Wait a minute... web3 games don't need web2 players?

No! They don't!

What is this weird Western notion of Growth Over Everything? It's actually not necessary, and it is a sickness that has permeated the globe. What's super funny about it — the second you stop thinking about growth is when you grow.

Case in point: The web3 games that didn't give a shit about web2 are the ones that have gained the most traction from both audiences. Once you see the names of these games, you'll see what I'm talking about. Then we'll have a brief discussion about why ignoring web2 gamers works.

Pixels ($PIXEL)

The heir apparent to Axie Infinity on Ronin Chain has become the biggest game in web3, and with good reason. All of the (Western-based) Axie Infinity critiques of "no fun" "repetitive" "basic" have been addressed in this deep and engaging farming game. 

Not only Pixels, but Ronin as a whole has become the most successful crypto gaming chain based on volume. This volume has been based on the consistency of the Ronin community, not on any marketing campaign targeting web2 gamers. If you check the $RON or $PIXELS hashtags, you'll see a lot of web3 natives having the time of their lives, not a bunch of wallet and web3 tutorials. Correctly, Pixels and Ronin have determined that you'll learn the wallet shit on your own if you want to join in the fun we're having.

Pixlverse ($PIXL)

Sappy Seals is the BAYC of 2024, and the Pixlverse is set to deliver all of the metaverse and gaming that Otherside only talked about. With a less corporate team and no Hollywood backing, the Pixlverse could only focus on itself during the bear market, so that's what it did. Currently, all Seals and Pixlverse assets are experiencing a run like Pudgy Penguins earlier this year — the type of run that sees a smaller collection flip collections a class above.

With some of the earliest investors in Seals now millionaires, community members are now beginning to launch their own projects, both Seals adjacent, and completely independent. As the Seals universe expands, it remains to be seen whether the community will even need to reach out to web2 — the organic hype machine is bringing new people in with no advertising whatsoever.

Big Time ($BIGTIME)

Big Time managed to create one of the most lucrative play to earn systems in all of web three. Early investors now enjoy the ability to make hundreds of dollars per day by doing nothing more than playing the game, and the marketing didn't need to move beyond web3 to create this. With a sustainable economy backed by the best tokenomics experts as well as the knowledge of previous economies that may have been a bit too generous, Big Time could serve as an example of how Web3 can create a sustainable economy that doesn't require constant growth once it has hit a certain scale.

Nifty Island ($ISLAND)

As the web3 version of worldbuilding games like Roblox, Nifty Island is giving web3 its first fully native metaverse that people are actually excited to play. Basically, it's a "you have to be there" thing — there is hype on Twitter, but you can't see how enthusiastic people are until you play the game yourself.

Nifty made it a point to market specifically to web3 communities, with the Seals taking the top spot for participation. As many of the Seals are creating their own projects as stated above, the flywheel into Nifty Island seems to be inevitable without any particular focus on onboarding the "traditional gamer."

(Protip: By the way, the $ISLAND token has yet to drop. It might behoove you, especially if you're one of the poors, to play the game in anticipation of what could be a pretty decent airdrop.)

Axie Infinity ($SLP)

You're silly if you think Axie Infinity is going anywhere. The whole narrative of "not fun game" was parroted by automaton wannabe Cryptostaches who thought parroting would win them an audience. Well, I can't remember the names of the Spaces hosts who took that viewpoint, but we're still talking about Axie Infinity today.

Similar to Pixels, Axie held its own in the bear market by circling the wagons around guilders and builders that chose to remain loyal. Those who participated in the ecosystem during the bear are likely in much better financial positions than before, as $SLP, $AXS and Axie assets are regaining value vs. fiat currency aside from paying dividends during the bear in the form of giveaways and alpha on partner projects.

Web2 Gamers Don't Matter

This attitude seems to fly in the face of my previous article that web2 gamers will be forced to accept web3, which doubles as the title of my Spaces to take place later this month.

Seems to, but actually doesn't.

Web2 gamers eventually being forced to accept web3 infrastructure from the top down has nothing to do with the way web3 gamers should market from the ground up. If anything, the success and sustainability of the projects above prove definitively to web2 publishers and distributors that web3's profitable independence can scale if forced upon web2.

In the meantime, web3 projects with a focus on web2 sit much further down the popularity lists. No one likes a poseur. And web3 devs/content creators responding to the temper tantrums of ignorant web2 gamers don't do themselves any favors by trying to appease them instead of just focusing on the people who want to be around.

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