Open Games: How does B3 address the structural challenges of the Web3 gaming industry?

The Web3 gaming sector has fallen into a slump after experiencing an initial speculative frenzy. Industry insiders point out that the closed ecosystem structure is the fundamental issue restricting the development of the industry. To address this, a group of former Coinbase employees and founding members of the Base chain created the B3 project, aiming to break through the structural limitations of Web3 gaming by building third-layer infrastructure specifically optimized for games.

The B3 team has developed a high-performance, low-cost game customization infrastructure and built an open gaming ecosystem based on high interoperability. Their vision is not limited to addressing the limitations of the Web3 gaming industry but is also dedicated to providing new paradigms for the traditional gaming industry, including community-centric governance models, cooperative rather than competitive inter-game modes, and the development of an expanded virtual economy.

The Predicament of the Web3 Gaming Industry

Web3 games were initially garnering attention due to the new possibilities brought about by blockchain integration, being seen as a growth engine for the gaming industry. However, contrary to early expectations, public interest quickly cooled, and doubts about their "innovative nature" continued to fester. Data shows that the search volume related to GameFi has continued to decline after its peak, and the trading volume of major GameFi tokens remains low.

Nevertheless, many practitioners still firmly believe that Web3 games will rise again. However, once the speculative wave recedes, it is difficult to rebuild public trust. While the cryptocurrency industry finds new growth points through institutional adoption, the Web3 gaming sector is still stagnating in search of breakthroughs.

Today, Web3 games stand at a critical crossroads: will they become a true vehicle for innovation, or will they devolve into the final chapter of a speculative bubble? In order to move forward, the industry must confront its limitations and formulate a clear breakthrough strategy.

Fundamental Limitations of Web3 Games: Closed Ecosystems

The core crisis of Web3 games stems from the closed ecosystem structure. Although it markets itself on openness and interoperability, the reality often falls short. Blockchain technology theoretically allows users to own game assets and transfer them freely across platforms - this is precisely the core value proposition of the field.

However, the current Web3 gaming ecosystem presents a paradox: most games operate on isolated blockchain infrastructures, creating "walled gardens." This fragmentation limits industry growth potential by dispersing an already limited user base and diluting liquidity. Game companies compete in a zero-sum environment, vying for the "existing pie" rather than cooperating to "expand the pie," and this dynamic hinders innovation and drags down overall development.

To break through difficulties, Web3 games must break the closed structure and build an open and interoperable ecosystem. This requires going beyond technical fixes and making a strategic shift from individual competition to collaborative growth, allowing developers, platforms, and communities to create value together.

Some projects have begun to address this challenge. For example, the B3 project proposed the vision of "Open Games," aiming to fundamentally solve the interoperability problem from a structural level and provide a fundamental solution to the fragmentation of the Web3 gaming ecosystem.

B3: Opening a New Era of Open Game Ecosystem

B3 is a blockchain game infrastructure project created by former Coinbase employees and founding members of the Base chain. While building the Base ecosystem, the team identified a key limitation: existing blockchain infrastructure could not support the high transaction volume demands of gaming applications, leading to the development of a high-performance, low-cost solution specifically tailored for games.

The goal of B3 goes beyond optimizing throughput. After the mainnet launch in August 2024, the team will release the "Open Game Declaration", aimed at addressing the structural issues of Web3 gaming. The declaration advocates for maximum interoperability, making games no longer isolated islands, but rather components of an interconnected and open ecosystem.

The technological direction and grand vision of B3 have attracted the attention of top investors. The project has raised approximately $21 million in seed funding from several well-known institutions. As of May 2025, the B3 chain has reached 6.9 million wallet addresses, with a total of over 300 million transactions - establishing its leading position in the gaming infrastructure within the Base ecosystem.

Open Game Level 3: Game Optimization Infrastructure

The third layer of open gaming is the philosophical foundation and technical cornerstone of the B3 vision, achieving two main goals through the concept of third layer infrastructure:

First, develop a high-performance Rollup infrastructure "B3 Chain" to provide an optimized environment for games;

Secondly, assist game companies in building horizontally scalable "game chains" based on the B3 chain, maintaining interoperability while achieving independence.

The B3 chain provides infrastructure for game developers without the need for a dedicated blockchain. Built on the Base chain, it inherits the security and flexibility of the EVM stack, while achieving low-cost high-performance transaction processing through an off-chain scaling solution based on Optimium.

This off-chain third-layer infrastructure is specifically designed to meet the needs of the gaming industry. While existing second-layer solutions improve general performance, they still face limitations in cost and throughput when dealing with millions of concurrent gaming transactions. The B3 chain addresses this bottleneck with a third-layer architecture specifically designed for gaming.

