Web3 games are still here. However, our perception of Web3 games has evolved from initial curiosity to an obsession with optimizing gains, and then to skepticism and reflection as the entire sector entered a downturn. What truly makes a good Web3 game, and where is its way out?

In the next cycle, perhaps only an “excellent” project will find a way out. But how do we define “excellent”? In the world of Web2, we have an “excellent” example: CSGO.

CSGO has thrived for over a decade, and let’s not forget it was one of the earliest games to introduce assets and a secondary market. CSGO’s skin market brought in substantial revenue and active users, and the game itself did not collapse due to the existence of assets. More importantly, CSGO’s esports events created attention, discussions, an industry chain, and fans, transforming it from just a game into a cultural phenomenon with influence.

From the game to assets, and then to the impact of esports… CSGO’s success seems to offer some inspiration for the still-nascent Web3 games: having assets and a play-to-earn mechanism does not necessarily mean the death of the game. In the second half of Web3 games, a reasonable combination of gameplay, asset economy, and esports might be a feasible path for elevation.

So, who will be the CSGO of Web3? Matr1X Fire, belonging to the FPS shooting genre, might be worth paying attention to. Despite the overall NFT market winter, the floor prices of its Matr1x 2061 and YATC NFT series continue to rise against the trend. Apart from the resilience of asset prices, Matr1X is also exploring and experimenting in culture, IP, entertainment platforms, and gamification.

On August 8, Matr1X Fire entered its second round of game testing, coinciding with updates to the whitepaper on Matr1X’s official website. This provides an opportunity to delve into what Matr1X is doing, what it aims to achieve, where it is headed, and whether it can approach our definition of “excellent”.

Matr1x Fire: Examining “Gameplay” with Incremental Thinking

Matr1x Fire is a mobile-first, first-person shooter Web3 game with competitive gameplay similar to CSGO. Unlike some rule-intensive Web3 games, if you’ve played or watched any shooting games, you can easily grasp the basic gameplay of Matr1x Fire – instinctively tap the screen to shoot, keeping everything simple and intuitive.

However, beyond simplicity, winning matches requires precise shooting skills, strategic thinking, and team coordination. Players can also make personalized tactical choices based on their preferences and game situations, ensuring scoring in each small round and securing victory in the overall match in the face of intense competition.

Moreover, as a Web3-native game, Matr1x Fire not only ensures gameplay but also allows players to earn tokens and NFT-formatted digital assets based on different conditions after each match. The most crucial and visually appealing assets are the skins for different firearms in the game, similar to the skins in CSGO.

According to the latest whitepaper from Matr1x Fire, the game features over 30 different weapon props, each with various corresponding skins, all categorized into different levels. In addition to firearm skins, characters, avatars, trophies, and more in the game will also be presented in the form of NFTs.

It’s evident that Matr1x Fire faithfully replicates the skin system from CSGO: weapon skins have wear values, and various items such as knives, stickers, spray paints, and badges are all presented in NFT format.

Clearly, this is a Web3 game that combines both gameplay (competitive matches) and economic attributes (NFT assets). The appearance of these two aspects easily leads to the debate about whether “Game” or “Fi” comes first. However, considering the current overall environment of the cryptocurrency market, it might be more realistic to ask: Are more people playing Web3 games?

The dilemma between gameplay and economics is, in reality, more about thinking with a “stock” mindset: how should I adjust the economic model of my game to avoid a death spiral and prevent user loss and asset price collapse? But before addressing this, the author believes that “incremental thinking” is more crucial – there are only so many Web3 users, and relying solely on existing users for in-game transactions will never reach a high ceiling. What methods can be used to continuously attract new incremental users?

Without more people trying the game, it is likely that discussions about NFT assets will not even come into play, and the game will decline. Therefore, in today’s market environment, the ability to attract incremental users is more important than discussing assets and economics.

So, what kind of game can attract incremental users? A combination of shooting and mobile gaming might be a good fit.

From a macro-category perspective, shooting games undoubtedly offer an excellent scenario for entering Web3. As the largest category with over 1 billion global FPS players, a game with basic gameplay and shooting operations similar to popular games is more easily accepted from a user experience standpoint.

