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The following transcript is from a conversation on the topic of NFTs in gaming, featuring Aleksander Larsen, Cofounder and COO, Sky Mavis/Axie Infinity; Gabby Dizon, Cofounder and CEO, Yield Guild Games; and Jonathan Lai, General Partner, a16z. This conversation took place during GDC 2022 at an a16z-hosted event.

Jon: Thank you, everyone, for joining us. I’m Jon. I’m a general partner at a16z. Today we are talking about topics that I know are near and dear, and on everyone’s minds here at GDC, which are NFTs, Web3, and the impact in games. So, I’m honored to be joined by two luminaries in the Web3 games industry. Aleks Larsen, the cofounder and COO of Sky Mavis, which is behind Axie Infinity, and Gabby Dizon, the cofounder of Yield Guild Games.

Let’s jump into it. Aleks and Gabby, we’ve heard a lot this past year about how NFTs and Web3 games are totally going to change the way people game, and the way the industry evolves. Let’s break it down into specifics. First, from a player perspective, what are some of the things that we can do today with NFTs or other Web3 primitives that were not possible before?

Gabby: Speaking as a player from a developing country, the Philippines has always been one of the soft launch countries for games because there’s a lot of people who like to play who are very active on the social side. But people weren’t always able to receive real-world rewards for the time and skill they spent in-game. Now with NFTs in games, people can own their assets, and then participate in the game economy. So, that’s been huge for people from my country and other developing markets that have been able to participate in game economies, such as in Axie Infinity. It has allowed them to own digital assets that have their own value in the form of NFTs, like Axies or tokens. It’s just really changed the way people look at games. I think almost 2% of Filipinos play Axie Infinity, so it’s been a huge game-changer for the entire population.

• Twitter

The following transcript is from a conversation on the topic of NFTs in gaming, featuring Aleksander Larsen, Cofounder and COO, Sky Mavis/Axie Infinity; Gabby Dizon, Cofounder and CEO, Yield Guild Games; and Jonathan Lai, General Partner, a16z. This conversation took place during GDC 2022 at an a16z-hosted event.

Jon: Thank you, everyone, for joining us. I’m Jon. I’m a general partner at a16z. Today we are talking about topics that I know are near and dear, and on everyone’s minds here at GDC, which are NFTs, Web3, and the impact in games. So, I’m honored to be joined by two luminaries in the Web3 games industry. Aleks Larsen, the cofounder and COO of Sky Mavis, which is behind Axie Infinity, and Gabby Dizon, the cofounder of Yield Guild Games.

Let’s jump into it. Aleks and Gabby, we’ve heard a lot this past year about how NFTs and Web3 games are totally going to change the way people game, and the way the industry evolves. Let’s break it down into specifics. First, from a player perspective, what are some of the things that we can do today with NFTs or other Web3 primitives that were not possible before?

Gabby: Speaking as a player from a developing country, the Philippines has always been one of the soft launch countries for games because there’s a lot of people who like to play who are very active on the social side. But people weren’t always able to receive real-world rewards for the time and skill they spent in-game. Now with NFTs in games, people can own their assets, and then participate in the game economy. So, that’s been huge for people from my country and other developing markets that have been able to participate in game economies, such as in Axie Infinity. It has allowed them to own digital assets that have their own value in the form of NFTs, like Axies or tokens. It’s just really changed the way people look at games. I think almost 2% of Filipinos play Axie Infinity, so it’s been a huge game-changer for the entire population.