Gaming Companies That May Join Web3
Jagex and Sports Interactive could potentially be some of the gaming companies that may join the world of Web3 at some point in the future.
The ever-growing world of Web3 continues to attract interest from a wide range of different companies, and gaming studios are no exception. We’ve already seen the likes of Ubisoft, Atari, and Square Enix dabbling in NFTs, and it probably won’t be too surprising to see some more giants hop in eventually. Some of the gaming companies that may join Web3 in the future could be Jagex, Blizzard Entertainment, and Sports Interactive.
Jagex
Jagex is the renowned company known for the long-running free-to-play MMORPG, RuneScape. Given the way their fantasy game works, including the old-school version, having this British game development company join the world of Web3 would be a significant push for blockchain gaming adoption. With their decades of experience in designing player-driven in-game economies, it would make most sense to have them on board, and with how much potential there is in mixing the MMO genre with blockchain, perhaps Jagex would be one of the few studios capable of fully realizing that potential. While there doesn’t seem to be any hint on whether they will make the move to Web3 as of writing, their background certainly makes them poised for a comfortable switch to it.
Blizzard Entertainment
While Blizzard is certainly known as an MMO developer like Jagex, their other franchises, such as Diablo and Overwatch, can’t be overlooked. We’ve already seen the acclaimed developer try and give players the option to sell loot earned through gameplay for real money through the Auction House in Diablo III, which at the time didn’t quite work out well, leading to the closure of this centralized trading area in 2014. It’s been almost ten years since, and blockchain technology has progressed significantly. With the rise of NFTs, and more game design experience under Blizzard’s belt, perhaps the company might be looking to try a new take involving Web3, in the hopes of creating something that would work better than their previous, non-blockchain iteration, while not affecting gameplay negatively in the process. Last year, Blizzard’s president denied that they’re doing anything with NFTs, but it won’t be surprising to see them end up taking a U-turn sooner or later.
Sports Interactive
The creators of the Football Manager series, Sports Interactive, could certainly lead the charge of sports in Web3 thanks to their plans to move the long-running football management franchise over to the Unity game engine with FM25. By transitioning from a proprietary engine to one of the most used engines in game development, the company will be at greater ease to set up a move to Web3 should they ever want to in the future, and as mentioned in a previous article, I certainly think they would be a worthy fit for the nascent blockchain gaming industry. Considering they’re a subsidiary of SEGA, who recently partnered with Double Jump Tokyo to transform “Sangokushi Taisen” into a Web3 trading card game, perhaps it’s not too far-fetched to assume that the British developer might follow in line with their publisher at some point in the future.
