Crypto Gaming Adoption Hinges On Clarity Act: Web3 Gamer

Gaming giants to ‘come out of the woodwork’ for crypto after Clarity Act

Crypto will start to become adopted by multibillion-dollar gaming giants after the CLARITY Act advances through US Congress, according to Robbie Ferguson, founder of Immutable.

“I expect to see a ton of companies to come out of the woodwork with ultimately programmable loyalty and incentive schemes that are far more efficient than whatever their existing system is using,” Ferguson said during an interview on TradeTalks on Wednesday.

“We’re already in conversation with mult-billion dollar public gaming companies who are considering launching tokens as incentives for their end players, but what they need is complete clarity and certainty on how they can do that in a lawful way,’ Ferguson said. 

The CLARITY Act aims to create a clearer, more defined regulatory framework for the crypto industry, including a more straightforward understanding of oversight between the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Immutable announced a partnership earlier this year with global gaming giant Ubisoft — the company behind the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry franchises — to launch an original strategy card game, Might and Magic: Fates.

Ferguson said the CLARITY Act could be the “single most transformational piece of legislation for crypto,” as it would establish a lawful pathway for assigning value to compliant crypto tokens. 

He added that regulatory hostility in the crypto industry over the past four years has made it extremely difficult for companies to launch crypto tokens with real economic value.

“That’s what these tokens can be at the end of the day for these companies, and doing so in a way that comports with the CLARITY Act,” he said.

While Immutable expands its relationships in the traditional gaming industry, it is also creating partnerships with major blockchain networks. In October, the gaming giant teamed up with Polygon Labs to launch a dedicated gaming hub.

Crypto games shouldn’t bank it all on crypto: Illuvium CEO

Illuvium founder Kieran Warwick says a good crypto game should be able to stand on its own without relying on a strong crypto market.

“A successful game that properly obfuscates the crypto experience has the potential to generate insane revenues without needing a drop of liquidity from crypto investors,” Warwick said in an X post on Nov. 24.

“In the middle of a bear market, bull market, sideways market. None of that matters,” he said, adding:

However, Warwick warned that this principle does not apply to onchain games that rely on crypto-market liquidity to function, such as play-to-earn and risk-to-earn models.

“They will inevitably have revenues shrink in a tough market,” he said, adding that the “holy grail” is a hybrid approach, that being one side focused on crypto-native assets and upside potential, and another that does not rely on crypto markets at all.

A recent example is Off The Grid, a highly successful Epic Games-distributed title that operates primarily as a traditional AAA shooter and can be played without any interaction with cryptocurrency. 

While non-fungible tokens (NFTs) such as weapons, skins, and other in-game items exist in Off The Grid, they are optional and not required for gameplay. 

The game’s revenue model is more closely aligned with traditional gaming monetization, while still incorporating crypto elements for players who want to engage with them.

In October 2024, the game drew significant attention from the crypto community after it announced its launch on mainstream platforms, including PlayStation and Xbox.

Ronin Network wants to onboard mainstream beyond ‘nerds,’ says founder

Ronin Network is planning to expand beyond its blockchain gaming roots, focusing on mainstream applications designed to attract everyday users, according to Ronin’s co-founder Jeffrey Zirlin.

“Not like nerds, not computer people, but everyday people,” Zirlin said during a recent podcast interview, as the network looks to broaden from Web3 gaming to a range of consumer applications.

Zirlin acknowledged that many blockchain companies claim they want to onboard the world as a marketing ploy, but said Ronin has already demonstrated real-world traction.

“We’ve actually done this millions of times, the Ronin Wallet has been downloaded 17 million times, we’re massive in places like the Philippines, and in certain countries in South America,” he said. 

Ronin Network, based on the Ethereum blockchain, is best known as the blockchain created by the team behind the crypto hit game Axie Infinity. The Ronin Wallet enables users to send and receive cryptocurrencies and NFTs while minimizing high gas fees when interacting with blockchain-based games.

Zirlin added that the focus now is on scaling to the next phase of adoption.

“It will take some time,” he said, adding that he is now more optimistic about broader adoption amid a more crypto-friendly policy stance in the US. 

Ronin is not the only Web3 gaming-focused company eyeing expansion beyond gaming. Web3 gaming giant Animoca Brands’ chief strategy officer, Keyvan Peymani, recently stated that the company aims to explore new, exciting sectors for investment next year, particularly in AI, stablecoins, and Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN).

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