After the Bitcoin halving, the crypto market has entered a new critical node of the cycle. Looking back at the last round of the market, the "explosive power" of the most popular game-related tracks such as GameFi and Metaverse is impressive. Not only did it give birth to a phenomenal blockchain game with millions of users, it also brought about the popularity of P2E, and a number of "gold-making" game guilds and platforms emerged, which is always unforgettable.
So in this round of big market, what form will the next stage of dividends in the Web3 game track take and where are they likely to appear?
01 The duck knows first when the river water warms in spring
1) Background of the birth of blockchain game guilds and related platforms
In 2021, blockchain games represented by Axie Infinity have emerged, and the Play to Earn game model has emerged in the crypto field. According to TokenTerminal data, Axie Infinity's highest daily revenue at that time could reach 17.5 million US dollars, and DAU (Daily Active User) reached 3 million. The monthly turnover once surpassed "Honor of Kings" and ranked first in the world. At the same time, P2E games also brought very considerable income to gamers, generally earning hundreds of dollars in 1-2 weeks. The continuous wealth effect also brought high growth in blockchain game users.
Since blockchain games have risen rapidly, have explosive growth potential, and most of them are high-net-worth players, they have become popular in the gaming industry. However, problems have also arisen. As we all know, the crypto industry has high operating thresholds, high costs, and low awareness among novices, which has discouraged many people. At this time, industrial chains such as gold-making studios have naturally emerged, among which the "game guilds" that are very popular in the traditional gaming field have appeared. The same organizational form, applied to Web3 games, has helped gamers solve the problems of high thresholds and difficulty in getting started, while also increasing overall benefits.
The well-known blockchain gaming guild YGG received more than US$21 million in venture capital in just over a year. Subsequently, many innovative platforms emerged, such as GuildFi, which is a guild platform further developed based on the game guild. By developing an infrastructure platform to connect games, NFTs and communities, it will elevate the game guild to a new level. The project has won the favor of many leading capitals and completed a US$6 million seed round of financing at the end of 2021. DeFiance Capital and Hashed jointly led the investment, and star institutions such as Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research, and Animoca Brands participated in the investment.
2) Why should we pay attention to blockchain game guilds and related platforms?
Although the highlight moment of blockchain games did not last due to the heavy blow of the crypto bear market, the shocking scene when the GameFi track was "all the rage" has always been vivid in the minds of gamers. Now, with the improvement of the crypto market and the improvement of the underlying infrastructure, blockchain games may "make a comeback" at any time, and capital institutions have long been gearing up and waiting.
The duck knows when the river water warms up in spring. The blockchain game guilds that have always been deeply involved in the "heartland" of Web3 games have become the best observation objects to grasp the trend of the track. As we all know, the guilds and related platforms standing on the front line of the track have the highest awareness of blockchain games and the highest sensitivity to the new dividends of blockchain games. If you want to seize the dividends of the Web3 track, you must pay attention to the actions of game guilds and related platforms.
02 The evolution and iteration of the three giants of blockchain game guilds
In the years of ups and downs in the crypto market, many blockchain game guilds and industry chain derivative projects have disappeared, leaving only teams with strong strength and background to continue exploring more possibilities. For example, YGG, Merit Circle and GuildFi, known as the three giants of blockchain game guilds, have been evolving and iterating. So how are they doing now? Let's take a look...
1) YGG: Turning to fund-based investment cooperation to expand the community scale
YGG was originally a decentralized gaming guild built on ETH and Polygon. It pioneered the scholarship model and led to the rise of the blockchain gaming guild track. It then gradually transformed and expanded its territory by investing in gaming ecosystem assets and other means. It also expanded its influence by establishing SubDAO and finding suitable communication and marketing channels in different countries, thereby establishing exclusive communities in different countries and further developing the scale of its ecological community.
2) Merit Circle: Transforming from a single-game DAO to a gaming platform and infrastructure
3) GuildFi: From blockchain game guild 2.0 to the new Zentry platform
GuildFi’s current project financing amount exceeds 100 million US dollars, and it is already one of the largest web3 projects in the gaming field. Although it, YGG, and MC are all “the three giants of blockchain gaming guilds”, their paths are not exactly the same.
When GuildFi was first launched, it was positioned as the infrastructure and platform for "Chain Game Guild 2.0", providing entry, connection and value-added services for players, guilds, games and investors, thus taking guilds to a new level. Through the concept of making guilds a kind of infrastructure, the GuildFi ID, Proof-of-Play Rewards, game distribution and scholarship platform, NFT and game tools form a one-stop solution for game/ metaverse experience.
In terms of infrastructure and platform construction, GuildFi is actually ahead of Merit Circle, because GuildFi began polishing its platform and various infrastructure services as early as 2021, while Merit Circle only began to transform into a platform at the end of 2023.
