The Best of Web3 Gaming: Highlights from BGA Connects Brussels
Eth.CC has closed its doors, leaving behind a whirlwind of innovation and excitement in the Web3 gaming space. BGA & Crypto Square co-hosted BGA Connects, a web3 gaming-focused event that brought the community together for two stages of discussions and keynotes, over 400 attendees, and 14 Web3 gaming projects. The event covered 6 panel discussions across trending topics, 10 keynotes highlighting the innovations happening in the space right now, and a Pitch Battle that gathered pioneers showcasing their gaming products and solutions. The event was a hive of creativity and futuristic thinking. Here’s a recap of the standout moments!
Key Takeaways
- Community: BGA Connects, our flagship event, gathers the web3 gaming community with over 400 attendees. An agenda of panel discussions, game demos, keynotes, and pitch battle outlined the latest industry advancements, challenges, and solutions and fostered engaging conversation and expert insights. The power of community cannot be underestimated in such an early-stage industry where collaboration is key to the evolution of web3 gaming.
“It was unfair that the BGA event was on Tuesday. It made all the other events seem bland for the rest of the conference! It was really well organized, and I got to reconnect with so many people from the web3 gaming space. ” – Hayder Sharhan, CEO | Whalepass
- Onboarding: The industry has evolved rapidly since Eth.CC last year – but has the industry solved the onboarding complexities? The sector, the technology, have definitely taken a massive leap forward and enables a much more seamless experience. The web3 space is still quite scattered in terms of where the content is located, and user bases are spread across platforms, chains, and games. gathering players into one place, as we saw with mobile gaming. Find out more about this topic in the Panel 6 replay (link below).
- Digital Assets: Still one of the top benefits of web3 gaming, the conversation has matured. Real World Assets (RWA), an acronym that cropped across a number of discussions. With the potential to enhance liquidity, transparency, and accessibility, RWA enable a wider range of users to engage with digital assets. This allows game developers to onboard more players into games that offer these features while giving gamers more autonomy and control over their gameplay and associated RWA. In addition, Cross World Assets will play a role in fostering engagement, although design complexities still hinder this feature.
- The event was a hive of gaming activations, hands-on fun, developer solutions, and networking opportunities, with over 400 attendees from various sectors of the Web3 ecosystem in one place.
“The quantity and quality of invited gaming projects by BGA and Cryptosquare made networking continue long after the event ended. Top-level organization! The open bar we sponsored provided a fantastic atmosphere for networking. Our booth was frequently visited, reflecting the strong interest in our Competitive Web3 Gaming Protocol.” – Dawid ‘Skibee’ Skibiński – Elympics
GAME ON at the Quest Counter!
Attendees were invited to dive into Web3 games, discovering the latest games, tooling and infrastructure. The Quest Counter was a bustling hub where guests could play and discover exciting games while meeting the teams from DMM, Somnia, Swissborg, Aavegotchi, Metafight, Elixir, Bitboy, Levitate, My Neighbor Alice, Satochip, Angelo, Motorverse, IconX World, and Elympics!
”The BGA x Cryptosquare Connects event was an excellent opportunity for My neighbor Alice to connect with peers at the intersection of blockchain and gaming and gain insightful perspectives on the industry’s future. We exchanged with a crowd as passionate about Web3 and video games as we are, who relate to the game we are making and are keen to support it in its evolution. Many thanks to the organizers for creating an engaging and well-executed event.” – Loraine Gauteul, Narrative Lead, My Neighbor Alice
Main Stage
The main stage hosted a series of engaging panel discussions that delved into the critical issues and opportunities within the Web3 gaming landscape, addressing topics covering the latest trends in web3 gaming, such as ‘the role of Memecoins in Gaming,”’ Asia vs Western Countries: Who wins the Web3 game?’ and more! Each panel brought expert speakers to the stage to share their insights and create engaging discussions and active solutions in the blockchain gaming ecosystem and beyond.