Looking at the device level, the rise of the mobile gaming market has become an undeniable force. In last year’s global gaming market share statistics, mobile games contributed to half of the revenue, reaching an absolute income of around 900 billion US dollars. Engaging with games through a smartphone is a more accessible scenario for ordinary people. Simultaneously, traditional mobile shooting games continue to emerge, providing vast creative space for Web3 shooting games.

At a micro-level gaming perspective, Matr1x Fire also possesses specific elements to attract new users:

Easily Migratable: Compared to traditional shooting games, Matr1x Fire offers simpler and more intuitive controls, making it easy for beginners to get started.
Gameplay: It provides various modes such as competitive ranking, casual play, and battle royale, catering to different types of players. Even for those not into hardcore competition, they can still find enjoyment.
Low Entry Barrier: The mobile controls are convenient, following a free-to-play model, and the encrypted asset system is positioned afterward. Players need to spend some time playing to drop loot boxes and unlock firearm NFT skins. Not using these skins does not affect the gameplay.

It can be seen that Matr1x Fire has given ample consideration to ease of play, initially attracting new users with a barrier-free gaming experience and gradually introducing them to the asset system, achieving a gradual transition from new users to core users.

In summary, when a project has the ability to continuously attract incremental users, there is a foundation for discussing the asset economy. After user acquisition, a good economic system can effectively stimulate user engagement.

Accessory Economy: The Key to Matr1x Fire’s User Activation

We often have a strong impression of the death spiral in blockchain games or Web3 games, believing that the fluctuation of asset prices in the game is strongly tied to the gaming experience and purpose. Therefore, games with asset systems are bound to eventually decline.

However, this may be a misconception. The game + asset model not only may not die but could potentially revitalize the gaming user base significantly.

Will Matr1x Fire follow the footsteps of the death spiral? Before answering this question, let’s take a historical perspective.

Gold farming, studios, and the secondary market for game assets are not exclusive to Web3. CSGO, a game from over a decade ago, has already mastered this model:

In August 2013, CSGO introduced the weapon skin system with its Arms Deal update.
In 2016, the Steam Trading Market was launched, providing an official channel for pricing, assessment, and trading of CSGO weapon skin assets.

Since the activation of the official Steam Trading Market in 2016, skin trading has become safer and more convenient, further stimulating the prosperity of the CSGO skin economy.

Today, the prices of some rare skins in CSGO remain high. Using the popular terminology in Web3, the “floor price” of top skins can even reach over 10E, firmly establishing them as blue-chip projects in terms of pricing.

There are even full-time “traitors” and studios based on accessories appearing on the market, specializing in the business of selling skins and weapon boxes. At the same time, different weapon skins also have differences in “wear and tear”. The same skin can be sold at very different prices depending on its color and condition… It feels like an “electronic antique”.

Taken together, the CSGO skin system has been online for nearly 10 years, and its official Steam trading market has a history of nearly 7 years. The trading ecology derived from jewelry trading is thriving, and the vitality and influence of the digital collection economy are also expanding.

And all of this, does it have a bit of an NFT flavor? Native digital assets, different grades with different prices, experiencing upward movement due to scarcity, attracting professional traders due to fluctuations… But the fate of CSGO and its accessories is much better than that of most Web3 games and NFTs— the accessory economy has rejuvenated the game.

Source: Steam official CSGO game’s daily activity statistics chart

Official data from Steam shows that the average number of monthly active users in CSGO has increased significantly since the launch of the skin trading market. The average monthly active users increased from about 1.2 million in 2015 to 2.6 million in 2017, and to more than 5 million in 2019…

In 2020, the total transaction volume of the CSGO skin trading market reached US$3.5 billion, making it one of the largest revenue-generating game skin markets. At the same time, Steam and game developer Valve earned nearly $500 million in revenue in 2020 alone by taking 15% of transaction fees.

