On March 21, WeMade CEO Chang "Henry" Hyun-guk delivered a keynote address at the 2023 Game Developers Conference (GDC) held at San Francisco's Moscone Center. Titled "The Future of Gaming: Inter-game Play and Beyond," Chang's speech explored the impact of blockchain technology on the gaming industry and its potential to revolutionize the interaction between games.

Chang addressed the current financial crisis and its repercussions on numerous cryptocurrency projects, noting that recent events have reignited skepticism about the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies. While acknowledging differing opinions, he asserted that critics either misunderstand or lack a comprehensive grasp of the crypto landscape.

He discussed the slowdown in blockchain game development resulting from the financial crisis and the misconceptions held by both gamers and gaming companies. Increasing skepticism and mistrust in blockchain games have led some companies to publicly declare they will never issue tokens or NFTs for their games. Chang proceeded to examine several prevalent misunderstandings surrounding blockchain gaming.

Revisiting his predictions from GDC 2022, Chang reaffirmed his belief that all games will eventually issue their own tokens and NFTs, enhancing player enjoyment through blockchain technology and tokenomics. However, he cautioned that "play-to-earn" games are unlikely to achieve lasting success due to their lack of engaging gameplay and sustainability. Instead, he emphasized that integrating tokenomics into fundamentally enjoyable games is crucial for successful blockchain gaming.

"Blockchain-based tokens and NFTs can augment the fun in good games, but they cannot make lackluster games entertaining," Chang explained. "What blockchain technology can achieve is to make well-crafted games even more enjoyable by connecting their in-game economies with the real-life economy through game tokens and NFTs."

 

Chang further posited that "games become significantly more entertaining when blockchain technology is applied. NFTs and game tokens can be issued, and these can be exchanged both within and outside games, establishing a unique game tokenomics." He added, "Anyone can develop a new game utilizing MIR4's game tokens and NFTs [on the blockchain game platform WEMIX PLAY]."

A significant portion of his speech focused on WEMIX PLAY, an all-encompassing platform that offers a wide range of services, including a cryptocurrency wallet, decentralized exchange, NFT item marketplace, WEMIX staking, and a game gateway. By providing these comprehensive solutions, WEMIX aims to revolutionize the gaming experience and facilitate the seamless integration of blockchain technology within the industry.

Chang highlighted how WeMade has successfully navigated blockchain gaming by introducing the interaction between the in-game economies of the blockchain versions of MIR4 and MIR M. He explained that "these processes [of acquiring in-game resources, game tokens, and governance tokens of the two games] will establish an inter-game economy where the economies of MIR M and MIR4 are connected directly and indirectly. This, in turn, will lead to inter-game play." He noted that "[MIR4's] user base and sales improved [after the launch of MIR M]," describing it as "an unprecedented phenomenon generated by the inter-game economy and inter-game play. A rudimentary and straightforward connection ignited a novel gameplay that never existed before."

According to a recent press release, MIR M has experienced a surge in popularity, reaching over 200,000 concurrent players. This milestone underscores the potential for blockchain technology to create thriving gaming communities and ecosystems.

Chang observed that while "all games have existed independently like islands," blockchain technology will enable "a massive phenomenon of multiple games being interconnected." He expressed his belief that "game developers' forte lies in creating enjoyable games" and that "by working together, we can seize this incredible opportunity and master the emerging gaming landscape."

He concluded his speech with an invitation to game developers: "At WeMade, we are committed to assisting any game developers interested in blockchain technology in creating exceptional blockchain games."

Chang's insights are backed by his 27 years of experience in the gaming industry, making him one of South Korea's most successful CEOs. He began his career at Nexon in 1996, when the industry was still in its infancy, and later held leadership positions at Neowiz, Neowiz Games, and Neowiz Mobile. Since joining WeMade in 2013 as the Head of Strategic Planning Division and becoming CEO in 2014, Chang has focused on transforming well-made games into blockchain games and servicing them on WEMIX, the company's global blockchain gaming platform.

WeMade is participating as a Diamond Sponsor at GDC 2023, held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from March 20 to 24. Embracing the theme "Life is Game: Blockchain Transformation," the company is showcasing WEMIX PLAY, an innovative open blockchain game platform that features a comprehensive system for blockchain game services, encompassing Tokenomics, GameFi, Marketplace, and Community.