Our GAM3 Awards, a prominent fixture in the realm of web3 gaming, are making a triumphant return this December 2023. The event's distinguished panel of judges has been unveiled, featuring a mix of familiar figures from 2022 and new representatives spanning various aspects of web3 gaming. Notable newcomers to the panel include experts from web3 gaming venture capital firms, blockchain and ecosystem specialists, infrastructure partners, and content creators, in addition to renowned gaming leaders and tech giants such as Amazon and Google.

We are proud to introduce one of our jury members Marco Van Den Heuvel, the Co-Founder & CGO at Merit Circle - a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) focused on maximizing yield across play-to-earn (p2e) games. The DAO manages capital allocated among managers and players to earn crypto assets by playing games. Gaming DAO Merit Circle announced it was working on Beam – an L2 blockchain built on Avalanche – in April 2023 and five months later Beam mainnet was launched. The gaming-optimized subnet Beam, which is deployed by Merit Circle, is now permissionless and open to everyone who’d like to try out the games on the network.

1. What is the most enjoyable part of your role?

“I get to be a spider in the web, involved in all the moving pieces of what we're doing. I love being able to work with different game studios and get to look inside the kitchen how they're developed from the start to release. Never a dull day.”

2. How do you see the progress made in web3 gaming since last year?

“This year counted a lot of games coming with early access releases. Rather than whitepaper ideas, we're now able to play and look for ourselves. It increases the quality bar expected from studios, both from the player and investor perspective.”

3. What is the most valuable addition web3 brings into gaming, from your perspective, if any?

“Might sound cheesy but it's the ownership and interoperability part for me. Ownership because gamers understand the value of digital items and your account now has actual value that can be transferred once you're e.g. looking to switch to playing another game (you don't feel locked up in a game because you spent so much on it). Interoperability because you may use the same NFTs across different titles, your character e.g. can really become 'yours' across games.”

4. What is your outlook on 2024 and beyond for web3 gaming?

“More games, more gameplay. We'll see higher quality games release and continuous growth in the ecosystem, since gaming is a true driver for blockchain usage.”

The return of our GAM3 Awards in 2023 promises to be a celebration of the web3 gaming industry's growth and innovation. With industry figures like Marco Van Den Heuvel on the jury, the event is set to recognize excellence in the ever-evolving world of web3 gaming.