CSGO didn’t die because of the prosperity of in-game assets; on the contrary, it thrived even more. Why is it so different from the fate of Web3 games and NFTs? The accessory economy in CSGO seems like a promoter, while the NFTs in Web3 games appear more like a drag, and the root of all this lies in the relationship between assets and the game.

Assets do not damage the core game experience: With or without skins, the game is still a fair game. No matter how expensive the skin is, it has no effect;
Assets provide emotional value in repetition: The matches of competitive games are repetitive, but players can express their individuality by displaying various rare skins, injecting new fun into each game. It is the emotion value of “I have what others don’t have, and I show off even more when others have” has boosted the popularity of the skin market;
Focus on gold mining with low input-output ratio: CSGO does not encourage players to engage in large-scale “gold farming”. Obtaining rare skins is not a sure thing. They need to rely on game time to randomly drop boxes and the rate of return is unpredictable. This avoids players from performing a large number of repeated operations like mining for skins, ensuring the quality of game battles;
Assets inspire secondary entrepreneurship, community and culture: Players can submit their own designed skins to participate in the official selection, and the selected skin creators can get a share. The production of a large number of excellent skins brings a continuous sense of freshness to the game.

It can be seen that this kind of jewelry economy that is integrated into the game and mutually beneficial and symbiotic has become an important driving force for the long-term prosperity of CSGO.

After understanding this truth, let’s take a look at the economic asset design of Matr1x Fire. We can find that the project has obviously learned from CSGO’s successful experience and serves the economic system as much as possible to “promote activity” instead of being unrestrained. It encourages gold mining to destroy the game ecology.

In Matr1x Fire, there are roughly the following assets:

FIRE Token: An in-game token with unlimited supply, increasing with the game’s population. It is used for various in-game burning mechanisms such as character development, opening treasure chests, and weapon synthesis.
MAX Token: The governance token of the Matr1x platform, with a total supply of 1 billion that will never increase.
Character NFTs: Used to obtain FIRE Coins and treasure chests during in-game sessions.
Treasure Chests: Opening these chests allows players to acquire various valuable in-game accessory NFTs.

Overall, aside from the governance MAX Token, the roles of the other assets revolve around the accessory economy. We won’t delve into the detailed economic model here, but in general, the economic behaviors outlined in the Matr1x Fire whitepaper can be summarized in the following aspects:

Match: Players with advanced NFT characters can earn FIRE and treasure chests during matches.
Character Development: Spend FIRE and other characters to enhance character attributes, improving in-game output.
Character Production: Produce new characters by extracting genetic blueprints from two characters, with FIRE consumption required for character production.
Treasure Chest Opening: Requires spending USDC and FIRE to open chests and obtain in-game items.
Weapon Synthesis: Use weapons of the same quality to craft higher-quality weapons.

Regardless of how complex the rules are or how diverse the designs, actions like consuming FIRE tokens, strengthening characters, etc., are essentially aimed at obtaining firearm accessories more quickly and in greater quantity (increasing chest drop rates or synthesizing low-quality accessories).

From the above economic behavior designs, we can quickly distill the design intent behind the economy:

The core shooting game experience does not rely on owning virtual assets.
Firearm skin accessories provide personalized display and collection value.
Obtaining rare accessories requires active game participation rather than passive mining.
Encourage players to actively consume, synthesize, and perform other actions to obtain more rare accessories.

In this way, Matr1x Fire achieves an organic integration of the economic model with the gaming experience, avoiding the risk of the asset economy becoming a burden for the game. However, a more crucial question is, how can the game thrive and attract more attention?

Esports: The “Upgrading” Weapon for Web3 Games

According to Matr1x, the answer to the above question lies in esports.

Some games are naturally suitable for esports and related competitions in terms of theme and spectator appeal. Using esports competitions to expand the influence of the game itself and cultivate related industry chains is a form of “upgrading” for a Web3 game:

Instead of confining yourself within the industry, struggling between the dilemmas of the game and the economy, you can strive to leverage more compliant resources, a broader audience, and a more systematic industry chain to achieve the coveted Mass Adoption.

Esports serves as an appropriate springboard for Web3 games to break free from constraints.

