Twitch founder Justin Kan says web3 could be “important” for new games

Twitch founder Justin Kan has explained why he believes Web3 could help play an important part in the growth of video games in the future, while the debates around NFT gaming rage on.

Justin Kan launched Twitch in 2011, before selling it three years later to Amazon for a sum just shy of $1 billion.

In the years since, Kan has worked on a number of different projects before, more recently, immersing himself in the world of Web3 and establishing how it can better improve different areas of life online.

One of those areas, he believes, is in video games and, despite kickback from traditional gamers, argues that Web3 could “be an important new business model for games.”

Simple case for why web3 could be an important new business model in for games:

— Justin Kan (@justinkan) July 11, 2022

In a Twitter thread posted on July 11, Kan explained: “Open economic platforms that foster an ecosystem of businesses are larger and more durable than closed ones, where value is primarily created and owned by a single party. Think free-market countries (USA) vs centrally planned ones (USSR, Cuba).”

He continued: “Most big games right now are closed economies. Fortnite and League of Legends only allow users to buy digital skins, characters, and items from the company store. Users are not able to freely transact with each other in the game’s digital currency or digital assets.

“The one exception to this is Roblox, which allows users to develop games in its metaverse and earn money from other players who engage with them. Roblox is worth $20bn.”

The one exception to this is Roblox, which allows users to develop games in its metaverse and earn money from other players who engage with them. Roblox is worth $20B.

— Justin Kan (@justinkan) July 11, 2022

Kan went on to say that “games can be much larger and more durable” with open economic platforms — but that using a blockchain to do this isn’t entirely necessary, just that it’s “one way to do it.”

Why does any of this require blockchain? It doesn’t really. A game can create an open economic platform by making all their assets tradable and transferable through an open API, and encouraging building on it. In fact, this would be much simpler.

— Justin Kan (@justinkan) July 11, 2022

While there is clearly still a lot to learn about Web3, even for the most experienced experts in the space, many top names in tech are seeking to establish how it can be used as a solution or way to improve just about anything.

It’s unclear whether the future of gaming does lie in Web3, but Kan has made no secret of the fact that he sees a great opportunity there — just like he did with Twitch all those years ago.