In a joint interview, Quinn Campbell and YGG co-founder Gabby Dizon delved into how YGG's newly established publishing department can help game studios reach the untapped player base in the Web3 space by creating games that players truly want to play.
The newly established publishing branch of YGG, YGG Play, aims to help third-party studios launch Web3 games targeting the global 'Casual Degens' audience, achieve commercialization, and scale. 'Casual Degens' refers to crypto-native players who value fun, social gameplay, and true digital ownership. Leveraging years of community-building experience, YGG Play provides end-to-end support from market entry strategy, token economics design, community building to player retention, with a focus on offering frictionless experiences to meet the evolving demands of the Web3 gaming ecosystem.
The establishment of YGG Play reflects the goal of YGG co-founder Gabby Dizon to serve a large, yet under-served market. He firmly believed early on that gaming is the entry point into Web3, which propelled YGG to rise as the preferred community partner for introducing users to the field. Today, YGG is positioning itself as the preferred publisher, committed to creating a new category that fills the gap between crypto-native mechanics and mass-market playability.
To support YGG Play's strategy, YGG has hired former employees from Voodoo and Sky Mavis, Quinn Campbell, as third-party publishing advisor. Quinn has a successful track record in both Web2 and Web3 gaming, and he will play a key role in establishing YGG Play as the industry gold standard in the casual gaming space.
French mobile game publisher Voodoo is a pioneer of hyper-casual games, having launched hits like (Helix Jump) and (Cube Surfer). During his time at Voodoo, Quinn helped the company discover and launch game products in the highly competitive mobile gaming market. The mobile game giant's annual revenue grew from 1 million euros in 2016 to approximately 380 million euros by the end of 2020—Quinn joined the company in 2020 as a publishing manager.
In 2021, Quinn embarked on his Web3 gaming journey by joining Sky Mavis at the peak of (Axie Infinity). He was the first employee in the growth department at Sky Mavis, working closely with Chief Growth Officer Jeffrey “Jihoz” Zirlin, and participated in the release of the first six third-party games on the Ronin chain. By the time Quinn left Sky Mavis, the department had expanded from two people to over thirty.
In the following interview, Gabby and Quinn shared why they consider the 'Casual Degen' category a sleeping giant in the Web3 gaming space, why they believe the success of (LOL Land) can be replicated, and what efforts YGG is making to lead the next metaverse.
Why did YGG choose to enter the game publishing field at this moment?
Gabby: Before entering the crypto space, I had over 20 years of game development experience, so returning to the game publishing field under the name YGG feels like coming full circle. Over the past few years, we have engaged with hundreds of Web3 games—playing them, assessing them, investing in them—during which we continuously discovered one issue: a disconnect between the content created by development teams and what crypto users truly want.
There are many users in the crypto space, not everyone will call themselves a gamer, but as long as the gaming experience is fun, easy, and the game loop is short with rewards at every step, many people are actually willing to give it a try. This audience is what we refer to as 'Casual Degens.' We see a gap in the market: these users are ready to invest in games, but very few games meet their needs. They simply want a fun and easy game that can integrate into their existing Web3 interactions.
We established YGG Play because the Web3 gaming space has yet to tap into its largest potential player base. With Quinn's addition, we are ready to grow the 'Casual Degen' category and help game teams reach players who have been waiting for games that truly understand them.
Quinn: For me, the most obvious reason is the success we've already achieved with (LOL Land). On one hand, we've pioneered a new game type. This is very exciting because the 'Casual Degen' category might be the second area where I've seen a product-market fit in blockchain gaming. Since the Web3 gaming boom began in 2021, many early theories have gradually faded away. 'Play-to-earn,' 'earn while playing,' 'play and own'—these models have not stood the test of time. But what we're seeing now in the 'Casual Degen' category is different. Its validity is beyond question, and there are indeed tangible revenues and business models supporting it.
On the other hand, (LOL Land) has already driven demand for this type of game. With YGG's community infrastructure, we are also able to accommodate this demand. Thus, we have cultivated a group of players who truly love 'Casual Degen' games, which is exactly why YGG is transforming into a publishing entity.
The key in the Web3 gaming space is to first have a demand for games, and then find games that can meet that demand. The supply side is relatively easy to address; the challenge lies in the demand side. And we have successfully captured demand through (LOL Land), which provides us with an excellent starting point.
"Most people working in the Web3 gaming space don't actually understand the publishing business. But it's not because they don't want to try; in fact, everyone wants to figure it out. For every studio, being able to publish their own games feels like reaching Valhalla." — Quinn Campbell
What shortcomings still exist in the current state of Web3 gaming regarding game discovery and monetization? How does YGG plan to adopt different strategies to address these?
