Since their inception, electronic games have gone from niche novelty to mainstream entertainment choice. And today, video games are enjoyed by an incredibly diverse demographic, from elderly grandmothers to preteens.
In September 2021, BITKRAFT Ventures and Naavik released a comprehensive report on the state of the global gaming market. They estimated that the game industry was worth $336 billion when all sectors were factored into the equation. If true, this makes gaming by far the largest media industry by market size, double that of traditional linear television. This is what makes them the perfect vehicle leading to mass adoption of the blockchain.
While most people are still fuzzy on blockchain technology and what it can achieve, everyone understands video games. Not only do most people know how to buy and download digital games, but purchasing skins and other downloadable content have become as commonplace as any other online transaction.
Developers within the decentralized space realize this. They understand that if decentralized concepts like the blockchain and NFTs can be seamlessly integrated within popular video games, they’ll become familiar and accepted. In other words, video games are the most likely candidate for how decentralization will be mainstreamed. And that’s why almost every major game publisher in the industry has announced plans for supporting the technology, from Ubisoft to Square Enix. And while critics abound, the digital assets are selling. And we’re still standing at the earliest frontiers of the movement.
So far, decentralized applications within the gaming space have fallen into two big categories: blockchain games and game-related NFTs. A handful of blockchain-powered GameFi projects like Axie Infinity have revealed the potential for earning real money through decentralized gaming. But most of these projects have been heavy on the earnings potential and light on the graphics, story, and gameplay. Meanwhile, as we’ve already noted, traditional game developers have been quick to offer NFTs but haven’t done much else.
This leaves a huge gap in the market for a major developer to create a decentralized video game that features the top tier gameplay and graphics that players have come to expect. This opportunity is simply too big and potentially profitable for game creators to pass up. But it’s not just about giving developers a chance to earn more money.
Decentralization is poised to disrupt the video game market in incredible ways. It will give players a louder voice in the way a game’s world grows after release thanks to DAOs. It will enable digital worlds to benefit from a self-contained economy that gives players the ability to earn real money and can’t be controlled by a central authority, maximizing liquidity. And it will make gaming more fair, opening up opportunities for players around the world, including those in majority-world countries.
To put it simply, decentralization will change everything for gaming. And gaming will make decentralization accessible and understandable to everyone through simply exposure. That’s why the next big video games is bound to be decentralized.
All we can do is wait to see who’s the first developer to make it across the finish line. It’s going to be an exciting few years.
About Starter:
Starter is the leading launchpad, incubator, and investor network that has raised over $35 million USD for 50+ projects across different blockchains. Starter connects inventors with investors to recreate the future.
About Starchi:
Starchi is a Starter-incubated DeFi game built on the Polygon network. The theme of the game centers on the adoption of unique creatures, known as Starchi, from infancy and nurturing them into adulthood. The game has a built-in play-to-earn economy that offers players wages and rewards based on their completion of certain tasks. The game will function on a dual token economy, $START and $ELIXIR. The $START token is used to gain access to the game and trade Starchi while $ELIXIR is used to gain access to different in-game and economic rewards.
Website: http://starchi.gg/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/OfficialStarchi
Telegram: http://t.me/officialStarchi
Announcements: https://t.me/StarchiAnnouncements
Discord: https://discord.gg/Dh4GU2sh
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvwfSz339JH11aPuUawwBgw
Medium: https://starchi.medium.com/
