WEB3 gaming has experienced a turbulent journey, from the early excitement of play-to-earn models and scholarship programs to the realization that crypto speculation alone cannot sustain an industry. The promise of digital ownership drew millions into the space, offering real economic impact for players, particularly in Southeast Asia, during moments of global crisis.

On this episode of ATP, Chin Yaul Yu, co-Founder and CEO at W3GG, explains, many studios tied their survival to token prices; when crypto fell, earnings collapsed, treasuries dried up, and hundreds of projects shut down. The core lesson: speculation can’t substitute for product-market fit.

Some of the topics that Chin covered in detail:

• Axie Infinity felt like a paradigm shift and it brought institutional capital and mainstream attention. But much of the surge rode on speculation.
• WEB3 games correlate tightly with broader crypto markets.
• Most WEB3 games are hybrids: gameplay lives on centralized servers, while ownership and trading sit on chain.
• As agentic AI improves, detecting and deterring non-human participation becomes existential across the WEB3 gaming landscape.
• For W3GG, the goal is to export great games from Southeast Asia, cultivate communities where contribution earns recognition and rewards, and manage a robust digital-asset treasury aligned to gameplay.