Roblox's Non-NFT Blunder = Fortnite's Web3 Opportunity

GM DOers!

Web2 is broken. 🥲

I know, by now I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but it’s true. Here’s the proof.

Roblox just launched NFTs that seem like NFTs, but are nothing alike. 🤔

(Roblox is an online gaming platform and game creation system with more than 67 million daily users that allows users to design, share, and play games and experiences created by other users in a virtual metaverse.)

In broad strokes, they resemble NFTs only to the extent that a Roblox in-game item is a scarce tradeable digital asset (only on its platform), but that’s where the similarities end.

They don’t live on the blockchain, the creators do not own them, nor do the players who purchase them; on a whim, Roblox can make them disappear just like that. 💨

Over the years, Roblox has created an amazing platform rife with creativity and self-expression. It’s allowed countless creators, young and old, to build their own experiences within its metaverse for everyone to enjoy, and even earn some money from them. 💰

It hasn’t been perfect, and there are plenty of users and creators who complain about it, but credit where credit is due - they’ve built something special. 🏆

But unfortunately, it seems like short-term profit has gotten the better of them, and they’ve missed an opportunity of a lifetime to become the first truly massive web2 game to embrace web3. 📉

Today, let’s talk a bit about Roblox and its poor decision-making, and how their biggest competitor might take advantage of this mistake by seizing the opportunities other web2 gaming companies are leaving on the table.

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Roblox’s Limiteds - A Missed Opportunity for NFTs

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So what are Limiteds? 🧐

Roblox recently introduced Limiteds, a feature allowing creators to produce and sell limited quantity in-game items.

So far, they haven’t been a success 😞 largely due to moderation challenges resulting in mass deployment of low-quality Limiteds that were either republished or plagiarized copies, with many selling for ridiculous prices.

It’s been a hit-and-miss with Limiteds. The strategy seemed poorly thought out.

But there’s another question that we’ve been more interested in - why didn’t they create the Limiteds as NFTs? Why take the closed ecosystem route? Why choose the dark side? 🤷

The reason can’t be the lacking web3 tech - neither scalability nor UX.

We’ve seen Reddit do that without problems, onboarding millions of highly opinionated internet natives (Redditors) onto web3 without them even knowing, by abstracting away the web3 complexities.

The reason, I think, must ultimately be about the bottom line - bringing in profits and maximizing shareholder value. They are a public company, after all.

And what better way to do it if not by playing the siloed ecosystem playbook, just like Apple. They know it works, they know it’s safe and will be popular among the board of directors.

Taking risks can backfire more than bring benefits, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 🚫

So here we are, a web2 gaming company missing a huge opportunity to align itself with the future of the internet and create an enormous amount of value and opportunities for its users (and itself).

But who will take this opportunity to get ahead instead? 🤔

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Epic Games’ Web3 Chance Is Here

As a Roblox competitor, Fortnite (developed by Epic Games), has the potential to gain a competitive edge by embracing web3 and empowering creators. 💪

The Epic Games’ in-house tech with creator tools and integrated Unreal Engine’s generative features has now accelerated indie creator capabilities to build unique experiences (mini-games) effortlessly. 🚀

For years Fortnite has facilitated creator-built mini-games & experiences, accounting for 40% of all playtime on Fortnite, and with the release of better tools and financial incentives, it’s sure to grow even more.

If you combine this in-house tech, imaginative and dedicated creators, and an incredibly forward-thinking, flexible, and web3-aligned company leadership, and you have yourself a formidable force in the space that has the potential to lead the web2 gaming industry into a new era of open, interoperable ecosystems that place ownership in the hands of the users.

But they have to lead by example. 👏

While Epic Games has not yet integrated native web3 features, their openness to blockchain-based games signals a desire to explore these technologies. 🔍

In fact, they already have more than 20 web3 games 🕹️ available on their Steam-like Epic Games Store, with more in the works.

So the wheels are slowly turning, and Epic Games are on the right path.

However, a lot still needs to be delivered: integrating NFTs in their platform and offering a web2-friendly wallet, facilitating creator royalty sharing, token-gated in-game experiences, and more.

If Fortnite or similar platforms were to capitalize on web3 opportunities, they could disrupt the gaming industry, solidify their dominance, and garner the support of the gaming community, further driving adoption and innovation within the space. 🚀

As to whether anyone will do it is a different question. Only time will tell… ⌛️

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What’s New In Web3?

• Superfluid has launched Subscriptions, a way for web3 services and token-gated communities to easily monetize their content.

• Romanian government releases an NFT collection and an NFT trading platform.

• Snoop Dogg drops a new song NFT on Sound.xyz in celebration of 4/20 (April 20th).

🟣 Hold on, DOers!

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LISTEN

Join Jay and Kyle in the Weekly Rollup podcast episode where they cover the hottest events in web3 & AI - Roblox’s NFT blunder, AI-generated Drake song going viral, AI making ENS 1000x more valuable, CryptoGPT, Pepe the Frog-themed tokens seeing 21,000% Increase, Mastercard dropping Free NFTs & more!

Thanks for reading and we’ll see you next week! ❤️

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not financial advice. Conduct your own research and consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions or taking any action based on the content.