From an external perspective, gaming and esports are becoming emerging industries pursued by various countries. In April of this year, Savvy Games Group (Savvy), a subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), sought to develop, release, and acquire top-notch games to support the Saudi gaming industry. The Saudi government also plans to invest $38 billion, hoping to explore the potential of becoming the next center of the gaming industry.

In Saudi Arabia’s plan, by 2030, the country aims to become the world’s esports center. The investment entities are mostly sovereign wealth funds and their subsidiaries, controlled and dominated by the government. Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” sets clear GDP contribution goals for esports and the gaming industry. By 2030, they aim to make esports and related gaming industries generate revenue equivalent to 0.8% to 1% of the kingdom’s GDP.

And last year, Singapore also added esports as an exhibition event in the 2022 Asian Games, featuring various online game competitions such as League of Legends and DOTA 2. In June of this year, the first Olympic Esports Week opened on June 22 in Singapore. This event, named “Esports,” is the first offline competition resulting from strong collaboration between the International Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and the Singapore National Olympic Council.

Governments around the world are optimistic about the potential of esports to promote economic growth and connect with the younger demographic. The rise of the esports industry has transformed gaming from an isolated form of entertainment into a catalyst for the prosperity of cultural formats such as physical venues, merchandise, advertising, clubs, and new media.

Moreover, esports itself is a movement that easily attracts attention. Competitive games, by their nature, are played by a few and loved by many. The gap in skill levels creates a pure yet profound admiration effect—being unable to surpass someone, observing the unbridgeable gap in skill and awareness, leads to infinite envy for top players.

This admiration effect is the core source of the significant attention and identification esports events receive from the younger generation. The reason top players become idols for young people, becoming the focal point of “watched by thousands, played by one,” lies in the fact that they represent us, accomplishing things we cannot.

Image Source: CSGO Major Event Venue

The characteristic of esports, which can quickly attract attention, create a focal point, and evoke spiritual resonance, is currently not well-explored in the considerations of Web3 games.

The reasons for this are twofold: most Web3 games are still telling stories of “better quality and stable economy” without expanding into the realms of gaming culture and influence. More importantly, not all Web3 games are suitable for esports.

Games like Matr1x Fire, reminiscent of CSGO, clearly have a thematic advantage. Shooting games naturally involve technical and reflexive competition. When the game is well-balanced, it is inherently suitable for esports.

From the perspective of expanding influence, games that can be adapted for esports have a much higher ceiling than those that cannot. Currently, traditional esports organizations have the capacity to organize large-scale events but struggle with the monetization of economic value, colloquially known as “having people but no money.” On the other hand, Web3 game users have a limited overall scale, but individual users have a high net worth and are willing to invest relatively large sums of money and costs into the game, creating a scenario of “having money but no people.”

If Matr1x Fire can serve as a bridge to connect these two groups, promoting the esportsification of Web3 games, its imaginative potential and narrative will be much more appealing than the old story of “gameplay over economics.”

In addition to event hosting, according to the latest plan outlined in the game’s whitepaper, Matr1x Fire also aims to form a complete layout regarding teams, players, and audiences by integrating Web3 incentive mechanisms with the industry chain.

For example, the game will seek team resources globally, and various team clubs can obtain qualification seats through MAX staking, sharing all event revenue and customizing exclusive NFTs for the clubs.

Customized exclusive NFTs for esports players will have their sales and trading revenue directly shared. Additionally, a certain percentage of consumables, such as tips during the match, will be allocated to the clubs and players. Using Web3 for tips makes the income distribution more transparent and the process more straightforward.

As for viewers and fans, supporting players through tips or purchasing items from teams and players will provide opportunities for deeper interaction with clubs or players. In this design, NFTs become the link in the fan economy.

Finally, combining the characteristics of Web3, esports can appear more in the “Esports to own” mode. For example, watching events may require an NFT PASS card, and based on on-chain data for event viewing, registration, betting, and supporting team voting, participants can receive relevant NFTs or token rewards. This design enhances the playability and incentive structure, bringing more playable space to the traditional esports model.

