What drives gamers to collect coins, snipe aliens, or climb the walls of ancient tombs until the early morning hours? Gamers often find themselves booting up their consoles to temporarily escape their everyday lives. While gaming offers a respite from daily responsibilities, immersive gameplay and great features are not always enough to sustain the entire experience. To truly engage players, developers must provide compelling reasons for them to return.

As web3 gaming gains momentum, building a robust community has become fundamental to a game’s success and longevity. Traditional games have long boasted dedicated communities and subcultures, but web3 games are pioneering new approaches to unite individuals with shared interests.

Web3 gaming communities transcend conventional fan clubs, serving as spaces where innovation, community engagement, and inventive monetization strategies flourish. Their influence extends beyond gameplay, impacting fundamental aspects of game development. However, the financial incentives in web3 gaming can attract individuals primarily motivated by monetary gain. To mitigate this, developers must prioritize long-term community building, reducing the presence of users who play solely for financial rewards.

Web3 gamers seek to understand who they are engaging with, especially when real money is involved. This has prompted developers to be more transparent and communicative, sharing information about their teams, providing regular product updates, and maintaining open lines of communication for community questions. Social platforms like Discord, X (formerly Twitter), and Reddit have been instrumental, fostering direct, forum-style interactions that encourage fanbases to engage with developers and each other.

Communities, much like any relationship, require care and nurturing. Consistent and ongoing efforts are essential to maintain a vibrant community and retain members. This is particularly true when tokenomics are involved, as players interact differently when they have a tangible stake in the game. Despite potential pitfalls, tokenomics can onboard new players without exploiting them financially.

A prime example is Shadow War, a game that elevates its experience by giving players a direct voice in its development. Aiming to build a strong community of traditional gamers and web3 enthusiasts, Shadow War has committed to refining its product through multiple playtest rounds, supported by its growing community. During its first trial phase, the game achieved over 10,000 signups through social platform announcements.

Shadow War exemplifies its community commitment through programs like Shadownet and Shadownet 2.0. These initiatives allow players to unlock in-game perks and features through social engagement, rewarding community members and creating unique, enjoyable content. Patriots Division, the developers behind Shadow War, developed Shadownet 2.0 in response to community feedback, refining existing features and adding new ones before the game’s official launch.

For web3 games to thrive with passionate communities akin to those of traditional games, they must transform player engagement strategies. While no one expects a web3 game to be perfect from day one, building a solid community that can influence and improve the experience is crucial. Without this focus, even the most innovative web3 games risk ending up in the digital bargain bin.