From Play-to-Earn to Play-and-Own: Why a Web3 Game is Ultimately Fun?

GameFi, Gaming, and Blockchain Technology’s Intersect

The P2E Hangover

When Play-to-Earn (P2E) emerged, it was groundbreaking. Games such as Axie Infinity promised gamers actual wages from playing a gamers and investors utopia. Briefly, everyone was purchasing virtual creatures as if they were bars of gold, and the hype of playing for a living became an international top story.

But the uncomfortable reality is that few were playing for enjoyment. They were grinding, chasing tokens, and instantaneously cashing out for all the inevitable crash of prices. As soon as the token economics failed, the paper thin gameplay could no longer capture anyone’s interest. The hype disappeared, and so did the players.

That failure was insightful. If your game relies on the value of a token in order to remain enjoyable then it wasn’t enjoyable in the first place.

The new wave of blockchain gaming is wiser for that hard experience. The new mantra is Play-and-Own (P&O) where community, immersion, and fun take precedence with ownership as an organic byproduct, rather than the exclusive reason.

Defining “Fun” in a Decentralized Environment

The classic Web2 pattern enjoys challenge, narrative, skill development, and communal experience. Consider tension in League of Legends, narrative Skyrim, or creativity in Minecraft.

Now, Web3 introduces a new mental dimension which is ownership. If your sword, land, or skin is really yours through data on a server, not just data but the attachment becomes deeper. The idea of fun transforms into feelings of empowerment and tenacity. It is as if you move from renting a home to owning one where suddenly, all renovations become personal and lasting.

Paradigm Shift of Play-and-Own

Ownership as a Characteristic, Not as a Goal

Play-to-Earn was all about collecting revenue, not entertainment. Play-and-Own reverses that.

The end prize isn’t ownership, it’s the ground beneath one’s feet. If players understand their properties can’t disintegrate if a studio is closed, or that they can sell or display their limited item anywhere because they trust more and they immerse themselves more.

Ownership produces three types of enjoyment:

• Permanence: Content and development stick around. There are no arbitrary bans or resets.
• Scarcity: Blockchain-verified scarcity lends real world marketplace value to items.
• Identity: NFTs may represent your character, fashion, or accomplishments across worlds.

It just reinforces the value of playing. You’re no longer playing for an item, you own a piece of the history of the game.

De-emphasis of the Native Token

One of the most brilliant ideas in green GameFi is separating the enjoyment of playing from the fate of a coin. The token needs to be earned for the economy instead of dominating it.

Speculative markets, not playgrounds, were established through inflationary tokens that artificially created early GameFi communities. By adopting NFT-based assets (one-of-one, player-owned, and utility-driven), developers can design games that borrow value from time, creativity, and skill, not speculation.

It also needs to be fun for a healthy Web3 game whether you do or don’t watch the token’s price.

The Three Pillars of Web3 Game Sustainability

Pillar 1: Frictionless User Experience and Onboarding (The Fun Factor)

It’s a cold truth. No one is going to “install a wallet” in order to spend from a game.

The casual player isn’t thinking about seed phrases or gas fees. Early Web3 games thrust their creators into crypto depth before they could ever possibly move characters where you’d want a Call of Duty player to compose a smart contract prior to them shooting their gun.

The solution should be abstraction layers.

Modern Web3 UX hides the blockchain backend. Players sign in with an email, assets sit in out-of-sight wallets, and developers pay for gas fees. It all feels similar, fast, intuitive, and secure until you discover you really own all of that you just earned.

A Web3 game needs to be as simple as playing League of Legends, not setting up MetaMask.

Pillar 2: Engaging, Deep Core Loop (Web2 Quality)

You can’t make sustainably enjoyable fun through tokenomics by itself. The essential loop where the playable, iterable loop of play, reward, and progression must also be inherently enjoyable.

Learning from the best of Web2:

• Tight controls, smooth combat, and beautiful graphics.
• Clear skill development and skill-based reward schemes, as opposed to investment.
• Storylines and worlds that evoke feelings of involvement.

The blockchain needs to be the infrastructure layer, not the gaming idea. The tech is here to complement, not replace good design.

Pillar 3: Real Interoperability and Composability

Imagine bringing your beloved Illuvium pet skin into Decentraland or trading a sword from one RPG into another platform. That’s interoperability and it’s among the most tantalizing of Web3’s promises.

This is more than about commerce, it’s meta-fun collecting, personalizing, and bringing assets into experiences about happiness.

Such games create ecosystems, not silos. These do not imprison people but release them to move, to trade, and to create through virtual worlds.

Play-and-Own Implementation

Illuvium: AAA Quality & Asset Ownership

It is demonstrating that high-end gaming and blockchain do not have to be mutually exclusive. It is a true AAA title with cinematic graphics, strategic battle, and vast open world, but it is blockchain.

Its Play-and-Own is especially prominent in land NFTs that earn passive income, and illuvials, in-game creatures you can trade with real-world gameplay functions. Excitement is in strategy building, not in token speculation.

They remain because playing is enjoyable, the market value of assets is a side benefit.

Pixels: Social Game Play & Community Ownership

Pixels is a lighter community-focused take. Consider Animal Crossing with blockchain. Farm, trade, and create in balance as your in-game land and crops are NFTs.

Seamless wallet integration and low entry UX make it accessible for newbies. The enjoyment is about leisure, creativity, and cooperation but the ownership just brings stakes and pride.

Big Time: Action RPG & Gear Economy

Big Time is an action RPG in which loot drops, cosmetic items and gear are real NFTs. Players do not grind for tokens but battle for exclusive drops that they can use or sell.

Its value is derived from time and craftsmanship. Quick action combat, cooperative missions, and scarce item-seeking recreate that thrill of Diablo, but with the added bonus of real ownership.

Retention Imperative: Web2 vs. Web3 Player Behavior

Retention Metrics Comparison

Retention in Web2 is driven by story progression, by accomplishments, and by social relationships. Retention in early P2E was a paycheck where in-game login was for return, not for joy. As token values dropped, daily active users plummeted likewise.

Play-and-Own finds middle ground players own due to the positive feedback loop of playing, while owning raises financial and emotional investment. Retention metrics would ideally begin to resemble Web2 with high DAU/MAU ratios, strong daily use, and long term commitment.

The Committed Web3 Participant

Web2 enthusiasts who “get it” are some of the most passionate of all. They view their time and effort as creating digital equity. Their assets have a story to them, not only of time investment, but of identity created.

As the Web3 gaming industry continues to grow, the most pertinent figure will cease to be wallet count but it’ll be player happiness.

Conclusion: The Future of Fun, Finance, and Freedom

The GameFi of the future is gaming that everyone would want to play whether or not there is crypto.

A sustainable Web3 game should:

• Be a great game first.
• Offer frictionless UX with low blockchain friction.
• Provide meaningful, lasting ownership that enhances, not detracts from gameplay.

Ultimately, it won’t be the tokenomics gurus, but the games that make you forget you’re playing with blockchain until you sit back and rightfully own something truly rare.

This article is contributed by an external writer: Jocelyn Hamoy.

 
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