The 'Cold War' of Digital City-States: When Gaming Guilds Start Playing Real-World Geopolitics
Jin Zheshu is not playing games, but staring at a dynamically updated digital map. On the map, seven regions of different colors intertwine, among which the blue area - representing the YGG East Asia Alliance - is slowly being eroded by the orange forces from the north.
"They are testing our reaction speed again," he wrote in the encrypted channel, "this time it's not an in-game attack, but recruitment - using double shares to poach our three core fleet commanders in (Starlink Battlefield)."
This is not a game screen, but it determines the fate of hundreds of millions of dollars in game assets. This is the reality unfolding in the next generation of blockchain games: the 'war' between guilds has transcended in-game combat and evolved into a comprehensive competition covering economy, diplomacy, talent, and data.