The first wave of the play-to-earn (P2E) gaming boom seems to be coming to an end. There are still plenty of blockchain studios that are successful multimillion dollar raises around the world, but competition for funds has become so fierce that only high profile projects win back lenders.
Now that great strategy is more important than ever, here are a few proven steps you can take that will help you stand out when you’re raising capital and preparing for launch.
Enjoy experience in the traditional game studio atmosphere
The blockchain gaming market is full of builders who have experience with crypto, but have not built traditional games.
I am a good example. Pegaxy was the first game I worked on and the first I launched. Like many web3 games of its day, the mechanics and graphics were quite simple at first. But while simplicity has been fine for the web3 gaming audience, it’s becoming increasingly clear that P2E will have to attract traditional Web 2.0 gamers if it wants to scale, and these gamers demand a lot more. To satisfy this target audience, builders need games that have everything: excellent graphics, strong mechanics and a rich knowledge.
You can have the best team and the best game, but without a solid monetization strategy it means little.
Therefore, a founding team that combines knowledge of the basics of web3 with experience in building and monetizing Web 2.0 games for mobile, desktop and console platforms will set you apart in this market.
That’s why, after Pegaxy launched, we founded Mirai Labs. We wanted to assemble a team of experts to build games that appeal to the traditional gaming community.
Develop a clear, straightforward monetization strategy
Most traditional P2E games have fairly simple monetization models that rely on users to buy and hold the token that serves as the in-game currency.
This means that when large groups participate and play a game at the same time, the token prices and earnings increase together. But when market conditions change — or when players simply lose interest in a game — there can be a mass exodus of users. This is bad for revenue and could be catastrophic for token prices. Therefore, building a game that succeeds in the long run means developing monetization strategies that can withstand the ebb and flow of the market, linking the best of web3 technology with proven Web 2.0 monetization models.