When mentioning yieldguildgames token, most people tend to think of the boom period in 2021 – when play-to-earn created a wave of new players and YGG became a symbol of the 'new economy guild.'
@Yield Guild Games #YGGPlay $YGG

But to assess the future of the YGG token as GameFi recovers, it is necessary to break away from the old perspective.

The play-to-earn model that once generated revenue for the YGG token no longer exists; most of the revenue of that ecosystem relied on the influx of new players, rather than intrinsic value.

Therefore, the real question is not 'How much will YGG increase when GameFi recovers?' but 'What is YGG becoming in the new GameFi generation, and what role does the token play in that model?'

The important thing is that $YGG has not stood still since the play-to-earn collapse.

When the market cooled in 2022, YGG restructured significantly: from a guild operating scholarships to an on-chain economic platform for players, with a subDAO structure, YGG Passport identity system, and new gaming economy support tools.

In an internal analysis of a Web3 game I once participated in, the team realized that 'traditional guilds' would have no room to thrive; the market is shifting to play-to-own, gameplay-focused, and on-chain assets must have intrinsic value rather than just being tools for farming tokens.

YGG, despite suffering heavy losses in the down cycle, is one of the few organizations that understood this early enough to reposition before entering the new GameFi cycle.

The most notable point in the future of the YGG token lies in how the YGG ecosystem is shifting from a 'capital distribution to players' model to 'asset and identity governance on-chain.'

As in-game assets increasingly become real on-chain assets – valuable, scarce, and cash-generating – YGG will play a role similar to a digital asset management platform.

When I experimented with a prototype for the on-chain asset model last year, what I realized is that the organization that owns player activity data and has a skill classification system will have a core position in the gaming economy.

The YGG Passport is building that very system.

The YGG token became a tool for participating in player database governance, verifying activities, and allocating incentives.

This is a completely different model from 'guild lending NFTs to farm SLP.'

Another factor that helps the YGG token have potential in the new GameFi cycle is how YGG builds subDAOs.

Each subDAO has its own treasury, governance, and activities revolving around each game or community.

This helps YGG spread risks and expand faster without concentrating power in a single DAO.

When GameFi recovers, value will not just come from one game like Axie anymore; many games will coexist, each with its own asset ecosystem.

When a subDAO develops well, the YGG token plays the role of a 'layer coordinator' managing activities among subDAOs.

Some people call this the streaming-value model: value from multiple micro-economies flowing to the native token.

To put it simply: the YGG token does not 'ride along' with a game, but benefits from the entire on-chain gaming economy expanding.

This is much more sustainable than the old model.

But for the YGG token to truly have long-term value, GameFi recovery must happen according to the new nature: games must have gameplay, real cash flow, and assets must have real utility.

In one of my analyses while working with a Web3 game studio, we realized that game tokens would not be able to sustain the economy on their own if they are not anchored to player behavior.

This means the GameFi ecosystem in 2024–2026 is likely to resemble 'traditional games with on-chain asset ownership' rather than 'financialized games like in 2021.'

If this is true, the demand for support layers like YGG – including onboarding players, identity management, asset management, and game connectivity – will increase significantly.

And the YGG token becomes a coordinating token, no longer a yield-paying token.

An important variable is YGG's role in the on-chain labor market.

At the peak of play-to-earn, YGG managed hundreds of thousands of players, becoming a digital workforce under the DAO model.

I once thought this would disappear along with the play-to-earn model, but in reality, it is coming back in a new form: high-quality Web3 games need real players, with real skills, who understand the on-chain ecosystem.

YGG becomes an intermediary layer helping games reach this organized player base.

And the YGG token could become a reward unit for valuable behavior – not in the sense of 'playing for hire,' but in the sense of 'contributing to the gaming economy.'

This is a much more fine-tuned and sustainable form of incentive.

However, it must be acknowledged that the YGG token also faces several limitations.

One of the biggest weaknesses during the 2022–2023 period was that old tokenomics was too tied to the play-to-earn model.

Tokens lack sufficient utility in a down market.

Many guilds collapsed because they had no way to pivot when the influx of new players disappeared.

YGG has adjusted its tokenomics but still relies heavily on the expectations of GameFi's recovery.

The challenge here is that the gaming cycle is often slower than the crypto cycle, as games need time to build and attract players.

This means that the YGG token will not react immediately even if the crypto market heats up again.

This requires patience from investors.

Another point is competition.

If GameFi 2024–2026 becomes popular, new platforms may emerge with a leaner, lighter model, unburdened by the heavy legacy of YGG.

In the market phases I have experienced, organizations that successfully restructure tend to survive longer, but they are also strongly challenged by emerging, more agile competitors.

YGG has brand advantages, a large community, and experience, but needs to prove that their new model creates real value – not just based on history.

However, when putting all variables on the table, one point is clear: the YGG token today is no longer a 'farm reward' token like in 2021.

It is evolving into a coordinating token for a multi-center on-chain gaming economy.

When the GameFi industry recovers, especially if high-quality games like Big Time, Pixels, Shrapnel, Illuvium, or new on-chain products emerge, the demand for organizations capable of connecting players – assets – developers will increase significantly.

YGG is positioning for that role.

If GameFi recovers sustainably, the YGG token has a chance to become one of the infrastructure tokens of Web3 gaming, not just riding along with one game but benefiting from the entire industry.

But if the market repeats the mistakes of 2021 – chasing yield instead of gameplay – the YGG token will again face cyclical risks.

The future of the token depends more on the quality of games than on YGG itself.