The Console Giants’ Secret Plot to Unlock Web3 Games from Epic to Sony to Microsoft

Play on!

Yep, that Pink Mamba on the leaderboard is me. And Web3 games make it better since I own my skins and shields. And others are also discovering this fact! Sony and Microsoft have dominated the console market since the launch of their first consoles in 1994 and 2001 respectively – while Nintendo competed in their own field. But the console giants didn’t stay on top without smart moves in the market, including Sony’s commitment to exclusive PlayStation.

The next step may be their most ambitious yet. Subtle yet strategic moves point to an ambitious roadmap: to bring their 228 million console players to web3.

Game landscape

Recently, Sony filed patents detailing the methods for blockchain-based asset transfers between different game titles and hardware. This will likely enable the use of the same digital assets across Sony’s product line of consoles, VR headsets, tablets and phones. Everything from items, skins, progress and achievements can be shared in the wider metaverse ecosystem.

Likewise, leaked documents from Microsoft have revealed that plans are in the works for future updates to Xbox that include compatibility with crypto wallets. Although the documents are over a year old, and Xbox CEO Phil Spencer claims that “so much has changed” since these documents were written, it still has the cryptocurrency and gaming communities excited about the prospect of bringing Web3 to bringing games to the mainstream. In addition, the company has a partnership with WeMade, a popular Asian-based developer that has been heavily involved in blockchain in recent years.

These developments come alongside other major industry announcements, such as Epic Games proposing their own metaverse where, for example, items from Fortnite can be seamlessly transferred between games. The Metaverse Standards Forum is a similar venture backed by 37 founding organizations, including the likes of Meta, Nvidia, as well as Microsoft. The non-profit organization is pushing for interoperability across the gaming industry to create an “open and inclusive” metaverse.

Other companies, such as Electronic Arts EA and Ubisoft, have also explored what decentralized technology can do, although they are still in the early stages of implementation.

All this interest in the industry points to a future where in-game assets can be created as verifiable digital property. Given the benefits that blockchain and decentralized assets can unlock, it’s probably only a matter of time before they become as integrated into the gaming world as other technological evolutions, such as mobile platforms.

“150 billion US dollars are spent every year on in-game items. It’s not the ability to play Call of Duty or Candy Crush. It’s the costumes and outfits inside them, and of that 150 billion they can resell $0 of it.” Robbie Ferguson, co-founder of Immutable IMX, said in a Forbes interview: “Just because this property is digital, suddenly they have no rights to it and no resale value. Our use of Web3 is not about NFTs, it is simply about the ability to leverage that technology to give them real property ownership and the ability to get value from resale by creating a marketplace where they can openly trade these assets. “

The case for Web3

The fact is: Web3 offers a compelling vision for creators and players, especially compared to the current situation of countless walled gardens. Instead of locking users into specific, IP-based ecosystems, blockchain connections allow for cross-platform compatibility and the creation of an ecosystem that spans the entire game. Asset ownership and trading can unlock new creator monetization models beyond pre-sales of games, reimagining how players engage with these virtual worlds.

This is the foundation of why Web2 companies are embracing a subtle pivot to Web3 integration. The benefits that come from ownership and portability are too great to ignore. The time and money invested in a given title becomes capital for a larger metaverse, where items and resources can be tied to a given profile and taken across many different game titles. It’s not about players earning an income from these games; it’s about retaining the value they put into it and leveraging that value across a broader landscape.

“Web3 games are already here. Developers are building web3 games faster and adopting more players than ever before,” said Glenn Rachlin, head of sales for Alchemy. “We’re seeing studios like Illuvium ILV, Aavegotchi, PlanetIX, have incredible growth and adoption in line with trends you see in mainstream gaming.”

Valve allowed players to transfer their skins from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to their new title, Counter-Strike 2. This was celebrated by the community, with a record number of cases opened in anticipation of the new game. Skins in Counter-Strike sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but Valve has the power to take them away with the click of a button. Blockchain technology gives full ownership to the players, preventing this loss of fortune.

What’s most important is how this transition promises to reward and empower users. Microsoft and Sony are certainly at the center, with their console user bases including hundreds of millions of customers. By implementing blockchain innovations, these companies could soon make asset portability, digitally rare items, and Play-to-Earn game mechanics as normalized as mobile gaming has become today.

It’s possible that the console gaming giants are making these subtle moves to Web3 because of cloud gaming that poses a threat to their dominance of the industry. Currently, players are required to own either Sony’s PlayStation or Microsoft’s Xbox or PC to play the latest titles. But cloud gaming streams games to users, meaning almost any device can play new AAA games.

Faced with an existential threat, companies are looking for ways to stand out from the crowd. Web3 gaming could be the market differential that saves the console giants from losing the war against cloud gaming.

A seismic change is coming

But it’s not just the console creators who are spinning, but also publishers. Electronic Arts has confirmed they are looking at NFTs and gaming to earn as part of the company’s future. Similarly, Sega COO Shuji Utsumi confirmed that the game company wants to use Web3 technologies to grow the business and its intellectual property.

While most have yet to act, Ubisoft recently announced a partnership with Web3 platform Immutable. The Assassin’s Creed publisher has previously released digital collectibles, but is now looking to launch a game with Web3 ownership as a core value.

Perhaps this will be the catalyst for other gaming giants to take the plunge into Web3 gaming. Sony and Microsoft’s moves definitely signal a new dawn for gaming. An era where players fully control their digital lives – identities, assets and interactions. If these giants can unlock web3 while respecting people and the planet, players everywhere will bask in an open metaverse of pure creative possibility.