In the context of a bear market, eight major highlights of how battle royal impacts the GameFi industry

Author: Dr. Hsu

GameFi has always been a highly watched track in the Web3 ecosystem. The maturity of the ecosystem and the playability of the games play a crucial role in the success or failure of GameFi.

The rapid rise of battle royale was a major highlight in the video game industry in 2018, with two leading titles being "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" and "Fortnite." While many believe that its success relies on the support of a large player base, it is clear that the success of such games is, to some extent, attributed to the core creators' disregard for traditional industry wisdom.

Looking back at the development history of GameFi, there has yet to be a phenomenon-level battle royale GameFi. Today, let us explore why the next phenomenon-level GameFi will be battle royale against the backdrop of a bear market.

Mobile Games Become a Trend

For the global mobile game industry, the major trends that emerged in 2020, such as battle passes, continued to show strong growth in the past year. Many features and in-game activities have become increasingly popular and are now considered "standard," giving rise to new trends. Beyond tactical competitive mobile games, the battle pass system has begun to permeate other genres, and in games that adopt hybrid gameplay elements, various activities have helped developers enhance player engagement and retention.

In the Asia-Pacific region, countries like India, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia, with their large user base, provide a new blue ocean for games primarily monetized through IAA.

North America remains the best region for game development, but the market began to solidify in 2021, with high competition and players demanding high-quality games.

In Europe, user volume and in-app purchase revenue have remained relatively stable, with Russia, the UK, France, and Germany forming two camps, as the mobile game market trends differ between Russia and the UK, France, and Germany.

Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa are emerging markets for mobile games, characterized by low market maturity, little competition, and low user acquisition costs, making them suitable for small to medium-sized developers/new games to explore the market.

In 2021, we also witnessed various mobile game products attempting innovation by introducing new gameplay in exciting ways.

At the same time, many traditional game publishers began creating mobile versions of their own game IPs, such as "Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier" and "Marvel Future Revolution." Games like "Top War" attract new players by using hybrid gameplay elements, thus improving user acquisition efficiency, while others like "Cooking Diary" have achieved higher player retention rates by adding social elements.

Free to Play Always Wins

One of the most interesting stories during the rise of battle royale is the competition between two games that adopted entirely different approaches: the mid-priced paid game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" was challenged by the free-to-play game "Fortnite" six months after its release. Although the latter was released later, it is evident from player numbers and revenue that "Fortnite" has shown clear signs of leading.

While everyone in the industry understands the advantages of free games, the core PC and console markets seem to stick to their guns. There are many factors contributing to "Fortnite's" success, such as its ease of access and good execution, but the most significant factor is that it has no paywall—anyone can easily invite friends to join the game; all they have to do is click "download." "League of Legends" and "Hearthstone" are typical examples where the paid model of core PvP games clearly cannot compete with F2P.

Similar to GameFi like CEBG, compared to most GameFi where users must purchase NFTs to gain the benefits of DeFi, the Free to Play mechanism will significantly lower the barrier for users to participate in earning.

Speed and Quality Matter

Another aspect where "Fortnite" outperformed "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" is its post-launch execution. For a newly formed team under a tight timeline, the success of "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" is already a miracle, especially considering it was the first commercial game of creative director Brendan Greene.

"Fortnite," on the other hand, has a more solid foundation; Epic has ways to accelerate update speed and focus more on gameplay diversity and flashy cosmetic items that players value. Meanwhile, "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" faces issues such as varying player device demands, numerous minor bugs, design debts, and unclear focus, leading to player complaints that make it hard to recommend to friends. Compared to the smooth and flexible "Fortnite," the reputation growth of "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" has indeed been relatively slow.

As games gradually shift towards service products, focusing on game experience quality, targeted optimizations, and hosting online events has become as important as other marketing strategies. Games with good service naturally attract more players and keep them longer.

The Mod Community is a Source of Creativity

Before 2010, independent games seemed poised to become the source of creativity for the entire industry, attracting more people to join the circle and bringing new experiences to players. Although this was not the case, the amateur mod community unexpectedly took on this responsibility: first with MOBA, now with battle royale.

With a hacker spirit unbound by commercial expectations, the mod community has become the primordial soup of the gaming industry. Both mediocre ideas and brilliant inspirations can be experimented with here: if a mod attracts attention, it will garner more resources or derivative content, allowing the idea to evolve and develop continuously. The first battle royale mod appeared in 2012, based on "Minecraft," and its creators spent five years shaping it into what we now recognize as a battle royale game.

