In 2022, the crypto space was painfully cold. The once-celebrated 'play-to-earn' games suddenly lost their charm, and many people discarded their Axie pets, shouting that 'P2E is dead' and 'the gaming guilds have come to an end.'
But in another corner of the world – on the various islands of the Philippines, a group of ordinary people is doing the exact opposite.
They are not suit-wearing investment tycoons, nor are they well-funded international teams. They are just a group of people who couldn't be more ordinary: cash-strapped university students, night-shift customer service representatives, and small-town fathers looking to earn a little extra for their families.
They have a common name: YGG Pilipinas.
Grassroots origins, but not a grassroots mindset.
Do you remember when Axie swept through the Philippines in 2021? YGG Pilipinas grew out of a Discord group from that time. No money for advertising, only relying on prepaid mobile data and a strong desire to change their fate.
Four years have passed, and many game guilds have vanished, but the YGG Pilipinas Discord is still lively. They are now one of the largest Web3 communities in Southeast Asia, with millions of followers, but the core hasn't changed: making gaming an opportunity for ordinary people to improve their lives, not just a pastime.
A car drives into a village without internet.
Can you imagine this scene?
A jeep painted with the YGG logo drives into a small town in the Philippines where even 4G signals are sometimes unavailable. Team members set up routers at the community center, giving laptops to children who performed well in Axie trivia, and patiently teaching the nearby aunt how to create a digital wallet.
From Badangas to Baguio, from Cebu to Davao, their footprints are all over the country. No press releases, no air-dropped hype, just face-to-face telling you, 'Come, try making money with games.' Over 7,000 people participated; this is not a marketing campaign, this is a real grassroots movement.
The Wednesday parties feel like family gatherings.
Every Wednesday night at 8 PM, without fail, YGG Pilipinas' online party starts on time. Administrators livestream on Facebook and X, often with 5,000 to 15,000 people online at the same time. Sometimes, game developers from Korea and Paris will suddenly drop in, showcasing unreleased new games, giving away skins, $YGG tokens, and cash.
Young people from various places will specially adjust their schedules for this because they know these gifts are real, and the atmosphere here is like a family. There’s also the 'Ambassador Cup' esports competition, which is completely free (Honor of Kings) and has a prize pool of real cash. Professional players like KingFB and Een Mercado will come, and those kids who could only watch matches on broken phones now have the chance to compete one-on-one with their idols and win money.
Metaversity: Learn skills through games, change your life.
What moves me the most is their 'Metaversity' project. YGG Pilipinas acquired a learning platform, rebuilt it, and began issuing genuine skill certificates: game testing, community management, and even Sui blockchain development.
Young people from Palawan, who may not have gone to college, can become certified developers and find remote work through learning here. I have seen their graduation photos; the aunt was so emotional she wiped her tears, and the grandfather holding the certificate looked like he was holding a university diploma. This has gone beyond games; it is creating new possibilities.
In the bear market, they became a lifeline.
To be honest, the price of cryptocurrency has dropped significantly from its peak; everyone knows that. But if you ask those 'scholars' who have been living off YGG Pilipinas scholarships since 2021, they will say in their local language: 'Kahit bear market, may pang-tuition pa rin.' (Even in a bear market, we still have money for tuition.)
When the typhoon came, they organized relief, providing emergency funds to families who lost their homes, turning Discord into a disaster coordination center. While many projects chose silence or even disappeared, YGG Pilipinas chose to show up and stay.
2025: Still the same heart, just with greater strength.
Now, the spirit of YGG Pilipinas has not changed, but it has become bigger. They organize game seasons with over 50 missions, ranking top in games like Pixels and Parallel, and offline summits in Manila can attract 5,000 cheering participants.
They ensure that new casual games reach ordinary people in every corner of the Philippines, not just those players in upscale apartments in Manila. Many say 'the guild model is no longer viable,' but ask the millions of Filipinos who habitually open YGG Pilipinas Discord every day like opening a family group chat—their stories have not even reached their climax.
This is not a clever business strategy, nor is it a pie-in-the-sky for investors. This is a group of ordinary people who have turned online communities into a second home. Four years later, they are still here, still distributing scholarships, still hosting parties, and still teaching newcomers hands-on.
YGG Pilipinas didn't just 'survive' the bear market. In the hearts of many, they are the light that helps people through the bear market.
@Yield Guild Games #YieldGuildGames $YGG
