In the past few years of playing blockchain games, the most obvious feeling is summed up in one word: tired. The rules are hard to understand, the economic models are filled with jargon, and if you enter late, you can only “stand guard” for early birds and studios. But this year, I shifted my focus back to Web3 games and found that one platform has a slightly different approach: it doesn't first ask if you have money, but instead checks if you are a “true player.” This platform is YGG Play. It has positioned itself as something akin to a Web3 game launch plaza, where the homepage isn't filled with cold K-line charts but rather specific tasks that you can click on: register, connect wallet, complete the first PVP match, achieve specific goals on-chain, and even participate in governance voting. You are not mindlessly clicking buttons; you are following a “newbie main quest” with clear rewards, where each step is linked to obtaining tokens for new games on the Launchpad. This design is clearly more friendly for ordinary players and resembles the rhythm of online games we are accustomed to.
From the perspective of token $YGG , a very noticeable change this year is that the narrative has shifted from 'established guilds' to 'real traffic entry + player asset hubs.' On-chain data shows that the token holding structure has become more decentralized compared to the earlier bear market, with the proportion of short-term addresses decreasing, and the activity of long-term holders and wallets participating in governance slowly rising. This indicates that the market is starting to regard YGG as the Beta of an entire Web3 gaming track, rather than just a single story. Coupled with YGG Play fully opening the Launchpad, when new game projects go live, players are no longer passively waiting for exchanges to launch, but can obtain initial chips of new tokens during the Launchpad phase based on task completion and historical participation, effectively shifting the threshold for 'new investments' from capital to proof of behavior through 'voting with their feet.'
Interestingly, YGG Play does resemble a 'semi-professional research institution' when screening projects: it considers gameplay as well as whether the economic system can withstand the impact of real players, rather than just serving short-term price manipulation. You can feel that some projects are pushed to the forefront not only because of the share they provide, but also because indicators like long-term retention data, community feedback, and task completion rates are healthy enough. For players, this significantly reduces the risk of stepping on landmines. Many may not know that in the traditional guild model, resources are extremely centralized, with early shares taken by a few, leaving ordinary players learning the 'project name' much later than others. YGG Play has leveled this playing field a bit, allowing more people the opportunity to participate before the game truly breaks out.
Of course, this model is not a magic potion; during bearish market sentiment, YGG's price fluctuations will still be dragged by the broader market. However, relatively speaking, the 'sticky funds' formed by real player behavior can cushion some of the declines. My personal strategy is to treat YGG Play as one of my main battlegrounds: choose two or three games that I am genuinely interested in, dig deep into tasks rather than casting a wide net, while viewing YGG as a 'Web3 gaming index fund,' controlling the rhythm of my positions rather than impulsively going all in. Currently, YGG Play's Launchpad has gone live, allowing users to explore a batch of YGG Web3 games prioritized for access directly on the platform. By completing tasks of varying depths, players can unlock Launchpad quotas and obtain new tokens for these games, providing a much stronger sense of experience and participation than the traditional 'waiting for the launch.' For someone like me, an old player, I can clearly feel the difference from being treated as mere traffic by project parties to being considered a participant; even though there are still many pitfalls along the way, this path is already much more pleasant than the rough GameFi from a few years ago.@Yield Guild Games #YGGPlay $YGG
