The Gam3 Awards for Web3 games is returning for a third year in a row with a prize pool of $5 million.
The awards for the best blockchain-based games is now winnowed down to a shortlist. The organizer said the annual web3 gaming celebration main event is set to reach new heights with more exciting game developments, more rewards, new award categories, and for the first time ever — a physical ceremony alongside the livestream which had over 50,000 viewers tune in last year.
Gam3s.gg has partnered with Yield Guild Games (YGG), one of the world’s largest networks of Web3 gamers, to bring the Gam3 awards ceremony physically for the first time. I served as a judge in the first round of voting for the Gam3 Awards this year and did so last year as well.
The event will be held and live-streamed directly from the Philippines, as the grand finale for the YGG Play Summit. The Philippines, where Axie Infinity took off in 2021, has become a big player in the Web3 gaming landscape. Many of the industry’s earliest adopters and most passionate communities are based in the country.
YGG cofounder Gabby Dizon, said in a statement, “The YGG Play Summit is about the gamers, first and foremost. It’s the biggest Web3 gaming consumer event of the year. This is why we’re so excited to host the 2024 Gam3 Awards here in Manila. The real players of all the hottest web3 games will be there to vote and cheer for their favorite titles.”
Gam3s.gg has also partnered with Arbitrum, Magic Eden, Immutable, Avalanche, and Skale to make this year’s event even bigger and better than previous years.
Originally launched in 2022, the Gam3 Awards launched in the midst of the pandemic and a time of big hype around blockchain games. Now some of the games that received funding during the go-go years are taking shape and nearing launch. Some of the titles are finding audiences, like NFL Rivals on the app stores, in the low millions. While Telegram games — albeit extremely simple clicker blockchain games ones — are going viral in the hundreds of millions.
All of this is encouraging to the blockchain game industry, considering it has taken longer to get the global market to take off, in no small part due to crypto scams and resistance from Western hardcore gamers.
Gam3’s purpose is to fight off the critics and create a landmark event within the blockchain gaming industry highlighting the top games and creators over the past two years. By recognizing and celebrating outstanding titles and creators, the awards highlight innovation and excellence across various genres and criteria, such as art direction and the most anticipated games. In 2023, the event saw over 450,000 votes cast from 50,000 unique voters, further showcasing the community’s role during the selection process.
The annual event was streamed online and achieved further widespread success in 2023, with over 50,000 live viewers, peaking at 36,000-plus concurrent viewers on Twitch alone, and over 250,000 views in the first 24 hours post-broadcast. The event’s winners shared a prize pool of $2 million, with the Web3 trading card game Parallel taking home the most wins, including “Game of the Year.”
Gam3s.gg CEO Omar Ghanem said in a statement, “This is the third year we (have) run these awards, and we really wanted to do something special this time. The Philippines has long been one of the main hubs for Web3 gaming, and some of the earliest adopters and most passionate community members are based right here. That’s why it only feels right that our first ever physical version of the Gam3 Awards takes place at the heart of Manila — the heart of Web3 gaming.”
This year’s awards see the return of all categories from the previous installation and the addition of two new ones: Best Ecosystem and Best Browser Game – to make it 21 categories in total.
In addition, last year’s “Best Graphics” award returns under a more fitting title: “Best Art Direction” to celebrate the creativity and unique art style of game titles without excessively emphasizing high-fidelity graphics.
The Gam3 Awards will feature exclusive trailers and announcements from leading studios, offering attendees a sneak peek at some of the most anticipated Web3 games in development. These premieres have become fan favorites, with titles such as Riftstorm making their debut appearance in previous editions.
This year’s event features over 70 prominent traditional and blockchain gaming figures, with many returning jurors from previous ceremonies. The diverse panel includes representatives from Amazon, Google, Samsung, Ubisoft, Animoca Brands, Immutable, Arbitrum, Blockchain Game Alliance, Base, Ronin, and Avalanche, as well as content creators and major media outlets such as VentureBeat (yup) and Decrypt.
Much like previous years, the voting process will see the jury’s votes represent 90% of the final decision, with the community making up the remaining 10% for most categories except People’s Choice and Best Content Creator, which are both 100% community voting-based, and Games’ Choice, which is based on shortlisted game studios voting for their favorite title game.
With 17 blockchain networks represented, the diversity and innovation showcased by the nominees highlight the dynamic evolution of the gaming landscape. The top five networks represented in the final shortlists are Immutable, Polygon, Avalanche, Arbitrum, and Solana.
The Game of the Year finalist nominees are Off The Grid, Pirate Nation, Parallel, Nyan Heroes, and Pixels. For the full list of nominees, visit gam3awards.com. Final voting starts October 15 and runs until November 15, directly on GAM3S.GG’s platform on the GAM3 Awards page.
In addition, among the exciting updates for the 2024 Gam3 Awards is the increased $5 million prize pool, which consists of grants, products, services, marketing, and blockchain support from partners such as AWS, XAI, Thirdweb, Aethir, and Community Gaming among others to help finalists and winners grow even further. This represents a substantial increase from previous years and underscores the event’s commitment to supporting and fostering the next generation of Web3 games.
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