Our GAM3 Awards, a standout event in web3 gaming, is set for a grand return this December 2023. Excitingly, our panel of judges includes familiar figures from 2022 and new voices spanning various corners of web3 gaming. Among the noteworthy additions are experts from web3 gaming venture capital firms, blockchain and ecosystem specialists, infrastructure partners, and content creators. We're also privileged to have esteemed leaders from the gaming realm and tech giants like Amazon and Google joining our distinguished jury lineup.

We are proud to introduce one of our jury members Robert Hoogendoorn, Senior Communication Manager & Head Of Content at Dappradar.

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

“Being active in an industry that comes with so much innovation, that’s exciting on its own. Where other industries take years to go through product cycles, Web3 builds and iterates on top of each other’s innovations. Every day you can wake up and get hyped over something, yes, also in a bear market. Through my role at DappRadar I keep a close watch on the developments of the industry, and moreover, I get to work alongside a passionate team of talented people. Even though most of us work from home, it still feels like my online family.”

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

“Proper games that resonate with mainstream audiences take at least 3 or 4 years to develop, and we’re seeing them now come to fruition. Soon end users will no longer see the difference between Call of Duty and Shrapnel, and that’s where we need to be. I’m not even talking about frictionless onboarding, but purely about the game experience. We need to level up the quality of our games in order to really convince more people to join. Would you play Fortnite without rewards or Fortnite with rewards? Same game, same quality, but with or without rewards? It’s a no-brainer.”

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

“Ownership over in-game assets. As a player who invests a lot of time, you’ve become crucial for the success of a game. You work hard for something, train many hours, and then you should also be rewarded. So, ownership over game assets really defines the difference between Web3 games and legacy games.”

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

“Web3 gaming will continue to grow. Franky, even with 2 million unique active wallets interacting with dapps daily, we are barely scratching the surface of our potential. DappRadar sees gaming as a major catalyst for the adoption of blockchain technology by a mainstream audience. During the next bull run we should at least be looking at 10x in terms of gaming activity. I’m very bullish.

But we need to keep in mind that not every game can become a success. In 2024 or 2025 we will probably have one or more mainstream successes, and a new standard for our expectations. In order to prevent projects from failing early, game studios will rely stronger on their own communities. These communities can be DAOs, which could then turn into publishers or incubators. We will see more developers working closely with those types of communities, releasing early prototypes to test the waters.”

Additional comments:

“You know what I would love, Web3 to develop its own game genre. For example, on mobile we’ve seen endless runners and tower defense games come to life. What would a unique genre for Web3 gaming look like? Food for thought, and a great topic for a good conversation.”

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 Robert Hoogendoorn on the jury, the event is set to recognize excellence in the ever-evolving world of web3 gaming.