UpOnly | Research #33 — More P2E mobile apps coming soon?
The nature of first-generation GameFi projects provides a perfect fit for mobile devices, and the idea of earning rewards any time, any place is appealing to many. It is no surprise that play-to-earn and move-to-earn are becoming deeply intertwined with the mobile games sector.
With both markets on an upward trajectory, a host of web2 and web3 developers are looking at the mobile app sector as a wonderful avenue for blockchain gaming expansion. However, barriers exist for GameFi projects when it comes to listing on major app stores.
In this edition of UpOnly | Research, we dive into the mobile web3 gaming market and the nature of barriers web3 developers face when accessing the massive mobile gaming market. We also explore how overcoming these barriers could help bring GameFi to an audience of millions more, taking blockchain gaming to the next level.
Why no GameFi in major app stores?
The mobile gaming market is currently worth over $150 billion and is expected to grow to $220 billion by 2027. It is estimated that by the end of 2022, mobile and tablet games will make up more than half of the total market. The popularity of mobile games has led to many major GameFi and move-to-earn projects releasing or developing mobile versions.
(Source: NewZoo)
With the emergence of the play-to-earn market in recent years, it would be reasonable to think that an accompanying explosion of mobile apps would have come to mainstream app stores. However, this has not been the case.
Contrary to popular belief, developers can publish blockchain games and sell digital items related to blockchain technology in both Google and Apple stores. However, they must abide by the payment systems that they have in place.
Any purchase of in-game content must honor the requirement that Google and Apple receive — 15% and 30% commissions, respectively. Game creators must also exclude in-app links to external sites to purchase in-game assets.
The policy significantly impacts the bottom line of web3 game developers. The fees appear to be high when compared to blockchain industry leaders such as OpenSea, who only charge 2.5% for every NFT transaction.
To avoid commissions, top GameFi platforms have made mobile versions of their games available either through their website, or an app via a lesser-known third-party provider. Although these methods have proven successful, there is still a huge potential audience of play-to-earn gamers that cannot be reached without crippling the platform financially.
Some play-to-earn projects have started using Google and Apple stores. Two prominent move-to-earn projects have recently made their way there. Step debuts on iOS and Android on December 1, boasting an impressive 45 million pre-registered users. Sweat also incorporated web3 elements in September. The app was previously web2 based but has integrated blockchain and web3 into its platform rewards systems.
However, big players in the play-to-earn market have not been so quick to jump onto the mainstream app stores. Alien worlds and Decentraland are yet to publish a full app version.
Trickshot Blitz and Axie infinity both have apps available for download but not from major app stores. Only two of the seven biggest play-to-earn games this month have apps available in mainstream stores. One of which, Benji Bananas, is a traditional mobile app that only recently incorporated play-to-earn rewards.
(Source: DappRadar)
In a bid to get more play-to-earn games on the major app stores, Ready Games was launched in May of this year. The platform incentivizes web2 creators to switch to web3 with minimal time and cost while ensuring their games comply with major app stores. However, GameFi’s popularity is on the rise, and it may be the giants of the industry that have to alter their policies.
Could GameFi change app store policy?
The demand for GameFi could become deafening to the point where major app stores may have to revise their old model to accommodate blockchain gaming. Yat Siu, chairman of the $6 billion web3 gaming platform Animoca Brands, believes that Apple’s fees may drive away web3 companies to platforms with better terms.
Based on the booming growth of blockchain gaming, he believes Apple may have to reevaluate its commission policy. Yat believes, that if “the economic size and the opportunity of playing blockchain games become so weighty, like an open market, that they’re going to have to eventually capitulate.”
He is not the only industry leader who feels this way. Epic Games, creator of Fortnite and huge investor in web3 technology, have an ongoing lawsuit with Apple over what they described on their website as policies that ‘’directly impede innovation and invention of entirely new kinds of apps, games, and businesses.’’ If Epic Games win, it may open the door for a wave of other companies to challenge their policy.
A host of established mobile game developers have expressed interest in pursuing play-to-earn, including the Alex Pelletier-Normand, CEO of Rovio, the company responsible for Angry Birds. South Korean mobile gaming empire Com2US has also taken huge steps to integrate play-to-earn. Adoption is increasing at every level and projections indicate it is not slowing down.
The big app stores may have to re-evaluate as the demand for a mainstream web3 app store will rise and a new alternative may very well emerge. They will want to protect their user base and therefore may agree to reduce fees to facilitate blockchain technology.
Mobile gaming could bring global adoption
The potential for mass adoption through mobile devices paints a promising picture of the future of blockchain gaming. Creating mainstream access to the projected 2.4 billion mobile gamers is an inevitable step in the growth of the industry.
Investors do well to recognize that GameFi is still in its early years. It could potentially evolve to serve hundreds of millions of players as it stabilizes and onboards mainstream mobile gamers and mobile game studios.
Mobile gaming will bring about a host of opportunities for savvy investors and UpOnly aims to facilitate this. UpOnly supports data-driven investment into play-to-earn gaming ventures. The data directory provides insight into thriving play-to-earn and move-to-earn projects, many of which are developing apps right now.
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About UpOnly
UpOnly is a first-of-kind data directory that provides insightful and actionable data on thriving move-to-earn, play-to-earn, and Metaverse projects. We aim to become a one-stop shop for gamers globally, assisting them in identifying the most lucrative play-to-earn opportunities and optimizing their performance. Alongside our data directory, we launched a decentralized prediction platform that will allow everyone to bet on the outcome of play-to-earn and Metaverse gaming events. We also launched a tournament as a service feature for developers to facilitate events of this kind for both players and spectators.
