Before Web3 gaming had billion-dollar valuations, before “play-to-earn” dominated crypto Twitter, and long before traditional gaming studios began experimenting with NFTs, something small and unexpected happened. A few gamers realized that NFT items inside blockchain games weren’t just collectiblesthey were productive. They could be used, rented, shared, and even turned into income.
From that realization came Yield Guild Games, better known today as YGGa decentralized organization that blends investment, gaming, community building, and digital labor into one of the most ambitious experiments in the Web3 world.
This is the full, human, story-like deep-dive into what YGG is, how it works, where it came from, and the vision that keeps it moving.
1. How a Simple Act of Sharing Accidentally Sparked a Global DAO
The origins of YGG stretch back to 2018–2019, when founder Gabby Dizon noticed something interesting. As a long-time gamer, he owned a bunch of NFT assets from early blockchain games. Other players wanted to try these games too—but the NFTs they needed were often too expensive.
So Gabby did something simple:
He started lending out his NFTs for free.
That small gesturejust helping fellow players—revealed something profound:
NFTs behave like digital equipment. People could borrow them, use them, and generate value with them.
Then came Axie Infinity. Suddenly, owning a set of Axie characters was like owning a tiny digital business. People in countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Venezuela were using Axie earnings to pay bills, buy groceries, even support their families.
The idea wasn’t just about games anymore.
Gabby teamed up with Beryl Li and developer Owl of Moistness, and together they created a system where a guildnot a single personcould acquire assets, lend them to players, and share the rewards.
That system became Yield Guild Games.
Their mission was bold and simple:
> Build the world’s largest digital economy inside virtual worlds.
By 2020, YGG wasn’t just an idea.
It became a DAO, and it grew faster than anyone expected.
2. What YGG Actually Is: More Than Just a Gaming Guild
People often describe YGG as a “gaming guild,” but that doesn’t capture the full picture.
It’s really a combination of three powerful components:
A. The Main DAO (The Brain)
This is the central organization responsible for:
Managing the treasury
Funding new projects
Making strategic decisions
Approving partnerships and expansions
It operates a bit like a venture fund, a cooperative, and an open community rolled into one
B. SubDAOs (The Engine of the Ecosystem)
SubDAOs are one of YGG’s smartest innovations.
Each SubDAO focuses on one game or one region. For example:
A SubDAO for Axie Infinity
A SubDAO for The Sandbox
A regional SubDAO like YGG Pilipinas or YGG Japan
Each one has its own community, goals, reward structure, and sometimes even its own tokens.
Think of them as local branches of a global companyexcept decentralized and community-led.
C. The Community Layer (The Heart of YGG)
Millions of players have interacted with YGG through:
Training programs
Web3 onboarding
NFT access (scholarships)
Tournaments and events
Local meetups and online coaching
This human network is the reason YGG became a global movement instead of just another crypto startup.
. The Scholarship Model: Giving Gamers a Way In
YGG’s scholarship system became famous because it removed one of the biggest barriers in early Web3 games: the high cost of NFT entry assets.
Here’s how it works in real human terms:
. YGG buys digital assetscharacters, land, tools, you name it.
. Players apply to borrow those assets.
YGG lends them out at no upfront cost.
Players earn rewards by playing.
Everyone shares the earnings (exact splits vary by game).
For many playersespecially during the pandemicthis was more than entertainment. It was a lifeline.
Communities in the Philippines, Indonesia, Venezuela, Brazil, and parts of Africa saw real income flowing through these digital economies. It wasn’t perfect or sustainable forever, but during a critical moment in time, it changed lives.
YGG Vaults: Turning a Guild Into a Protocol
As YGG grew, it needed a reliable on-chain system to handle assets, rewards, and staking in a transparent way.
This led to the creation of YGG Vaultssmart contracts that handle:
Staking
Reward distribution
Strategy-specific fund allocation
Vesting and contributor incentives
Vaults automated what used to be manual, messy, and complicated.
They turned the guild into more of a protocolone that any participant can interact with.
What the YGG Token Actually Does
The YGG token isn’t just something to trade. It has real functions inside the ecosystem:
It’s a governance token, letting holders vote.
It can be staked in vaults.
It represents membership in the broader YGG universe.
It rewards participation, not just speculation.
Like any Web3 token, it has gone through volatility, but it remains the backbone of YGG’s decentralized governance system.
How YGG Invests: Building a Massive Portfolio of Virtual Assets
Instead of buying shares in companies, YGG buys productive digital assets inside games. These include:
Characters
Land plots
Gear and tools
Early-stage token allocations
Rare in-game items
This strategy spreads risk across dozens of virtual worlds.
Some of the games in YGG’s portfolio include:
Axie Infinity
The Sandbox
Star Atlas
Splinterlands
Guild of Guardians
Many more across multiple genres
It’s like a digital real estate and asset empire—but inside Web3 gaming.
7 YGG’s Evolution: From Guild to Web3 Publisher
As the play-to-earn boom cooled down, YGG didn’t disappeit evolved.
They expanded into:
Casual onboarding games
A game discovery platform (YGG Play)
Publishing and co-development partnerships
Regional expansions with strong community identities
This pivot helped YGG stay relevant even as Web3 gaming models shifted toward “play-and-own,” “play-to-play,” and hybrid systems.
. The Culture: Community First, Always
If you ask people what makes YGG special, they rarely talk about the tech.
They talk about:
The sense of belonging
The grassroots energy
Volunteer mentors helping new players
The excitement of tournaments and events
Local communities supporting each other
In Southeast Asia especially, gaming guilds feel familiar—echoing MMO clans, esports teams, and local gaming communities that existed long before blockchain.
YGG didn’t invent this culture.
It tapped into something that already existed and supercharged it.
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9. The Challenges: Growth, Controversy, and Reality Checks
YGG has faced criticism and growing pains, like any pioneering project.
Here are the key issues people often discuss:
A. Sustainability of P2E
Many early play-to-earn games relied on inflationary reward tokens.
When inflation hit, rewards dropped, and guild earnings dipped.
B. Exploitation Concerns
Some outsiders argued that scholar systems resembled “digital labor.”
Yet many scholars defended the model, saying it gave them access they wouldn’t otherwise have.
C. Security Risks
Big treasuries attract hackers. DAOs must constantly shore up defenses.
. Legal and Regulatory Uncertainty
Governments are still figuring out how to classify digital rewards, DAOs, and tokenized work.
E. Exposure to Specific Games
When a major partnered game struggles, YGG feels it.
Despite all of this, YGG has continued adjusting and diversifying.
1. The Vision: A Workforce for the Metaverse
What keeps YGG moving isn’t the hype cyclesit’s the belief that digital economies are real economies.
YGG imagines a future where:
People work and earn inside virtual worlds
Digital assets function like equipment, property, and capital
Guilds become decentralized digital corporations
The line between “real” and “virtual” economies fades
Players own the value they help create
It’s a big visionambitious, idealistic, and not without challenges.
But even today, millions of people already make a living online in gaming-adjacent jobs.
YGG sees itself as part of that long-term evolution.
Conclusion: YGG’s Story Is Really the Story of Web3 Gaming
Yield Guild Games is more than a guildit’s an ongoing experiment in digital economies, community empowerment, and decentralized organization.
Its journey reflects the Web3 gaming industry itself:
Rapid growth
Volatility
Constant reinvention
Passionate communities
Bold visions mixed with hard realities
Whether YGG ultimately becomes a global digital workforce hub or evolves into something entirely new, one thing is certain:
It has already left its mark on the history of gaming, crypto, and online communities.
