Key Takeaways from Token2049 Singapore 2024

Token2049 is one of the largest web3 events of the year, attracting over 20,000 attendees; BGA’s strategically located booth invited conference goers to get a taste of some of the latest and greatest web3 games and related projects. Attendees could not only find out more about BGA, our mission, and activities but also demo games like Ubisoft’s newly released open beta of Champions Tactics, Dogami, MetaClash, Aavagotchi, and Unfettered Ecosystem, meet the teams, and find out more about how blockchain can be leveraged to develop the games of the future. 

Key takeaways from Token2049 Singapore 

1. The Evolution of Blockchain Gaming: Blockchain gaming is shifting focus from the Play-to-Earn model to prioritizing high-quality, fun games. Multiple game launches and active participation from entities like Ubisoft, Yield Guild Games, Animoca Brands, The Sandbox, and the Blockchain Game Alliance reflect this ecosystem growth, not to forget Pudgy Penguins Trading Card games night. These projects demonstrate growth and maturity by actively engaging the web3 community through dedicated events at the largest web3 global conferences.
   
2. Emerging Trends: Top trends observed at the main event included AI and related protocols, Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN), and Real-World Asset (RWA) Tokenization. Telegram gaming is also a current trend for Web3 games to acquire new users into the games’ larger ecosystems.
   
3. Node Sales for Fundraising: Node sales are trending as a popular method for raising funds. While node sales are not new, they appear to have become a forerunner to funding seen during Token2049 Singapore.
   
4. Industry Innovation: Overall, Token2049 2024 demonstrated significant growth and enthusiasm in the Web3 and crypto space, particularly in Asia. With a strong focus on innovation, the event is positioned at the intersection of technology, entertainment, and community-building.
   
5. Industry Challenges: There are still some challenges in the industry, such as discerning quality projects and listening beyond the initial noise and hype to ensure long-term viability.
   
6. Female Inclusion: while this is still a predominantly male industry, there are many women in the industry who are innovating, building, and leading the way. SheFI was a great example of bringing women together, but to be an inclusive industry that involves the many faces of web3.
   
7. More Insights: BGA president Sebastien Borget shared his own key takeaways here:

Double XP Gaming Night

Our biggest side event of the year, co-hosted with PlayToEarn, saw over 600 attendees who joined us for an action-packed evening of web3 gaming, panels, a pitch contest, keynotes, gaming demos, and networking.

“Collaborating with BGA on this event was a fantastic experience—they truly know what they’re doing and excel at it! Together, we were able to bring our vision to life and offer our guests an exceptional networking experience. BGA is one of the few organizations that consistently add value to our industry.”
– Christophe Avignon, CEO, PlayToEarn.com

Panel Discussions
During Double XP Gaming Night, BGA Moderated two star-studded panel discussions: 
1: Maximizing Web3 Gaming Success: Activation and Retention Tactics with Sebastien Borget, The Sandbox, Gabby Dizon, YGG, Justin Kim, Ava Labs and Thomas Zaepffel, Coliseum.
2: Building Bridges: Collaborative Growth in Blockchain Gaming with Ray from Matr1x Fire, Edgars Vecozolins, Zeeverse, Hugo, Treasure, Rumi Kono, Seamoon Protocol.

Keynotes
Keynotes from Robby Yung from Animoca Brands talked about the network effect for gaming when it comes to the ecosystem and users. Nicolas Pouard, VP of Web3 at Ubisoft, outlined the opportunities and challenges of web3 for gaming, the mistakes and learnings at Ubisoft, and the open beta of their web3 title, Champions Tactic, and Captain Laserhawk, which you can read more about here. Andrew Miron from Game Starter spoke on the opportunities within the ecosystem, and Tom Kopera, Elympics, presented the opportunity for mobile gaming and telegram as a user acquisition tool; you can read the report: ‘The Future of Web3 Gaming is Competitive.’

