The Average Web3 Gamer Isn't Your Average Gamer

The average gamer is your average person. They're students, parents, workers, and teachers. In America, more than 65% of adults play video games. That's a lot of people.

But almost none of those gamers are present in web3.

That's partly because web2 games are still obviously superior to web3 games. They have bigger budgets, more experienced developers, and are ingrained in popular culture. They're just easier to access. They're also just better games, with better writers, artists, and directors leading them to completion.

However, web3 gaming offers something traditional gaming doesn't--player-owned assets. It allows players to take the money they put into a game out of it and into a different project. The money players put into a game in the form of NFTs or tokens can appreciate or depreciate, but regardless of its worth, it is owned by the player, not the publisher.

However, few trad gamers have made the leap to wed3, despite unconsciously yearning for the technology. Instead, web3 gaming is dominated by unorthodox archetypes. It's populated by investors, degens, and visionaries, none of which are passionate gamers. So the industry is struggling to find the right demographic to cater to.

There are two main groups of people in web3 gaming and two smaller groups:

• Investors

• Visionaries

• Devs

• Degens

Investors are the financial backing behind web3 gaming projects. They are interested in the space because they see a high potential ROI. They position themselves in markets and look to get the most bang for their buck. They don't, however, look to play the most fun game. They could care less about a game's fun factor, its community, or its longevity. It's all about their profit margins.

Visionaries may be the closest archetype to actual gamers, but they still don't quite fit in. Visionaries are people who understand the transformative technology of the blockchain and how drastically it will alter the future of gaming. They might not have much financial backing to throw at a project, but they're just happy to be in the space. They're happy to be in early before mainstream adoption simply.

Developers are people working in the web3 gaming industry. They play web3 games since they need to research the competition. But they aren't playing games in their free time anymore. They get enough gameplay during work hours.

Last but certainly not least, we have degens. Degens make up the vast majority of the web3 gaming population, and that's a problem. Degens are like small times investors who care less about profits and far more about the lulz. Degens couldn't care less about a game's future or economy; they care only about their own bags, flipping NFTs, pumping a floor price, or overhyping a useless asset. Degens make up about 80% of the web3 gaming space, which means when web2 gaming and the outside world looks inward to web3 gaming, they see a community dominated by thoughtless dimwits all arguing about floor price and NFT flipping.

There are few traditional gamers in the web3 space. Until the market makes onboarding new players frictionless, produces genuinely good games, or educates gamers on the opportunities that await them, there will always be few traditional gamers in the web3 space.