Wax CEO William Quigley: In Game Ownership is Coming - BlockTelegraph

* * * * * Gamers complained and blockchain listened.

Online gaming — now a $100 billion market — continues to be one of the fastest growing industries globally. But with that growth has come pains with gamers complaining that they don’t necessarily own their in-game purchases even though they want to. That hiccup could threaten revenues at some of the largest industry players.

Enter the blockchain, which Worldwide Asset eXchange CEO William Quigley says is a top of example of a real-world use case for blockchain to solve a specific problem. BlockTelegraph sat with William to get a handle on this market.

1. What is WAX’s role in the market for online gaming?

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2. Game developers used to make money off of game purchases. That’s shifted to in-game purchases. Why?

Developers have shifted their focus to free-to-play games because they are able to attract a wider audience when a game is free. The free-to-play business model is superior for acquiring customers because it draws players to the game, and then encourages users to purchase in-game items to generate revenue. Players can experiment with the game for free, they can choose to buy virtual items or skins after they have decided that they like the game. Plus, players enjoy the self-expression that comes with acquiring items they can use to customize their gaming experience.

3. What does it mean to “own” an in-game” purchase?

Virtual items today exist only in the video games where they were created, which means they do not exist outside of those video games. For example, many prohibit the transfer of item ownership and restrict item’s use to a certain game or platform. They can also revoke or ban access to the gamer’s items at their discretion – regardless of how much money the player spent on them. In the end, gamers do not truly own the content that they purchase.

WAX virtual items exist on a global blockchain platform that can be accessed by everyone. The virtual items held in a WAX account belong to the owner of that account. They can gift them, sell them and trade them because they are the true owners.

4. How does blockchain solve the ownership problem?

The inception of blockchain technology is radically changing the status quo of video gaming and outdated ownership protocols. Ultimately, virtual items created on a blockchain will stay on that blockchain forever. They belong to their owners. The blockchain is the most secure way to hold the items, and with WAXExpressTrade users can trade those virtual items for free to anyone.

Blockchain technology makes true ownership possible. If an in-game item can be traded between two parties, then that item can be traded on the WAX Blockchain. Once they’re on the WAX Blockchain, they can then be traded to any compatible wallet, game inventory, marketplace, account, etc. It allows players to take their items out of a restricted game environment, and do all kinds of things with them. Blockchain transcends all the intricacies of individual trading mechanics – the only common denominator necessary is that they are all traded on the same blockchain.

5. How have WAX’s markets formed so far?

The market response to the WAX blockchain has been very positive. In just 6 months since its launch, WAX quickly became the #1 blockchain by transaction volume in the world. Over $2 million worth of virtual items are traded on WAX every 24 hours. That is over $700M a year on an annual basis. WAX is unlike any other blockchain project, not just because of its rapid consumer adoption, but also because WAX has built the complete set of services needed to conduct e-commerce on a blockchain. The secrets to WAX’s success has been its ease of use, and its zero cost to trade.