Should we build our next game using blockchain? Do our players want it? Does the genre matter? How do our players think about digital asset ownership? How many of our players have a cryptowallet?
If you’re a publisher wondering if you should take the jump into Web3 games, these might be only a few of the questions you have.
The mobile gaming industry is evolving at breakneck speed. If you’re not evolving with it, you’ll be getting left behind. But can you afford to just jump into it without a strategy. You have to start somewhere.
That’s where our most recent survey comes in. We wanted to find out what, if any, game genres leaned towards Web3 gamers and what intrinsic motivations, if any, correlate with Web3 gamers. The results are below.
We surveyed over 2,000 mobile game users balanced to the US Census, of which 21% said they owned a crypto wallet and 18% said they were thinking about getting one. The survey was complete in just a few hours and we had some interesting insights.
I don’t believe many would be surprised to learn that Boomers are certainly far less likely to own a crypt wallet than younger generations.
While we can’t say which came first, the chicken or the egg, or in this case, the crypto currency or the game, we can say that regardless of that fact, there are some interesting correlations.
For instance, the motivational factor most likely to correlate with players who own a crypto wallet were those who said they play to be creative and express themselves.
The players with the largest percentage of those who said they are thinking about getting a crypto wallet are those who play to explore new worlds & enjoy discovery, as well as those who said they play to connect with others and join groups.
The weakest correlation between motivation and crypto wallet ownership were those who said they play to relax. Many said they neither owned a wallet and even few said they were considering it. Not surprising when you consider that crypto is still largely misunderstood by many (likely the older population), which doesn’t make for a relaxing gaming experience.
Definitely a couple surprise findings here when you consider that buying a crypto wallet and owning crypto currency isn’t for the faint of heart.
The strongest correlation between crypto wallet ownership and game genres are those who played Sports & Driving, RPG, Shooter, and Hyper Casual.
In fact, quite surprisingly, RPG is the only genre with more than 50% of the gamers saying they either have or are thinking about getting a crypto wallet.
Genres with the lowest percentage of crypto wallet owners were Casual, Lifestyle, and interestingly, Casino gamers. I found this to be quite surprising. I expected those who are willing and likely to buy, what many consider a risky investment, crypto currency would be more likely to play Casino games. A deeper survey here might shed some light on this weak correlation.
It seems clear that Web3 games are the wave of the future. Play-to-earn economies are becoming a lot more attractive than ever before. Especially when you consider the F2P games are built with a closed economy that prevents players from trading in-game items for real world value.
While deeper research is likely needed for you and your team, the data here should help you start thinking about how Web3 gaming might impact you and your product development roadmap.
For example, if you’re an RPG developer and you have yet to explore the possibilities of Web3 and whether it’s something your players would be interested in, the results from this survey are encouraging and should provide some incentive to potentially expedite any Web3 game development on your roadmap.
Conversely, if you’re a developer of casual games and relaxation is your players’ main motivational factor, maybe there’s less urgency for Web3 in your product roadmap.
If nothing else, the results from this survey should shed some light on where you stand as a publisher vs where your gamers stand. Only additional research can help you determine what action you need to take next.
Whether you want to get on board with blockchain sooner or later is up to you, but it certainly seems there’s a future here. Using survey-based research can unlock both surprising and profitable insights that help you optimize your product roadmap for maximum growth.
If you’re interested in learning more about what motivates players in your games, we have some exciting mobile solutions that top game companies like PeopleFun, PocketGems, Supersonic, IMVU and more are using to learn, iterate and grow engagement and LTV of their games. Read about their success stories here.
If you would like to learn more about how TapResearch can help your marketing & user acquisition team acquire more users, and help your product team optimize gameplay to better engage and retain those users then 
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