Anand, Harsheen

Arjalies, Diane-Laure

Kumar, Lakshay

The gaming industry is at a crossroads with Web 3.0. The ever-growing gaming industry is at a tipping point of mass blockchain adoption. Based on public and secondary data analysis, we show that the gaming industry is shifting toward Web 3.0, which could significantly affect its practices and business models. Aligned with this change, big gaming companies have launched new technologies associated with Web 3.0, such as NFTs and cryptocurrencies. The sector’s reaction could indicate the society’s response to including cryptocurrencies and NFTs in an increasing number of industries. Reluctant North American players. North American players have been unwilling to include cryptocurrencies and NFTs in their games. They felt this integration was threatening the “gaming” logic of the industry and creating some ecological issues. Welcoming Asian and Latin American players. In sharp contrast, Asian and Latin American countries such as China and the Philippines have seen a more significant intake from gamers, who perceived cryptocurrencies and NFTs as an opportunity to generate more revenues. A tale of two worlds. Our study argues that consumers associated cryptocurrencies and NFTs with a financial logic, and would prefer not to use those technologies if their primary goal was to play. This prevented the mass adoption of those technologies in North America, where most gamers associated gaming with something other than revenue generating (i.e., playing, escaping in a virtual world). Instead, Asia-Pacific gamers saw the opportunities in these technologies to generate additional revenues and create new markets. This led to a strong divide between both parts of the world regarding Web 3.0. The report outlines some implications for the future of the industry and the rest of society

Blockchain, Cryptos and NFTs in the gaming industry: A tale of two worlds

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