Gabby: We have seen various narratives dominate the industry to the extent that we ultimately forgot the initial promise of Web3 games—the player-driven economy and open ecosystem. We once became overly obsessed with the 'fun first' narrative while neglecting the gameplay structures that truly keep players engaged. Now, we want to refocus on these fundamentals.
YGG has already built a system to push games to their target audience. We hope to further expand on this foundation, helping games reach the right players and ensuring that their investments yield returns.
Quinn: I even think that the outcomes resulting from past narratives have led to Web3 games actually being less engaging than Web2 games. And for 'Casual Degen' games, we are returning to the mechanisms that can make Web3 stand out. We want to publish more games that integrate token economics into the core loop and design more systems that embed crypto functionalities within the gaming experience. This is the biggest breakthrough that blockchain and crypto technology brings to the gaming industry.
Quinn, what lessons from your experiences at Sky Mavis and Voodoo will you apply to the publishing of 'Casual Degen' games?
Quinn: Most practitioners in the Web3 gaming space don't actually understand the publishing business. But it's not because they don't want to try; in fact, everyone wants to figure it out. For every studio, being able to publish their own games feels like reaching Valhalla.
I’m lucky to have started my career in Voodoo's game publishing division. An article on (Deconstructor of Fun) mentioned that Voodoo tests about 2,000 game prototypes each year. When I was there, the number of prototypes we tested was about four times that, and the number discarded was also four times. It was an extremely data-driven model. I think this model is crucial—and actually aligns very well with the work we are doing at YGG, because the games we want to publish are very similar to the globally beloved hyper-casual games from Voodoo.
As for Sky Mavis, I was involved in the launch of the first six Ronin chain games there. It was there that I truly stepped into the Web3 gaming world. Starting from the early days of (Axie Infinity), I spent nearly two years there. All the knowledge I gained about Web3 game development and growth comes from (Axie Infinity)—also from Jihoz, who may be the best in the field of Web3 game growth. I was the first person Jihoz hired. Before I joined, he was the only one in the entire growth department. By the time I left, that department had about 30 people. That experience was like riding a rocket; I am incredibly proud of everything I accomplished while working there.
So, everything I've learned about publishing, business development, and collaborating with studios to develop and publish games can now be put to good use. It feels great.
"The real opportunity for Web3 gaming lies in the casual category. When a single round of a game takes just a few seconds, with low investment but high rewards, it can attract everyone." — Gabby Dizon
In YGG's first third-party publishing collaborations, what types of games, developers, or even teams do you hope to work with?
Gabby: Currently, we are looking for Web3 game studios that have developed products with a short and easy-to-play core game loop.
Quinn: So, if someone comes to us with a 10-minute game loop, that's too long. Playing (LOL Land) might take just 30 seconds for a round. It's like eating a mini Snickers; it's quick to finish. We want to focus on studios that have already developed such games. They are already thinking with a 'geek' mindset, viewing token economics as a core part of gameplay rather than an add-on.
For those studios that have not yet reached this level, we are also willing to lend a hand. We want developers to see the new monetization loops we have created.
What industry practices do you think YGG has the ability to drive or completely reshape?
Gabby: Over the past few years, a major goal in the industry has been to create a AAA-level Web3 game that can enter the mainstream spotlight. We already have a few games that have gained popularity among Web3 players, but have not received much attention from Web2 players.
The real opportunity for Web3 gaming lies in the casual category. When a single round of a game takes just a few seconds, with low investment but high rewards, it can attract everyone—be it gamers, crypto enthusiasts, or even moms who enjoy games like (Candy Crush).
Quinn: Right now, everyone is obsessed with battle passes and leaderboard rewards, so when we introduce the concept of 'Casual Degen' to them, these are what they think of. This is the current mainstream trend. When people think of 'geek' mechanics, this is what comes to mind. But this is a meta-game loop that lasts an entire season.
Every time we sit down with studios to explain the differences, we can see their moments of realization. Those studios that understand will come to us with fantastic interpretations of the 'Casual Degen' model, some of which we had never even considered before.
What does success look like for the broader ecosystem of YGG?
Gabby: We are establishing 'Casual Degen' as a mainstream trend. We are building a platform for more games developed for crypto geeks to go live, reach target players, and build real communities around these games. If we achieve this goal, we can serve the crypto community well. And if we can do even better, we can open the doors for a wider audience to try Web3 games.
Quinn: First, we want to rapidly release a series of exciting games this year. That is, launching 3 to 5 games by the end of the year is entirely feasible. Secondly, all these games need to have outstanding key performance indicators (KPIs). Not just user engagement, but also revenue. Finally, we want to really build YGG Play well so that we can accommodate a large demand for our services.
To achieve this, we must become the publishers of 'Casual Degen' games and leave our mark in the Web3 gaming space with our 'Casual Degen' games. We will have significant influence in our work, enabling us to conduct extensive experiments through the games we review and ultimately collaborate with, continuously refining our processes. This will be our Valhalla.