Ronin defies common sense when it comes to Web3 philosophy.
For many in the cryptocurrency industry, the advantage of blockchain is that it is permissionless and can be built by anyone without any centralized authority. Instead, the Ethereum sidechain gaming network is currently opting for a closed and curated approach.
There's a reason for this kind of early approach, the team says. And it's hard to argue with success considering Ronin players have increased significantly in recent months and even more recently led the market to an all-time high in March. cool down.
And there is a path to a “permissionless epidemic” Ronin destination network.
“There are too many developers, too many applications, and too many games.” sky mavis and co-founder of Ronin said Jeff “Zihoz” Zierlin. Decryption. “There are more applications, games, and developers than there are actual people using these applications.”
Zirlin believes that while there is a “glut” of games on many open blockchains, the relatively small number of gamers playing in this space have a hard time discerning the good from the bad. Masu. To combat this dilemma, Ronin We are selective about the games that are allowed on the network.
In his personal time, aside from crypto games, Zirlin only plays Nintendo, Blizzard, and Supercell games. They are an industry giant known for releasing very few games, but they often release games that are truly loved and extremely popular.
Jeff Zirlin, co-founder of Sky Mavis.Image: Jeff Zarin
By managing Ronin's game library, he believes the network is working with these game publishers. In fact, he suggests that the Web3 element “adds another layer on top” by encouraging gamers to support the network through tokens.
“This strategy emphasizes quality over quantity, allowing us to work closely with a small team to ensure long-term success in the evolving landscape of Web3 games,” Zirlin explains. did. “[A Twitter poll] showed that it is 40% all of [Axie] Gamers were joined by friends and family. In other words, these are insane levels of evangelism. ”
Ronin then has the largest share by some distance with 30% of all active Web3 gamers, followed by Polygon in second place with 17%. footprint analysis. Despite this model working for Ronin, most of Web3 opposes such an approach.
“To win, you have to do things that aren't in the consensus. That's where most of the strategic influence lies,” Zirlin explained. “I think people want chaos in Web3. But introducing new technology requires more of a Zen debate. This technology is already confusing enough, so I don't want to confuse people. No need to.”
So far, the selective approach seems to be working well for Ronin. But the doors won't be closed for long, as Zirlin admits there are long-term benefits to the open model. Ronin is certainly looking toward a more open future.
In the future, scalability will be a major hurdle for Ronin. Currently, Ronin claims, the network can process 7.5 million transactions daily without congestion.This may not be enough once the network is opened to all builders, so Sky Mavis actively explore Scale your solution to expand what Ronin can handle. But scaling isn't just a technological leap; it's also a cultural challenge, Zirlin says.
“Ultimately, scalability is not only about technical superiority, but also about user adoption and loyalty,” Zirlin explains. “Similar to console wars of the past, where players chose their platform based on the location of their friends, we are focused on curating games that engage players with her Ronin.”
Zirlin said that once Ronin becomes “broadly permissionless,” the number of games coming to Ronin will accelerate. He hopes one of these games will help drive growth for the network, as Axie Infinity did during his current game Pixels and his 2021 Play to Earn Boom. I'm here. However, this time he doesn't have Ronin's heavy-handed approach. .
It is still up in the air when Ronin's plan is to open the network. Once this road ends and Ronin opens its doors, the network will begin to look to its next big transformation that extends beyond gaming.
“The ultimate goal is to build an ecosystem that seamlessly blends gaming with e-commerce and payment apps,” Zirlin said. Decryption. “We believe the path to getting there is by gaining adoption and attention for ourselves through gaming, then expanding into payments and e-commerce, thereby disrupting the predatory banking system and credit card industry. Masu.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward