenomics in Web3 games requires focusing on creating fun, immersive experiences. Asset values and real-world concerns should take a back seat to designing unique and captivating games that keep players engaged over the long term.
An example of an attractively designed game is Magic: The Gathering, which regularly releases new content and offers varied formats to maintain player interest.
Retaining Players Through the Design of NFTs and Other Digital Assets
Within the context of Web3 gaming, NFTs should carry certain advantages, but maintaining balance among players is crucial. For example, Gala Games’ Town Star has shown that over-reliance on NFTs can give some players significant advantages while leaving others with almost no chance to win.
Balancing the power of NFTs requires careful consideration of multiple factors, including player motivations and needs. In both PVP and PVE games, NFTs should provide benefits but shouldn't allow paying players to dominate the experience. Instead, a balance point must be found—one that encourages participation and social interaction.
To retain players, developers should create mechanisms that offer whales advantages while still giving other players opportunities to catch up. This balance can be achieved by providing whales with high-quality content and gradually rebalancing the rest of the player base over time. Additionally, attracting new players to challenge whales is critical and requires substantial marketing investment.
Overall, effective tokenomics design in Web3 games involves creating a complete gaming ecosystem, understanding player needs, balancing advantages among players, and attracting newcomers to build a vibrant community. Developers should focus on designing mechanisms—including NFTs—that encourage player engagement and carefully consider player interactions and relationships to foster a balanced, sustainable gaming environment.
How to Avoid the Bot Problem
Web3 games face serious bot problems, with some games reporting bot users exceeding four times the daily transaction volume. Nevertheless, many games do not remove bots because they can exploit bot numbers to falsely claim higher active user counts.
Developers can take several measures to address this issue and build a healthier gaming environment. If wallets can be linked to individual accounts, a network of associations can be established to identify bots. In games with transaction-based economies, consolidating multiple accounts into one may reveal direct connections, allowing them to be flagged as a single entity and helping determine the actual number of genuine players.
Games need to define an ideal player profile, but bots may be mistaken for ideal players since they log in daily and complete tasks. Transaction behavior can help distinguish bots from real players, enabling the creation of activities that genuinely appeal to human players rather than bots.
Changing Web3 Game Metadata Can Also Retain Players
Modifying Web3 game metadata has both advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, it can attract different types of players and improve retention. On the other hand, overly frequent changes may alienate some players. Therefore, game design must aim to appeal to diverse player types, and changes to metadata should account for varying needs.
If one playstyle becomes overly dominant, game designers can adjust mechanics to strengthen alternative styles. They might also introduce "crazy" gameplay modes for a given month, encouraging players to try new approaches. However, it’s important not to be overly prescriptive, so as not to drive players away.
To retain diverse players through metadata changes, it’s essential to understand players across different ages, professions, analytical abilities, and levels of casual engagement. Developers must analyze what the game already offers and determine what needs to be added to optimize experiences for different player segments. Considerations such as accessibility design, color choices, one-handed or two-handed play, and more should all be factored in. Developers should strive to balance diverse needs when modifying metadata, learn from successful cases, experiment with new gameplay mechanics—but avoid being overly forceful.
Changing game metadata is a viable solution but carries risks. On one hand, developers must attract and retain various player types through holistic game design. On the other, they must consider differing player preferences when adjusting metadata. In Clash Royale, for example, developers use different cards and gameplay styles to appeal to different players: some prefer deploying numerous units ahead of a giant, others favor rapid cycling of cheap units, while others enjoy long-range harassment.
To maintain engagement among diverse player types when changing metadata, several recommendations apply:
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Attract different player types through holistic game design,
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Balance diverse needs when modifying metadata, avoid dominance by any single playstyle, and optimize for varied playstyles,
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Encourage players to try new playstyles through daily challenges, etc., but avoid excessive pressure,
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Closely monitor feedback from different players and strike a balance between encouraging exploration and retaining existing users.
Riding the Wave of Web3: A Story of Power Returning to Ordinary People
Web3 is still in its early stages. Initially, its ecosystem was developed by ordinary people aiming to protect their investments and profits. However, as Web3 grows more popular, it has increasingly fallen into the hands of the wealthy, causing ordinary individuals to lose control. Eventually, when the affluent and celebrities grow tired of the technology, it will begin returning to everyday people.
At this stage, it is crucial to develop projects that create value for ordinary people, allowing Web3 gaming to mature and benefit a broader population. Regular developers must continuously experiment, learn, and improve their operational and development skills, truly understand users, and generate meaningful value. Failure may be inevitable at times, but persistence and sustained effort to create value for the public will ultimately yield unexpected results.
It’s important to monitor whether asset classes begin entering the market and profiting, as this could result in ordinary people losing control again. Developing projects that represent community interests is essential to guard against this risk. To avoid losing control, ordinary developers must demonstrate vision and resilience, contributing to the healthy development of Web3 gaming. By closely following industry trends, understanding the motivations and behaviors of various participants, and planning the next phases of development and operations, Web3 games can grow steadily and eventually return to the hands of ordinary people.
Overall, the future of Web3 gaming depends on the dedication and innovation of grassroots developers committed to creating value for everyday users. Continuous experimentation and development will bring unforeseen outcomes. Through collective effort, we can build a fairer, more transparent, and accessible gaming ecosystem that benefits everyone.
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