Crypto Games Are Dying, and Honestly, It's Hilarious

Bring back fond memories of when “play-to-earn” was going to allow you to escape your life-draining 9-to-5 and become a virtual property mogul. Yeah, about that... Farming digitized crops for one fourth of a cent is not the innovative economic paradigm people hyped it up to be. As it turns out, the promises didn’t match the hype. Cue the sad trombone.

Pump and Dump, Game Over

Let’s paint an honest picture here—the whole crypto gaming ecosystem is just one big, convoluted pump-and-dump operation. Those who fell for the hype are now left holding the bag. We've seen it all before, haven't we? Remember ICOs? Remember NFTs? Now, it’s gaming tokens turn to go belly-up.

Take Deadrop, for example. Dr. Disrespect, bless his heart, was attempting to create a AAA gaming experience with a Web3 twist. Heck, he sold those Founders Passes like hotcakes, all aboard with the early access to the game and exclusive in-game goodies. Now? It now appears as though that never-ending pre-alpha will remain just that and many backers have requested refunds. Purchasing a ticket to a concert that doesn’t occur is very unsatisfying. Instead of dancing to amazing performances, you’re left with dashed expectations and useless digital images.

Nyan Heroes? Raini: The Lords of Light? MetalCore? Blast Royale? The list of digital corpses is getting longer every day. It’s a crypto graveyard with the sepulchers of dreams long passed and codes returned to their maker.

I’m not going to pretend that there’s not a bit of Schadenfreude in watching these projects crash and burn. All that VC cash, all that Twitter fireworks, all that hype about transforming the gaming world… poof. A pile of smoldering code full of bugs and pissed off Discord users.

Tokenomics > Good Game Design?

Here's the thing, most of these crypto games forgot the most important part of making a good game: making a good game. They were so focused on integrating blockchain, NFTs, and play-to-earn mechanics that they completely neglected the core gameplay experience.

It’s like adding a fancy spoiler on an engine-less car. Alright, that’s neat and all, but that won’t take you very far.

One of the visit’s greatest challenges is the premature tokenization of these games. When starting with token and NFT launches without a solid playable game, it creates massive incentive to rug pull. Funding mechanisms like this incentivize developers to focus on token price, not game quality. It's a recipe for disaster. They're basically selling you the sizzle before they've even started cooking the steak - and guess what? The steak never arrives.

Let's not forget the army of "investors" flooding these games, not because they love the gameplay, but because they're chasing the next quick buck. They treat the game like a stock ticker, constantly refreshing the price charts and complaining when their digital assets don't moon. It’s not about beating the competition at the arcade, so much as beating market at the game.

RIP Gaming Tokens & VC Hype

The VC money printer has officially stopped printing when it comes to crypto games. The go-go cash is over, folks. Today, investors are starting to realize that just throwing millions at half-baked blockchain ideas may not make them rich.

The over-saturation of gaming tokens on platforms like Pump.fun have only sped up the death. With a new token popping up every few minutes, investor attention spans are at an all-time low. Tokens come and go. That’s a digital feeding frenzy, and most of these tokens are little more than chum in the water.

These gaming tokens in a way were an early precursor to what we all remember as the ICO craze. Now, not a single gaming token is in the top 100 cryptocurrencies. Ouch.

Here's the unexpected connection: this whole debacle reminds me of the dot-com bubble. Remember Pets.com? Webvan? Companies that had sky-high valuations and a business model that just didn’t hold up long-term…until they crashed and burned? Crypto gaming is simply the most recent example of this centuries-old tale.

Perhaps, perhaps, this crypto gaming apocalypse is an auspicious purging. This will encourage developers to focus on developing enjoyable and captivating games. Only then they’ll be able to implement blockchain technology in a way that truly adds value.

Or perhaps it will simply go down as another cautionary tale on the perils of hype and speculation. Either way, I'm grabbing my popcorn.

Crypto logos are superimposed on background of burning money with dogs talking.

Watching this disaster develop has been the comedy show of the century.

Because let's be honest, watching this all unfold is pretty hilarious.