Gaming Industry

What happens when the most powerful belief-shaping technology becomes an economy?

Games don't just entertain. They shape what we believe to be true. They create social glue that binds communities. They're the tightest feedback loops humans have invented for learning and coordination.

The gaming industry is where this cultural technology meets commerce.

Why Games Matter

What Games Do	Cultural Impact	Commercial Implication
Define "winning"	Shape what we value	Attention is the asset
Set valid moves	Shape what we think possible	Rules create markets
Create shared experience	Build loyalty	Community is the moat
Reward behaviors	Shape identity	Incentives align action

The chain: Games → Beliefs → Consensus → Identity → Culture → Goodwill

See Games Shape Beliefs for the full thesis.

The Transformation

From (Traditional)	To (Crypto-Native)
Create hits, extract value	Build ecosystems, distribute value
Players as consumers	Players as stakeholders
Attention captured	Attention rewarded
Loyalty assumed	Loyalty tokenized
Walled gardens	Interoperable assets

The shift: Gaming used to be about creating hits and monetising them to full potential. Now it's about using game mechanics to start movements — ecosystems where rewards flow to attention and loyalty.

Value Chain

Layer	Traditional Players	DePIN Opportunity
Development	AAA studios, indie devs	Open-source tooling, AI co-pilots
Publishing	Platform gatekeepers	Permissionless distribution
Distribution	App stores (30% cut)	Direct player relationships
Monetization	F2P/IAP/subscriptions	Token economies, NFT assets
Community	Discord, forums	DAOs, on-chain governance
Streaming	Twitch, YouTube	Creator tokens, direct tipping

DePIN Opportunities

In-Game Asset Ownership

Players invest thousands of hours building digital wealth. When the game shuts down, it vanishes.

Blockchain-native assets:

• Persist beyond any single game
• Trade on open markets
• Interoperate across ecosystems
• Represent real economic value

Play-to-Earn Evolution

First generation P2E failed because earning replaced playing. The game became work.

Second generation gets it right:

• Play is intrinsically rewarding
• Earning is a bonus, not the point
• Tokens align long-term incentives
• Value flows to community builders

Decentralized Infrastructure

Component	Opportunity
Compute	Distributed rendering, physics simulation
Storage	Player data sovereignty
Identity	Portable reputation across games
Oracles	Verifiable randomness, fair play

The Three Flows Applied

INTENT → ROUTE → INFRASTRUCTURE → SETTLE → FEEDBACK

Flow	Gaming Application
Intent	Player wants experience, status, connection
Route	Matchmaking, market discovery
Infrastructure	Servers, assets, community
Settle	Rewards, NFT mints, token transfers
Feedback	Leaderboards, reputation, social proof

Market Forces

Force	Trend	Implication
Platform concentration	Steam, App Stores take 30%	Direct distribution demand
Creator economy	Streamers bigger than studios	Talent captures value
AI generation	Assets, code, narratives	Development costs collapse
Player expectations	Ownership, portability	Web3-native advantage

Incentive Games

Beyond entertainment — games that align behavior with value creation:

Domain	Example	What It Incentivizes
Data Labeling	Sapien	AI training data quality
Health	Genopets	Physical activity
Loyalty	Devour	Restaurant engagement
Learning	Various	Skill development

Key Resources

Type	Link
Analysis	Industry Matrix
Tracking	DappRadar Games
Design	Mind Map
Trends	Industry List
Charts	VG Insights

Context

• Games — Why games shape beliefs (the cultural layer)
• Play — Life as a game, the hero's journey
• Flow State — Peak performance through alignment
• Social Glue — What binds communities
• Game Tokens — Token economics for games
• Culture — The greatest asset of any economy

tip

Culture is the greatest asset of any economy. Games are the most powerful technology for building culture.

What game are you building? What beliefs does it shape?