Slowly and steadily, the world is moving to appreciate the beauty of GameFi. Thanks to the increased adoption of blockchain technology and the desire for people to play games and earn money, we're seeing a significant resurgence in the popularity of GameFi platforms everywhere.
GameFi really became a trend in 2021 when the crypto market was seeing a historic high. Coin prices went through the roof, and the market was filled with investors who were willing to try new things. Eventually, many of these platforms stuck around and have been looking to expand this year.
However, expansion can come with a lot of challenges. One of them is the fact that a lot of people still don't know much about GameFi or what benefits it can bring. This means that reaching out to these people can be a bit challenging.
Another Callback To Crypto Itself
There are many similarities between GameFi and the traditional crypto market. GameFi blends crypto with gaming, so this is not surprising. One such similarity is with awareness.
When crypto started to get into the mainstream, it became increasingly difficult to explain to people what it truly is. The primary reason for cryptocurrencies to exist is to offer a better way for people to send and receive money and to improve the levels of financial inclusion across the world. But, this mission has been hampered by the fact that a lot of people don't even know what crypto is in the first place.
In areas with low financial inclusion rates and internet penetration levels, there is still a lot of confusion about what crypto is and how to use it. The same issue is now being seen with GameFi.
At the end of the day, it will become difficult to convince people that they can make money with GameFi if they don't even know what it is. So, how does the sub-industry break through this awareness gap?
Outreach Remains The Best Strategy
As expected, the best way to bring more people into the fold is to reach out to them. GameFi has proven to be beneficial already, but it won't mean anything if we can't show people how to actually jump on this bandwagon.
This need for outreach is why incubators are critical. Take, for example, the Meta DAO Guild, which focuses on helping beginners in GameFi to get a proper entrance into the industry through funding and training. With the Meta DAO Guild, GameFi enthusiasts can get the training and funding that they need to start playing games and earning money. Outreach efforts are a great way to meet the people who need GameFi itself and get them on board with the revolution.
Outreach is an essential need that many GameFi platforms have - reaching out to people who would like to play these games but who might not necessarily be able to begin due to the many barriers to entry. With their help, GameFi platforms should be able to appeal to the grassroots and really spread their reach.
Investments In Outreach Should Come Next
One of the things that helped the mainstream crypto market was the willingness of companies to invest in reaching out and teaching people. Crypto education has become a thriving space, with different companies committing themselves to teach more people about the benefits of digital assets.
GameFi platforms should do the same thing- invest in initiatives that will go directly to the people. GameFi already has one thing going for it that crypto didn't - people actually want to play games. When you combine the possibility of playing games and earning money, you will find that GameFi is an attractive space indeed.
So, all these platforms have to do is muster up their resources and push for better learning for people. By aching out to the gaming community and seeing how players would like to enjoy their titles, GameFi platforms will be able to hit their target market directly.
Better Gameplay Design
Another lesson that the GameFi industry could take from the mainstream crypto market is that of building for users. One of the biggest issues that cryptocurrencies still have is that ease of use hasn't been solved. Exchanges can still be difficult to use, and digital assets themselves aren't so easy to spend. This problem with the ease of use means that crypto platforms will most likely have challenges retaining customers.
GameFi is suffering from the same problem right now. Platforms aren't so easy to use - or, at the very least, the steps required to get started with many GameFi platforms are still too cumbersome. This means that players who prefer simplicity over anything else will likely not want to play these games.
This means that game developers need to find a better way to operate. How do you build for players so that they find it easy to join your platform? This doesn't necessarily mean that you should lower your barriers to entry- although doing that will help too. Instead, it just means that you should build for the players. Focus on optimizing the ease of use of your platform, and you will be able to attract the right people.
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