“Thank you for the wonderful event. I feel like I was able to meet all the game-related companies attending EthCC. Our booth was strategically located along the participants’ path, ensuring high visibility and allowing many attendees to see the game demos. Additionally, having a combination of sessions, keynotes, and magazine features enabled us to approach a large number of event participants in various ways. I appreciate BGA, which feels like a “mobile home” that is present at every conference I attend! I look forward to your continued support!” – Rumi Kono, DMM.com
1*Beyond Mere Ownership: The Untapped Potential of Blockchain-Based Gaming Rewards – In this thought-provoking panel, industry experts Hayder Sharhan, Whalepass, Isaac Lazoff, Snickerdoodle labs, Alex Kosloff, Altura, and Flavien Defraire, BGA, explore innovative revenue models, education around tokenization, and the role of Web3.
“The event was awesome! I’ve been a part of the Blockchain Game Alliance for two years now, and it’s fantastic to see the growth within our community and the high-quality projects joining us. The venue was fantastic—huge thanks to the BGA team! Thanks for having me speak. It was a great experience, and Altura is looking forward to many more events.”
Alex Kosloff, Head of Sales, Altura
2: Bridge of European game and Japanese (Asian) game – Featuring guest speakers: Rumi Kono, DMM – Anton Umnov, Helika – Moderated by Michael Harding, Blockchain Sensei, this panel discussion looks at developer culture, cross-border regulations, customer loyalty, and more.
3: Engaging Gamers in the Web3 Era: Marketing, Community, and IP Insights? Sami Chlagou, Cross The Ages, Piergiacomo Palmisani, Ilya Fedotov, Motorverse, moderated by Lucie Acquivava, Animoca Brands take to the stage to talk about what they are most bullish on at the intersection of blockchain and gaming, rewarding gaming communities and revenue sharing, and more insights.
4: GAMEFI: FAD OR FUTURE? Is GameFi a fleeting trend or the future of gaming? Find out as panelists Frederico Kessler, FunFair Ventures – Grant Anderson, BlackPool Finance & Leopold Wenger, Cometh and Priscilla Juliana, and BlackPool Finance unpack the topic.
“Participating in this event was a fantastic opportunity to discuss technical choices in Web3 game development. Just like choosing between Pixi.js and Unity, integrating Web3 should never come at the expense of user experience and entertainment. The ‘play-to-earn’ trend doesn’t belong in the gaming world; instead, blockchain game developers should leverage this technology to bring more fun to the game. It was inspiring to see so much passion and innovation in our field!” – Leopold Wenger, CFO | Cometh
5: Can Memecoins launch good games? Can these whimsical tokens transition from internet humor to powering engaging games? Meme tokens for engagement and retention? Get the insights from the guest speakers: Casey Grooms, Soulbound, Z3th, BitBoy by Ordz Games, Sebastien Borget, The Sandbox, and Soe Haghighi, Intraverse.
6: Web3 Gaming Pioneers: Dissecting the Pivotal Moments of 2024 – This panel discussion looked at pivotal moments that have shaped Web3 gaming so far in 2024.. Join Industry leaders, Brian OHagan, Sorare, Nicolas Pouard, Ubisoft & Nicolas Gilot, Ultra and Flavien Defraire, BGA, as they share insights, challenges, and breakthroughs that have defined the landscape.