The mod community gathers a large group of talented individuals from around the world, who are both prolific and creative. Undoubtedly, future community-driven GameFi will increasingly require games based on battle royale.

Rapid Transformation of Game Genres

Whenever a new blockbuster game emerges, it inevitably attracts a wave of FOMO developers, leading to a flurry of copycat games being released, prompting industry experts to publicly condemn the lack of creativity in the industry. Amidst these incessant criticisms, it is easy to overlook what is actually happening: the rapid transformation of game genres.

Although battle royale took six years to improve since its inception, we have seen many interesting phenomena in just the past few months: Realm Royale introduced crafting mechanics, and Totally Accurate Battlegrounds experimented with surreal humor and various weapons in gameplay. More interestingly, some developers have brought PvE into the game, even increasing the player count to 1000. While these attempts may very well end in failure, creators are sure to find new highlights and help push battle royale to new heights that have yet to be recognized as innovative.

Systematic Gameplay + Players = Narrative

One of the most unique and appealing features of battle royale games is the ability to create narratives autonomously: for instance, in one match, your team might flip a motorcycle off a cliff to evade enemy fire, while in another, you might spend 20 minutes quietly observing the situation outside from a cabin.

Developers gather a group of real players in an embedded system that is both overlapping and flexible within the game world to stimulate what game designers call emergent behavior—referring to intentional player actions with unpredictable outcomes. Many games with deep systems have utilized emergent behavior—"Dwarf Fortress" is a typical example. However, battle royale's efficient use of systematic gameplay in large multiplayer environments is something other games have not achieved.

While MMORPGs heavily rely on systems, players must follow predetermined quest lines, meaning that regardless of who encounters whom, the gaming experience is relatively similar for all players. Battle royale provides players with freedom and offers a plethora of tools to cooperate or compete with other players, with no predetermined paths in the game. Thus, players become narrative creators, crafting various plot points, which also makes battle royale games highly watchable.

The Power of Esports

Due to the number of players, holding offline battle royale esports events is not an easy task. However, the unpredictable narrative developments make the game's live streams incredibly engaging, with "Fortnite" and "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" being among the most popular games on the Twitch platform.

With an average of 15 million daily viewers, Twitch has become the primary platform for players to find like-minded communities and new games. This free exposure has allowed battle royale to grow rapidly, requiring almost no additional promotional expenses. Epic understands this and has provided a $100 million prize pool to these streamers as a token of appreciation. The main purpose of this investment is to attract top esports teams to expand coverage, encourage more streaming, increase viewership, and drive more purchases of battle passes.

The power of esports is undeniable; whether it is the globally popular "Honor of Kings" or CEBG, both have referenced the scoring mechanisms of professional tennis to establish a ranking system. Moreover, CEBG is currently recruiting global ambassadors and is set to launch a worldwide esports event.

Games as Contemporary Pop Culture

From renowned rapper Drake streaming "Fortnite" on Twitch to British football stars celebrating victories with game character emotes, all of this reflects how games have become a part of pop culture. From the "Pac-Man craze" of the 1980s to the iconic character Lara Croft from "Tomb Raider" in the 1990s, people have often viewed games as a fleeting novelty.

CEBG feels like it is the first time media has looked at games through the lens of music, movies, and TV shows. Over time, more individuals from the gaming industry have taken on important roles in the media, spreading games in their own ways and helping more people understand them. While criticisms still exist, there is indeed more attention on CEBG, with different interpretations emerging. As of November, CEBG's fan base has reached 60K, making it a standout among the many GameFi projects that emerged in the second half of the year.

CEBG is the first blockchain-based anime + MOBA + beauty + mecha mobile game, with its anime style being one of the most important aesthetic preferences of the next-generation youth. The core gameplay of CEBG is similar to the famous games PUBG and Fortnite. In the game, up to 40 players parachute onto an island to find weapons and equipment to kill others while avoiding being killed themselves. The available safe area of the game map shrinks over time, guiding surviving players into narrower zones to force encounters. The last surviving player or team wins. CEBG has an average duration of about 8 minutes and supports dozens of different hero professions paired with various weapon attributes, making each battle a unique gaming experience.

The rise of battle royale is indeed a turning point—the gaming industry has not only surpassed other mainstream media in revenue but has also gained the same cultural effect. It is believed that after experiencing the current market winter, GameFi will no longer be an activity for a minority; it will become a mainstream cultural choice, just like watching movies or listening to music. GameFi will transform into contemporary mainstream culture, with Battle Royale leading the charge in the GameFi track!