It’s true that the term “play-to-earn” (P2E) may not be as widely used as it was in the past. But, what should guilds who modeled themselves on P2E do about it now?
The P2E Pivot
At TAGuild, we have been tackling these challenges since the fundamental changes to Axie Infinity’s reward system and the subsequent changes made by Pegaxy. The solution we felt then, and still push now, is competitive play – tournaments, esports, and leaderboard-based rewards. To that end, we created GuildsArena. At first, we thought this would mostly be a supplement to the guilds, but it quickly became the only reason for some of the guilds to exist.
The monthly MLBB tournaments are punctuated with weekly tournaments held inside each of the 8 guilds that founded GuildsArena. The combination of frequent but small prize pools paid out in crypto, alongside the bigger monthly prize pools, gave every team and player competing something to aim for. Our sponsor, Lootbox Fund, enables us to give out viewer tickets and let the community share a portion of the prize. UGE, our longest-serving sponsor, allows us to pay out crypto prizes to the players. By doing this, we have onboarded some of the best MLBB players in the Philippines into web3 and subsequent web3 gaming tournaments. A recent example was The Wake Game, in which TAGuild finished inside the top 8.
Here is the Quarter Final teams…
— The Wake (ONGOING TOURNAMENT) (@twakegame) February 2, 2023
🛡️3 of them already played and waiting for the last match.
Did you watched the stream ?
👉https://t.co/AxoEuKYi9E pic.twitter.com/DEYW0MQwaA
A Growing event
Not only are TAGuild and the other members of GuildsArena participating in tournaments from games across web3, but our most recent event was viewed by over 3,000 people in 4 days across 4 channels. A big thanks to XGlobal.GG and Boss Joycee for hosting, and to Ray Ash for serving as my co-commentator and coach during the event.
Keep an eye out for the S4 highlights package on our YouTube channel, won by The Glory Guild, which will be coming out in the next couple of days. Also, look out for our upcoming girls-only MLBB league from Boss Joyceee on her Facebook page in the coming months.
Web3Gaming
Given how long we have been providing these tournaments, it’s now of no surprise to us that researchers, guilds, and the blockchain gaming industry at large have shifted towards other terms and concepts such as web3gaming and web3 esports. This change can be attributed to the rapid advancement of technology and the evolution of the gaming industry, as well as the catastrophic failures of some early games that went by the P2E moniker. As new opportunities emerge, the language used to describe them evolves, and what was once referred to as “P2E” may now be referred to using different terminology. It’s important to stay up to date with these changes and stay ahead of the curve so that your game or community’s marketing resonates with the current meta.
Just semantics?
Is it just semantics? Probably. But does it also affect and impact the way investors view Guilds and how they present themselves? I would have to say yes. As sparkc of WolvesDAO says, “I’m not looking to invest in guilds in their current form but I’ll be watching to see how they adapt.”
6. Guilds will have to change. Drastically.
— sparkc | WolvesDAO (@sparkcsays) February 10, 2023
The below is from the @naavik_co & @Delphi_Digital report but was another common theme.
I’m not looking to invest in guilds in their current form but I’ll be watching to see how they adapt.
A couple have big treasuries after all 👀 pic.twitter.com/OTcpoNCvnP
We have already seen a vast number of Guilds fail to make changes to adapt to the rapidly evolving space, or even worse, sit around and wait for one specific game to launch while ignoring the changing landscape around them. Some games bare responsibility for these failures, whether through delays or outright rug pulls. However, that does not excuse the lack of adaptation or responsiveness by many Guilds. The wider web3 community is closely watching this “Blockbuster” moment for Guilds that started as P2E. Adapt or die.