“Massive thank you once again to the BGA for hosting the best event at Eth.CC! Nobody throws events and networking opportunities like BGA. With unrivaled access and opportunities with the biggest producers and capital providers in the industry. My highlight has to be being able to play and see the progress of Aavegotchi and My Neighbor Alice. I love that the BGA gives an opportunity for projects to showcase and stand out above the noise! Once again, BGA provided an incredible venue for a great set of people to find ways to collaborate. Can’t wait for the next one!” – Michael Harding, CEO & FOUNDER | Blockchain Sensei
Second stage
The second stage hosted keynotes from several projects, offering practical sessions across various Web3 gaming-focused topics. Highlights included:
Bridging the Gap: Strategies for Mainstream Adoption of Web3 Gaming by Paul Thomas, Founder Somnia
GameFI & Grants: Practical Guide to Securing WEB3 Funding by Corentin Cadieu, CEO 0xLabs
Gamification entertainment IRL NFT utilities by Joker Club, COO Partouche Multiverse
Zero Friction, Happy Users, HappyChain — What if everyone could use the chain? by Norswap, Supreme Mugwump HappyChain
Jack O’Holleran CEO & Co-Founder of SKALE Labs
Seamoon Protocol by DMM.com by Rumi Kono Head of Alliance DM2C Studio by DMM.com,
POAP for Brands : How to engage through emotions by Lucas, co-founder, POAP Studio
How to Seamlessly Onboard Gamers into Web3: The Key Role of Wallets by Emile Dubié, CEO – Founder XDEFI Wallet
Get Funded, Not F*cked: An actionable 10min talk by Daniel de Lophem, Head of Product Swissborg
Decentralized infrastructure for on-chain gaming by Jonathan Schemoul, Founder Aleph.im
Pitch session
The gaming pitch contest gathered nine projects showcasing a hotbed of talent and innovation in the web3 gaming space. This contest provided a platform for new ideas and highlighted the various ways blockchain is driving the Web3 gaming industry forward.
With 7 pitches, our expert jury of judges included Frederico Kessler, Funfair Ventures, Aurelien Godderis, Cometh, Grant Anderson, BlackPool Finance, David An, Dracoon Ventures, who had the tough task of selecting a winning pitch.
After short deliberation and a presentation on the perks of being part of the BGA, the jury returned with their decision. And the winner of the Pitch Contest is….(drum roll, please!)….Footium! Grilled during the questions from the panel of judges, this football-related project took the top spot in our Pitch Battle Brussels Edition. Runners up: In 2nd place, Whalepass, and 3rd place: WarEden. Other participants included Ora Legend Games, Arena Games, Interlude, Libi Engine.
“The pitching session was an important tool to put ourselves out there in front of potential investors and ecosystem partners. Getting the second place during that contest gave us a big confidence boost.” – Hayder Sharhan, CEO | Whalepass
“We had a blast co-sponsoring and being part of the judging panel for the pitch competition at the BGA event in Brussels during EthCC. It was amazing to see so many cool and innovative ideas from entrepreneurs in the web3 gaming space. Huge congrats to the winners and a big shoutout to everyone who participated!” – Frederico Kessler, CPO, Funfair Ventures
Going beyond networking, we rounded off the event with happy hour by Elympics, winding down over burgers and beers as France took on Spain in the European semi finals. The perfect finale to this action-packed BGA event hosted in collaboration with Crypto Square in the heart of Brussels during Eth.CC 2024.
BGA Community Partner
BGA was a community partner for some of the other awesome events taking place around the city. Serverless by Aleph.im was a great event with Arcade games, BGA members Aaevegotchi and Cometh in participation, with panel discussions centred on topics such as ‘Advanced Game Features through Account Abstraction’ and ‘Creating and launching attractive games in Web3.’
NFT Fest took place over two days on the outskirts of town. With an awesome venue packed with fun activations, cool projects and talks, BGA’s Flavien Defraire, moderated a panel on ‘Empowering the Blockchain Gaming Community’ alongside guest speakers.
BGA also joined DCulture and Collaborators as a community partner.
Summary
Eth.CC 2024 is a landmark event that underscored the vibrant future of blockchain and where BGA took the opportunity to gather the Web3 gaming community. The event offered a comprehensive view of the dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape, from networking opportunities and innovative projects to insightful discussions and practical sessions. Looking ahead, we see the innovations and collaborations born from Eth.CC 2024 and the many other events we host are set to shape the future of gaming in remarkable ways.
For more web3 gaming news, check out the July Magazine to see the most recent articles on the current state of the ecosystem, the latest solutions, integrations and games in the web3 ecosystem.
