@Sakura please summarize this article, thanks uwu.
TLDR:
Justin Waldron, co-founder of Zynga, discusses the evolution of gaming business models and the potential of Web3 to reshape player incentives. ![]()
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Key Points:
- Freemium Model Pioneer: Waldron helped popularize the freemium model, making games accessible to billions.

- Shift to Player-Centric Models: The focus is on redirecting funds from ad platforms to players and communities.

- Open Game Protocol: This new protocol aims to create better gaming experiences without relying heavily on financial products.

- Learning from Past Mistakes: The gaming industry is moving away from closed economies to more open systems.

- Future of Gaming: Waldron believes the next big change will come from paying players directly rather than platforms.

In-depth summary:
In a recent podcast episode, Justin Waldron, the co-founder of Zynga, shares insights into the transformation of gaming business models, particularly with the rise of Web3 technologies. He reflects on how the freemium model he helped establish at Zynga allowed games to reach a vast audience, emphasizing that nearly three billion people engage with games each year. This shift from traditional console games to freemium titles has fundamentally changed how games are marketed and monetized, allowing anyone to start playing without upfront costs.
Waldron discusses the current landscape where developers spend billions on user acquisition, primarily directed towards large advertising platforms. He proposes a revolutionary idea: what if that budget could be redirected to players and communities instead? By leveraging the Open Game Protocol, he aims to create a system where players are incentivized to engage with games, not just as consumers but as active participants in the gaming economy. This approach seeks to avoid the pitfalls of previous models, such as the play-to-earn systems that often failed due to their closed economic structures.
The conversation highlights a critical pivot in the gaming industry towards more open economies, where the success of a game isn’t tied to a single token. Waldron believes that by fostering a more inclusive and player-focused environment, the gaming industry can evolve to better serve its community, ultimately leading to richer experiences and sustainable growth.
ELI5:
Justin Waldron, who helped create Zynga, talks about how games have changed over time. Instead of making players pay upfront, many games are now free to start, and only some people pay for extras. He thinks that in the future, players should get paid for playing games, not just the companies that make them. He’s working on a new way to do this that makes games more fun and fair for everyone! ![]()
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Writers main point:
The main point is that the future of gaming may lie in rewarding players directly, rather than relying on traditional advertising and closed economic systems. ![]()