“It was fantastic to be part of the side event during Token! The energy from everyone was incredible. We were thrilled to see such engagement during our workshop tailored for developers building games on TON. The presentation of the Global Gaming Report 2024 was a highlight, showcasing the exciting future of our industry. Thank you to everyone who participated!”
– Tom Kopera, CEO, Elympics

Pitch Contest
The pitch contest saw five projects pitch to VCs for a chance to win the 10k worth of prizes offered by PlayToEarn. The pitch session saw StrayShot by IBLOXX, presented by Domenik Maier, emerge as the winner, and YOM, presented by Andrew Pringle, in second place. There were more great pitches from Angelo.app presented by Josh Roizen, Legends of Venari by Jason Du, and Blackmouth Games by Sergio Reyes, who took to the stage to present and pitch their innovative gaming projects. The pitch contest was judged by our panel of VCs and experts, including Frederico Kessler, Funfair Ventures, David An, Dracoon Ventures, and Anthony Estebe from Liteflow.

“It’s always great to be part of the BGA events to judge the pitches presented. Not only is it inspiring to see new projects that fuse blockchain technology with gaming, but these events are also fantastic opportunities to network with like-minded professionals” .
– Frederico Kessler, CPO, Funfair Ventures

“Although we have a long way to go to solve UX/UI, infrastructure fragmentation and sustainable tokenomics it is great to see more web3 gaming Entrepreneurs emerge and Web2 game professionals moving into the space as well. BGA Plays a key role here, connecting People through Events and exchanging best practices and ideas. I was happy to be part of the Jury at Token 2049.” 
– David An, Founder, Dracoon Ventures

Across the various rooms, guests could check out and play game demos from Seamoon Protocol by DMM.com, Cosmic Royale from Animoca Brands portfolio, Legends of Venari, AVAX Network, and Elympics.

 As always, it’s a pleasure to participate in BGA events. I had a fantastic experience reviewing and judging the projects in the pitch competition. It’s inspiring to see such progress in the Web3 space, with teams actively building and driving innovation forward. Additionally, the panel discussions and quality networking opportunities were exceptional, as always!
– Anthony Estebe, CEO and Co-founder, Liteflow

The BGA Booth at Token2049

BGA invited members to demo some of the latest web3 games, and we were joined by Ubisoft with Champions Tactics, Metaclash, Aavegotchi, Dogami, and Unfettered Ecosystem.

The booth was a hive of activity over the 2 days, the afternoons saw huge crowds and the booth garnered interest for infrastructure, Investors, Marketing, PR, Games and everything in between, curious or focused on the web3 gaming vertical. 

“Being at the booth during Token2049 and Double XP, surrounded by visionary game developers, has solidified my belief that the integration of blockchain technology and gaming is not just advantageous but is the future of our industry. I am deeply grateful to the Blockchain Game Alliance for connecting us with all the right people and providing us a platform to showcase our Alpha during such a pivotal event.”
– Chen Jian Hong Lennard, MetaClash

Singapore Token 2049 is one of the most important events in the blockchain world. Attending this event is a great opportunity for any project, but setting up a booth in a different country brings its own logistical and financial challenges. BGA truly understands the needs of the projects it supports, and as Unfettered Ecosystem, we needed to increase our brand awareness this year. Thank you for hosting us at your booth and helping us present our project. And sometimes you even explained Unfettered Ecosystem better than us. Thank you so much for understanding us so well.”
– Adem Zeybek, Co-founder and CEO, Unfettered Ecosystem

BGA also took part in other events, such as Degen Summit, where we moderated a panel discussion on Revolutionizing In-Game Economies and Player Ownership joined by Yusuf Goolamabbas, Animoca Brands, Avery Isan, LimeChain, Wayne Marcel, Fio Protocol, Sinjin David Jung, Peking Duck Studios. 

We also attended Zeeve Roll Up Day, moderating a panel to talk about upcoming trends for 2024 and the exciting trajectory of Web3 gaming. We were fortunate to leverage the expertise of companies like Pentagon Games, Memeland, and Saakuru Labs, who shared their insights on the evolution of gaming within the blockchain landscape.

Summary

Token2049 Singapore is a key event on the web3 annual calendar to network, gain a deeper view of the current ecosystem and emerging trends, and for BGA to raise awareness of blockchain technologies for gaming, showcase the latest developments through the projects who join us at the booth and offer networking opportunities with a wide array of players across the industry from VCs to Infrastructure as well as the many services supporting this buoyant industry.