A huge majority of mainstream gamers (81%) are not interested in Web3 games and those that are will only play so they can earn crypto, a survey by Coda Labs has established.
In the survey, gamers rated low for interest in cryptocurrencies and NFTs. On a scale of 1 to 10, the two technologies rated 4.5 and 4.3 respectively.
In particular, while 51% of gamers have heard of NFTs, only 3% were interested in acquiring them.
37% of mainstream gamers believe that access to real crypto earnings from gameplay is the main benefit of #Web3 games pic.twitter.com/d2bCMzCcVq
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) October 11, 2022
The survey, which drew respondents from 5 countries, including 979 from South Africa, found that:
- Many respondents were not familiar with how Web3 games work
- Despite investment in blockchain gaming reaching $5 billion in the first half of 2022, those most familiar with Web3 games pointed to cost and scams as barriers to the games
- 16% of the respondents were crypto viewers and had 8.1/10 positive feelings about crypto
- 81% of respondents were mainstream gamers
Şekip Can Gökalp CEO and Co-Founder of Coda Labs said:
The question is whether anti-Web3 gamers represent a vocal minority standing in the way of genuine progress? Or do gamers just generally dislike Web3 and feel the technology is being forced on them?
Gamers from emerging market countries however were more enthusiastic about Web3 gaming and crypto. Respondents from South Africa rated 6.9 and 7.0 when asked about their feelings toward cryptocurrencies.
South African🇿🇦 gamers are more knowledgeable about crypto than Brazil🇧🇷, UK🇬🇧, US🇺🇸, and Japan🇯🇵 #GameFi pic.twitter.com/npB5gDwcmY
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) October 11, 2022
“I think it does have the potential to be a long-lasting currency, as well as its underlying tech being used more in the future,” said one respondent from South Africa.
South African gamers also fared well beyond the average on measures of crypto-related technologies:
- While overall 89% of gamers in the survey were found to be aware of bitcoin, 97% of the South Africans interviewed are
- In the same vein, 53% of South Africans surveyed are aware of Play to Earn games compared to 28% of all gamers interviewed in the survey
Of the people who have played a Web3 game, the percentage of gamers who reported it was solely for the purpose of earning crypto is:
- 75% of crypto gamers
- 63% of crypto non-gamers
- 56% of gamers
Despite the barriers to playing Web3 games:
- 37% of mainstream gamers believe that access to real crypto earnings from gameplay is the main benefit of Web3 games, followed by the ability to earn by selling in-game assets
- 22% of gamers think web3 games are great because they can introduce them to new games
The most popular category of games amongst respondents were puzzle, word, and board games at 63%.
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