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Web3 gaming is inevitable.

VCs are bullish on Web3 games because of their potential to onboard millions of users into the space.

Prioritizing tokens over gameplay is a major reason why Web3 games fail despite massive funding. Building a community should never override having a good game if long-term goals are in view.

Exploring both Web2 and Web3 marketing tactics is relevant in scaling Web3 games in the long term.

With over 1 billion dollars invested by VCs in Web3 games in 2024, the stakes are high, even more so with the recent surge of crypto-based games on Telegram.

One notable observation is how the simplicity of Telegram games serves as a key selling point, making it easy for non-crypto natives to get on board. Following this example, more Web3 games should provide simpler onboarding processes, abstracting the complexities of the blockchain infrastructure while highlighting the advantages over Web2 games.

Looking at the sample funnel template above for Telegram games, it is more likely that most players will liquidate their earnings after token launch, so it's also necessary to have a strong retention strategy.

This article provides a template for building a community for a solid Web3 gaming project. Feel free to steal this sheet or reach out to me via email @[email protected] for further assistance.

Step 1: Getting Started- Create a Fun Game

Before fantasizing about onboarding millions of users through your game to crypto or making a billion dollars from it, it's ideal to start with the basics: create a game with good gameplay. Avoid using crypto-related buzzwords only to appeal to Web3 VCs. For long-term mass adoption, your game must be interesting enough for players to keep coming back.

The real value, which can also be profitable for you, is when players are so invested that they're willing to spend money on in-game assets as a form of status.

Considering a Web2 audience, try to abstract decentralization but highlight its benefits. Pixels, a game on the Ronin network with currently over 2 million monthly players understands this:

Fun is our priority.

Interoperability is the future.

Build to decentralise control, but do it slowly.

In doubt about whether you're creating a game with good gameplay, use this checklist ✅

It’s fun and has clear controls.

Good storyline that keeps players immersed and attached to their characters.

High-quality graphics, excellent sound, and great music score.

Replayable or can be played for a long time because of unlimited continuity.

Step 2: Define Your Game

Define your project’s MVP- what makes it peculiar? Why should people play?

Create a knife message - Cut out the noise, and in a simple sentence, tell your target audience about your game. This message should be dominant on your website, and other important materials for your game including your social media profile.

Create a captivating story around your game, using its various components - your game's Wikipedia. Highlight the utility of the NFTs and other in-game assets.

Create your project's roadmap - What should people expect? (While some ideas may change, it's important to have a solid framework that aligns future ideas).

Create an investor deck - Why would investors want to get in?

Create a partnership deck- Why should other projects collaborate or want to be named with yours, what do they stand to gain and what do you also stand to gain?

Step 3: Set Up Your Community Workflow

Building a community should be at the top of your funnel in marketing your gaming project.

Now that you've been able to communicate what your gaming project distinctly offers, it's time to build a virtual community of people who buy into the idea of your project and are willing to stay for the long term even before the game is fully developed. To do this, you have to tactically generate hype, build influence, and keep your ‘fan base’ consistently interested.

Use the following steps to build a strong community :

Set Up Your Discord Workflow

Make your Discord channel exclusive: Make it feel like a really huge flex for anyone at all to get in - it's possible for your target audience to have joined at least 10 similar channels. What makes yours different? Start by granting limited access to your discord after you've commenced posting actively on X. Keep reading to find out how to go about it ⬇️

Also, create a seamless onboarding process for your community members. Give room for them to participate in discussions and beta testing. But don't release access just yet.

Week 1: Set up Your X Account, and Start an Audience Engagement Strategy.

Make a post every day with cryptic messages about your game. It could be just one sentence asking a question and giving your audience opportunities to make guesses. Your post should include a teaser video, an attention-grabbing headline, and a CTA to make people engage with your post.

E.g.:

👀 Who can find the golden key?

Like and repost this for a chance to be one of the first to discover the biggest little secret in the world of crypto. 🫢

Note that the content must be linked to your game's lore and become increasingly cryptic, revealing information little by little as days go by.

How do you amplify the reach of your posts with a new X account? You could use any of the options:

Get top influencers within your game’s niche to repost and post - this gives a form of endorsement and incorporates their audience to also do the same.

Partner with top-tier projects to assist in collaborative marketing strategies.

Host spaces regularly on X, at least twice within week one of growing your audience.

Running ads on X for this purpose will ruin your efforts and most likely present your project as a red flag to Web3 natives.

Week 2- Limited Discord Release & Rewards

Hint on releasing access to your Discord channel for a limited time, and ask your audience to turn on post notifications so they don't miss out.

Put out a link to your discord for 1 hour only and emphasize the perks of this exclusivity like special NFTs, etc.

Grant special roles to the first 100 people (could be more or less) to gain access.

Create a task to find a puzzle right within your discord channel and offer rewards.

Run more gamified quests.

Organize a welcome party and streaming session for your game, recognize the most active participants at the event with more rewards, and grant access to your game. Here, you could provide even more exclusivity depending on your game's levels.

Organise streaming sessions with creators.

Encourage early access members to share their roles on X. (You could come up with a creative process for this to be used as a guide).

Create a blog post to serve as a recap, and highlight exclusive perks for early access members. (This can boost your PR).

Organize a space on X to inform the public about “Tier 1” access perks.

Week 3: Tier 2 Limited Discord Release

Encourage your audience to stay tuned to your page for another Discord release with new surprises.

Release access to your Discord channel for 3 hours.

Repeat similar steps carried out for “Tier 1” players.

Week 4: More Engaging Content and Partnerships

Create more engaging content on X.

Announce partnerships.

Host spaces on X with at least one major partner.

Repurpose space content into various formats like articles, LinkedIn & IG carousel, etc.

Week 5: Tier 3 Discord Release

Hint on granting more people access to your Discord channel, but this time, for a longer period- 24 hours.
Repeat similar steps carried out for “Tier 1” and “Tier 2” players.
Create more engaging content from your game.
Organize a creator campaign allowing players to create content from the game.
More partnership announcements.
Consistently organize X spaces.
Create a leaderboard for top players.
Build on this hype by creating a special NFT that can be used in social profiles as a status symbol.

Thinking about onboarding Web2 gamers as well? Add this:

Create special login processes for both Web2 and Web3 gamers. Web2 gamers can log in with their emails and have a wallet created for them, while Web3 gamers can log in with their wallets as they are used to. Regardless, both processes should be seamless for both parties.
You could also look at making your game both desktop and mobile-friendly, available on app stores.
Run ads on Telegram games. It just makes sense that you meet Web2 gamers where they are. -(Recent experiment shows that it has 10-15% click through rate).

Get 100k+ Players in 5 Weeks for Your Web3 Game With This Hack