Recently, GuildFi officially announced that it will be renamed Zentry, integrating the digital and physical game worlds to create the Zentry super layer and create a unified Play economy for 3 billion players. Currently, Zentry is positioned as a super layer that integrates loyalty systems, player identities, and cross-game activities to provide players with a unified gaming experience. It will become the foundation of a new gaming economy, promote the full integration of player networks, artificial intelligence, and Web3, and lead a new era of gaming, entertainment, and lifestyle.
In short, Merit Circle has received 1000% market response in the process of platform transformation, and GuildFi, which is at the forefront of platform transformation, is in the process of iterative upgrades. This may be the bonus period for Zentry's new platform.
03 Zentry’s brand upgrade dividends from seeking change and breaking through
From the Blockchain Game Guild 2.0 to the new Zentry platform, what changes and benefits has Zentry, which is relatively ahead of the curve, brought that are worth paying attention to?
1) What iterations has Zentry made?
From the official information, Zentry further deepens the concept of "super layer" and brings the grand vision of unifying the Play economy of all games for 3 billion players. It seamlessly integrates loyalty systems, player identities, and cross-world activities from countless games and platforms into a single overlay experience.
Zentry brings four core vertically integrated components: a. The underlying blockchain infrastructure that bridges Web2 and Web3 data, including identity, assets, and activities; b. A set of targeted consumer applications designed to appeal to a variety of player segments; c. A diverse world of intellectual property that deepens engagement through engaging narratives and intellectual property partnerships; d. Over $100 million in incentive funds specifically for strategic expansion and driving ecosystem incentives.
In fact, GuildFi had already accumulated a considerable amount of resources:
A. High-quality projects invested in the past will be integrated into the super layer. In the past, Zentry has been investing in and incubating high-quality projects in the upstream and downstream of the blockchain game industry chain, covering games, AI, and socialfi, such as Xai, Memeland, Ronin, Mavia, Sipher, Aperion, Shrapnel, Avalon, Fnatic, Pixelmon, Ultiverse, Jambo, Tatsumekoo, Nyan, Talon, XSET, Aethir, these projects will all be integrated into the super layer.
B. Sufficient cash flow It is reported that Zentry can generate more than 10 million US dollars in revenue each year from cooperation/investment/staking/node operation and other activities. This part of the revenue can be invested in community incentives and ecological support to achieve twice the result with half the effort.
C. Experienced publishing platform After a long period of polishing and accumulation, Zentry already has a network of anchors/creators and publishing platforms with rich experience in cooperation with companies such as Riot Games, Hoyoverse, EA, etc., providing user acquisition support for game/entertainment partners.
At the same time, Zentry has enabled a new token and brought a new token economic model. The original GuildFi Token GF will be converted into the new Zentry Token ZENT at a ratio of 1:10.
Simply put, Zentry will directly connect the independent systems of all games through the upgraded GuildFi ID (player identity), game proof rewards (loyalty system), and the distribution of all types of games across platforms, targeting 3 billion game players. It wants to become the largest publisher of games/entertainment/lifestyle, bring large-scale adoption to the Web3 world, and transform various chains/infrastructures and games into a prosperous ecosystem.
2) What benefits does the upgraded new platform Zentry bring?
A. Brand upgrade, project may need market re-evaluation
As mentioned above, Zentry reorganizes its advantageous resources and deepens the concept of "super layer" to bring the project into a more ambitious vision. Therefore, it cannot be regarded as a new platform starting from scratch. The treasury of 100 million US dollars (mainly stablecoins and Ethereum), plus a steady stream of cash flow income, means that real money will be invested to stimulate community building and ecological development.
If we refer to Merit Circle after its platform transformation, Zentry’s upgrade may also be able to trigger market reassessment and enter a more appropriate market value range.
B. Token Splitting
In the past, there have been many cases where token splits have brought benefits, such as DOT in the early days, and MC, which is also one of the three giants of the guild. Taking the closest MC as an example, after its token split, the market reacted quickly and rose by 200~300%.
In fact, the positive logic of token splits is very simple. One is that split events bring great attention and guide market value discovery; the other is that splits are often accompanied by the adoption and empowerment of the upgraded token economic model. Perhaps the newly upgraded Zentry tokens can also get good expectations.
04 Summary
The large-scale adoption of Web3 applications in the crypto industry is inseparable from GameFi's appeal to 3 billion gamers worldwide. Game guilds are not only a community of players, but also the infrastructure that connects the upstream and downstream of the Web3 game industry chain. Game solutions like Zentry, which start from the game guild platform and are committed to creating richer and more grand scenes, are expected to bring the next wave of tens of millions of users to Web3. In the process, it will also bring platform development dividends and track ecological prosperity dividends to users.
