The recent Games Developers Conference 2024 took place in San Francisco, giving the gaming industry a platform to showcase new games and innovations to a curious audience.
While GDC 2024 is not Web3-focused or oriented, it has recognized that many gaming studios are moving towards blockchain-based development, or at least moving certain aspects of their games onto the blockchain. This is particularly true of in-game economies and NFTs of game assets. This meant that more Web3 game developers and studios were in attendance this year, both to show their projects and to test others.
many explored the halls looking for Web3 games that they liked, that made them curious, and that were pushing the limits of what gaming could and should be. To shine a light on these great projects, we’ve put together a list of the top 5 Web3 games at GDC 2024.
“Parallel is a sci-fi based competitive card game where players build decks and face off, bank energy, and build armies to decide the fate of humanity.”
This exciting title, now in Open Beta, mixes highly competitive and strategic gameplay, with stunning visual design. Many were impressed with the level of detail here, as various studios have tried to make Web3 card games over the last 2-3 years, and none of them have been as compelling as Parallel.
Audiences were keen to hear more about the narrative and loved the idea that planet Earth, facing resource scarcity, caused a massive catastrophe after experimenting with fission and anti-matter. Then, how five parallel civilizations rose from the disaster (you’ll pick which one you want to align with). The gameplay is 10,000 years in the future when Earth has healed, but you’re now back at war fighting over energy. So it’s like humans have gone full circle and repeated all the same mistakes, but now it’s futuristic dystopian warfare. The lore is very well thought out.
Parallel told The Defiant, “The IP and storyline is the richest within Web3. It’s a captivating story of survival and determination that is truly one of a kind.”
Calling Parallel a Web3 game, however, might alienate some readers. It’s a Web2 game with optional Web3 enhancements. You don’t need a Web3 wallet or any crypto to play the game. However, if you want to play with Web3 upgrades, each in-game asset can be represented by an ERC-1155 NFT. You can use these to earn $PRIME, which has doubled in value since the Open Beta began, and which may grant you additional experiences and items. There’s also an in-built rarity mechanism to protect NFT values.
“The Avalon universe prioritizes delivering an immersive gameplay experience by combining cutting-edge tech like Unreal Engine 5 with AI-assisted user-generated content systems. their focus on a no-code solution enables players to create game logic effortlessly. Plus, their upcoming NFT collection will introduce AI-powered avatar NFTs, adding another layer of innovation,”
Avalon might stir up some debate, but its inclusion here is undeniable. Despite some industry skepticism about the feasibility and future of Web3 gaming, Avalon represents a daring foray into what could be the next era of online multiplayer experiences. As a newcomer on the block but with a team comprised of seasoned developers from giants like Sony and Microsoft, Avalon has attracted attention with its ambitious vision.
At its core, Avalon is not just about playing—it’s about creating and owning. Powered by Unreal Engine 5 and enhanced with AI built by Inworld, the game enables players to build vast, intricate worlds with a level of simplicity and depth not seen on other platforms. This revolutionary approach has not only drawn a $10 million investment from the likes of Bitkraft Ventures, Hashed, Coinbase Ventures, and more but also hopes of setting a new standard in the gaming industry. However, this excitement is tempered by the challenges of integrating Web3 functionalities, which have yet to gain universal acceptance among gamers.
“Engage in meticulously crafted turn-based battles, where every decision could lead to victory or defeat. Trade and collect one-of-a-kind heroes, forming alliances or rivalries that span across the digital expanse. Journey through an ever-changing world, where your actions etch indelible marks on the fabric of the universe, leaving a legacy that transcends the game itself.”
Cloudborn was a standout at GDC 2024, and just like the previous, is powered by Inworld’s marketing-leading gaming AI. Many games were tested, but this one was perhaps the most ambitious with its use of Generative AI for both the environments and the NPCs. Talking to an NPC like a real persona and getting genuine responses is unheard of, and it will make you forge a unique connection with your in-game companion. Many noted as they watched other people play Cloudborn, they could see that they too were in awe of what this game could do and the kind of gateway to limitless creativity that it could open.
If any game was truly breaking boundaries this year, it was Cloudborn. On Cloudborn, you own your assets and you own your experience, and due to the learning mechanism of your AI-NPC and the generative AI used for environments, no two players can have the same gaming experience. That’s such a great concept, to have a game that feels personal or unique to you, thanks to Generative AI – and a core reason as to why it was one of the top games at GDC 2024.
After the event, Constantin Berthelier, Cloudborn’s Narrative Designer, was quoted as saying, “I had anticipated that most GDC attendees were privy to the recent updates on the AI scene and would be somewhat blasé when interacting with our characters. But no, it did provide the wow effect! Most users were overwhelmed that they had the liberty to tell Zero all they wanted“. He added, “Zero remained relevant and on character no matter what the testers would tell him.”
“A grand strategy game of space exploration, territorial conquest, political domination, and more.”
Star Atlas is a match made in heaven for fans of Star Wars, Halo, and flying games. It has already won some seriously big awards for its visual design and graphics. When you add all of the free-roaming activity as a character to the flying and FPS shooting missions, you have a massively engaging title that will captivate players.
Even more impressive are the Web3 integrations that it offers. Built on Solana and thriving since 2021, gamers collect or create NFT in-game assets that they can trade or sell too. Players have so much ownership and control of their virtual environments and can choose to build entire cities or make DAOs to govern regions. The native $ATLAS token, which is given out for rewards, is pretty volatile, but is up around 60% on the 1Y charts.
“In 2038, the immense exosolar asteroid 38 Sigma collided with the moon. Following the massive Lunar-Impact Event (LIE), Saturn-like rings formed around the moon, bombarding Earth along a global 500-kilometer-wide band. Pelted by lunar meteorites, the band was permanently evacuated and designated the Sacrifice Zone (The Zone).”
Shrapnel is another sci-fi dystopia, this time fighting for and extracting valuable resources that have crashed on Earth. The lore is quite exciting and Hollywood-esque – it would make for a great blockbuster movie. It is, however, a game, and a very interesting one with Web3 integrations.
Shrapnel is a first-person shooter (FPS) that gives players a huge amount of freedom and creativity in character modification – something many gamers have been demanding. This means there’s a lot of user-generated content (UGC) and an active marketplace, while new partnerships offer interoperability between Shrapnel assets and other games.
There were so many Web2 and Web3 games in attendance. We simply don’t have the time to cover all of them, but by looking at these 5, you get a pretty good understanding of the caliber of games that demoed at GDC 2024. We’re already excited for next year. Bring it on!
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