Portal, an integrated blockchain gaming platform, has launched PortalPay, a service that aims to lower the barrier to entry for blockchain gaming by providing users with an interoperability solution that allows them to pay for and cash out in-game assets using 5,000 supported digital assets.
To access the on-chain functionality of a blockchain game, users typically need to connect to a MetaMask wallet or another service to interact with the decentralized application and purchase the assets or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) needed to play the game. Many game tokens are also blockchain-specific and have not yet migrated to other chains.
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Portal’s head of partnerships, Ezra Strauss, highlighted the issue of ecosystem fragmentation in the blockchain gaming sector.
“The biggest problem we’ve seen is that you end up with different chains, different wallets, and sort of a separate ecosystem. Users, tokens, assets are trapped in all these different pockets of the Web3 ecosystem. That makes it very difficult for new user adoption.”
Currently, Web3 gamers can solve this problem by bridging or converting digital assets into the currency required to play a particular game. However, the network costs of bridging and converting can be prohibitive.
Related: Industry executives say Web3 games are a ‘rocket ship’ ready to launch
Benefits for users and developers
In addition to increasing user adoption, PortalPay also relieves developers of the burden of providing on-chain solutions, allowing them to focus on building blockchain games that emphasize gameplay quality rather than on-chain commerce.
Additionally, Portal aims to increase user retention by abstracting away the technical aspects of Web3 onboarding and providing a streamlined user interface. “The level of value we create is such that we don’t have to think about the infrastructure level,” Strauss told Cointelegraph.
The State of Blockchain Gaming
While the sector is growing, blockchain gaming is still far from mainstream adoption. A recent survey by OnePoll found that 52% of the 2,000 adults surveyed were completely unaware of the Web3 gaming sector. An additional 32% said they knew what blockchain gaming was, but had never played one.
Regulatory issues are also an issue, with the financial aspects of the game tokens being subject to oversight by financial regulators. In September 2023, Shrapnel developers announced that US players would not be able to withdraw cash from the game for fear of regulatory retaliation from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Uzbek officials took a similar stance on The Open Network’s popular Hamster Kombat game, explaining that the country would not ban the game but would warn users not to withdraw or trade in-game currency.
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