Web3 Cultural Construction: Beyond Single Games

Matr1x Fire, as a mobile esports shooting game, the Matr1x team behind it has ambitions beyond developing a single game product. Unlike many game development studios that follow a one-time deal model when creating a single game—requiring rapid return on investment after the initial input and using existing patterns and code to repackage another game—Matr1x has chosen to build a sustainable business around a fixed intellectual property (IP).

Matr1x positions itself as a comprehensive entertainment platform, integrating gaming, NFTs, and novel IPs to explore the possibilities of their convergence. In other words, Matr1x Fire is just one part of its larger strategy, with efforts directed towards other areas as well, ultimately forming a complete IP and its associated culture.

On Matr1x Fire’s official website, we can find over 100,000 words of novels written around a specific game character and the overall fictional world. These contents construct a fictional future background for Matr1x, narrating the struggles of humanity in pursuit of data sovereignty. Additionally, novel content is collaboratively created through community cooperation, allowing players to influence the story’s direction and enhancing fan engagement.

Furthermore, the whitepaper outlines the co-creation of the worldview and encyclopedia. All community players can participate in writing the story of the worldview, deciding its direction together. The co-creation can take various forms, such as story anecdotes, fan fiction, and artistic concepts. Through community voting, the most exciting content is selected, and the system rewards community creators with exclusive NFTs and MAX tokens. This content and its creators are then featured on the official website.

In addition to documenting community-created stories, the platform also records everything happening within the community, whether it’s thrilling matches or user creations. These records are permanently stored in the MATR1X encyclopedia. This design aligns well with the sense of involvement from players and viewers, similar to classic examples in CSGO that have become shared memories among players, such as the iconic moment of the renowned sniper K’s incredible jump shot, commemorated by an official jump-shot logo in the game map as a tribute to his outstanding performance.

How can one persuade users to hold NFTs? Apart from speculative behaviors and positive information, what’s more crucial is the community’s recognition of the cultural value behind NFTs. Therefore, Matr1x invests significant time and effort in creating peripherals, writing novels, and complementing the game by releasing NFTs with different thematic series. The core of all cultural products revolves around data sovereignty, aligning with the spirit advocated by Web3 but presented through more diverse mediums.

Ultimately, when the community buys into the core of this product, assets will lead the way. As assets take the lead, consensus and cohesion will form, leading to greater influence. This is a viable path for a Web3 game or IP to grow and succeed.

Examining the holding and trading of Matr1x platform NFT assets by core users also validates the importance of cultural construction in fostering user identity. Even in a cooling market, Matr1x 2061 and the YATC series maintain high holding rates and transaction prices.

It is evident that successful Web3 games and platforms go beyond the realm of a single product. Building a unique worldview and cultural core, seamlessly integrating them into various aspects, is crucial for attracting core users and achieving long-term project development.

The Bright Future for Web3 Games

Through the analysis of Matr1x Fire and related platforms, we can now answer the initial question posed at the beginning of the article: What is the “excellent” way forward for Web3 games?

Firstly, it involves continuously attracting new users, which requires considering aspects of game design such as playability and sociability.
Secondly, it requires stimulating the ongoing active participation of core users, which is closely related to the depth of the gaming experience and the level of community operations.
Lastly, it involves gaining broader social influence through means like esports and IP creation. This can bring in external traffic and sustained exposure opportunities.
Beyond the game itself, it’s crucial to build a unique worldview and cultural core. This is the key cornerstone for gaining user recognition and realizing business value.

For an individual project like Matr1x, it is currently exploring the points mentioned above, and its ability to succeed will depend on the actual execution and operations in the project’s future. However, for the entire Web3 gaming track, is there more that can be done?

The anticipated result is that once Matr1x successfully implements the mentioned patterns and establishes mature relationships in R&D, promotion, and the industry chain, it can open up these experiences and capabilities in a platform format for more third-party projects to replicate the successful experiences in Web3 gaming and entertainment. At the same time, for users, the most direct benefit is being able to play the games.

At present, the second round of testing of Matr1x Fire has begun. You might as well start it together and directly experience the unique charm of this Web3 CSGO.

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