At the Cutting Edge of Technology: BGA Key Takeaways from Web Summit

One of the largest tech conferences in the world, Web Summit, held in Lisbon, brings together the entirety of cutting-edge tech under one roof. With Five Pavilions and several stages hosting discussions ranging the spectrum of what is possible in the tech world, the event sees over 70,000 attendees walk through its doors.

This year, BGA hosted a booth at this major event to raise awareness and explore the synergies between the mainstream tech world and blockchain technology and its place within gaming. We also invited members to join us over the three days to demo their games and showcase their projects.

Key Takeaways
AI was a hot topic with several keynotes and panel discussions as well as booths providing products and services offering solutions at cutting edge of the latest technologies.

From the BGA perspective, it was an exciting event where conversations varied greatly from ‘What is blockchain’ and ‘How does it fit into gaming,’ to visitors showcasing technology that can benefit both blockchain and web2 companies to sheer cutting-edge innovation that will lead the way to the future of business.

With country booths from the world over, it was a great place to open the conversation with bodies that have the potential to support BGA members worldwide, supporting start-ups, company registration, and other services and benefits that vary across legal entities.

The conference covered various topics with multiple stages, round table discussions, and fireside chats covering every sector, bringing together key speakers into one place for an enlightening three days of education, seminars, and solutions that are being developed as we head into 2024.

In terms of the BGA mission to raise awareness and promote blockchain technologies for gaming, this was on target to showcase the benefits inherent in web3. The booth gathered a lot of interest from attendees eager to learn more about what we do, either from the blockchain or gaming side. The interest was curious and positive, and both visitors were eager to test the games at the booth.

At the Booth
BGA invites members to come and join us at the booth at major events, where they have the opportunity to demo their games and products to conference attendees.
At Web Summit, four members joined us over the three days:

My NFT Wars by iLogos’ Intense Games is revolutionizing the Web3 gaming landscape with its flagship product, My NFT Wars: Riftwardens. Integrating generative AI to provide players with unprecedented creative control and ownership and leveraging open-source tools within a dynamic ecosystem, My NFT Wars: Rift Wardens combines a unique experience of classic RPG with the immersive world of NFTs.

“We were privileged to showcase our game at the Blockchain Game Alliance booth, a magnetic hub that attracted bright minds from all over the Web Summit. Our engagement with professionals, tech enthusiasts, investors, and gamers was a truly unforgettable experience.”
Andrew (McQueen) Tymshenko, Lead Game designer | Intense Games

Clarnium is a Web3 gaming ad network & distribution platform providing the ultimate environment for playing, research, and game promotion. Clarnium provides the most accurate and unbiased data for blockchain games.

“Clarnium has been collaborating with BGA for several months, and personally, I find it very beneficial. Last week, I joined a BGA panel discussion to talk about ‘Gamifying Sports Engagement with Blockchain,’ and it was a blast. More than that, Clarnium had an opportunity to be at the BGA booth, meet several
very valuable contacts, and present themselves.
So huge thanks for the BGA rockstar team.”
Eva Shalenko, CBDO | Clarnium.io

Gokaden builds PLAYGROUNDS: your custom all-in-one platform for community-driven projects. Turn your community into a tribe of creators. Gokaden’s mission is to unite brands, creators, artists, and fans to collaborate transparently without gatekeepers. Our vision is to empower artists to create, own, and protect their work in the age of blockchain.

NFTribes powered by QUDO: QUDO, the Web3 Gaming Platform that introduces Gaming Rewards and Interoperable Gaming Assets as NFTs, invites you to explore NFTribes. It’s the first game powered by QUDO NFTs, where you can collect, trade, and even create your own NFT weapons, all within QUDO’s ecosystem.

“We appreciate BGA for the opportunity to showcase NFTribes & QUDO’s web3 gaming platform at Web Summit 2023. Connecting with fellow web3 gaming enthusiasts, sharing ideas, and exploring projects within the BGA community was truly inspiring. The event offered valuable insights into the latest tech developments, fostering collaboration and innovation.”
Diogo Abreu, Product Marketeer | Qudo by Block Bastards

It was also great to see BGA members at the event, some had a booth of their own, such as Cookie3, Minnapad, and GoArt Metaverse, as well as members, from FunFair Ventures, Sovereign Nature, Soulbound, and Brightnode, among other industry friends and partners, who stopped by the booth to network and talk all things web3 gaming.

“It was great to visit the BGA booth, meet Melanie and Flavien, and catch up with other members who attended the Web Summit. The BGA community is incredible and its work in spreading awareness about blockhain technologies is enormous.”
Alessandro Raschi, Tokenomics Lead | Brightnode

Side events
BGA partnered with Swissborg and their gaming division Xborg for an evening of panel discussions and networking at Human Protocol’s Newconomics 2-day event, which took place alongside Web Summit. The BGA side event with Swissborg and Frens gave projects across the ecosystem an opportunity to bring their knowledge together, enabling an insightful panel discussion on ‘From Fans to Players: Gamifying Sports Engagement with Blockchain.’ eSport has been defined as the next iteration of Gaming and the panel, featuring João Gonçalves, Partnership & Esports Lead at XBorg, Eva Shalenko, CBDO at Clarnium, Margaux Bassoli, Co-founder and COO at Gokaden, and moderated by Flavien Defraire, Director of Global Development at BGA, discussed how blockchain technologies can be used to empower the relationship betweenfFans, eSport team and games.

BGA’s Flavien Defraire also gave a keynote to talk about the Blockchain Game Alliance, our work, mission, and how we support our members in the web3 gaming ecosystem.

Attending BGA member Singularity.NET’s side event with Sophiaverse was an eye-opening experience into the advancements in AI technology, positioned at the intersection of AI, blockchain, and gaming, that nods to the future of what is possible when harnessing the most innovative technologies to create a fun and immersive experience.

It’s a wrap this year for BGA, the year’s final conference, as we plan ahead for the exciting events, booths, and collaborations for 2024. You can read more about our activities during Web Summit, the latest articles, and our interview with BGA President and co-founder of The Sandbox in the magazine.

Sign up to our newsletter to learn more and keep up-to-date with the latest advancements in blockchain gaming, and look out for the 2023 BGA State of the Industry Report to be released in December 2023.