As of July 2024, the transaction cost on the B3 chain is only $0.001, significantly lower than other mainstream public chains. This allows developers to operate chain games reliably and efficiently, eliminating cost friction.

The B3 team provides internal toolkits and technical support to companies developing "Game Chain" based on the B3 chain. This model is similar to a network of independent hotels connected through a global booking system - game companies maintain autonomy while achieving seamless interoperability within the larger B3 ecosystem.

These game chains adopt a center-radiation architecture: the Base chain acts as the central hub, while the B3 chain and each game chain serve as radiation nodes. This structure allows each game to operate in an independent high-performance environment while maintaining cross-chain connections and shared infrastructure. B3 extends the concept of Optimism's "super chain" to the third layer, providing a scalable framework that allows assets and interactions to flow freely between chains without sacrificing sovereignty.

Currently, multiple game studios are building game chains, which form the early pillars of the interconnected open game ecosystem supported by the B3 infrastructure.

Basement.fun: On-chain gaming platform

Basement.fun is the first front-end client of the B3 team, providing a user-friendly entry point for blockchain games. The platform allows users to experience blockchain games without the need for specialized Web3 knowledge, and provides developers with easy tools for deploying and managing blockchain games.

Users can register with just an email or phone number. The platform supports the integration of social logins and a global account model for various wallets. The guest mode allows for instant gaming without login, significantly lowering the entry barrier.

To enhance usability, Basement.fun adopts the self-developed B3 account and chain abstraction technology AnySpend. This feature allows users to instantly access cross-chain assets through a single login account - without the need for bridging or exchanging, providing a seamless experience similar to Web2, making blockchain games accessible to mainstream users.

In addition to gaming, Basement.fun also serves as a social hub to promote player interaction. The "Play-to-Win" real-time tournaments, which support an immersive experience through a blend of competition and cooperation, ensure transparency by recording all game processes and rewards on-chain.

Basement.fun also serves as a release platform, providing a web-based game launcher for easy deployment and management of blockchain games. Through this platform, developers can implement key blockchain features such as token gating, as well as a task system based on on-chain activities.

In addition, the platform offers operational tools such as game reviews, leaderboard management, and notification functions, allowing developers to focus on game design and content creation rather than backend infrastructure.

The Future Hypothesis of the Gaming Industry Opened by B3

B3's vision for open gaming not only brings new possibilities to Web3 games but also to the entire gaming industry. Despite decades of development, the traditional industry is still constrained by centralized decision-making and closed economic structures. B3 aims to break through these limitations by building a more open, interoperable, and community-driven ecosystem, paving the way for innovative new pathways.

Has the decision-making power in game development shifted from publishers to the community?

In traditional games, major publishers control core decisions, limiting development and creative diversity. Studios often rely on commercially validated remakes or sequels, rather than investing in new IPs - leading to a stagnation of innovation.

B3 will provide an alternative model through tokenized community governance. By using B3 tokens, the community can directly vote on game projects, and selected works will receive funding for development.

This model allows game development to more transparently reflect the interests of players rather than those of publishers. Similar to certain successful crowdfunding game cases, B3 aims to create a growth space for original player-driven creativity that is not constrained by top-down market logic.

Ultimately, the vision of open gaming for B3 goes beyond technological interoperability, introducing a more transparent and inclusive governance structure, shaping development direction by empowering the community, and injecting new vitality into the gaming industry.

Has the gaming industry shifted from competition to collaboration?

The traditional gaming industry has structural inefficiencies - most notably, the isolation of user data. This fragmentation leads to difficulties in precise targeting and cross-platform marketing. Coupled with rising customer acquisition costs and declining marketing efficiency, companies face severe challenges.

In contrast, B3 has launched a global state system that matches the vision of open games, allowing user data, achievements, and evaluations to be recorded and shared across all game chains. This shared infrastructure supports more precise and effective marketing.

B3 proposes various collaboration models based on high interoperability. The "Shared Incentive" model encourages games to expand their user base collectively through cooperation, replacing monopolistic user competition. The "Shared Liquidity" model facilitates the free flow of game tokens through B3 tokens or other underlying asset bridges. This allows games to focus on content development and ecological collaboration, rather than fragmenting resources in liquidity competition.

The collaborative ecological structure of B3 points out a sustainable long-term development path for Web3 games - transcending competitive fragmentation and moving towards shared value creation.

Is the boundary between gaming and finance becoming blurred?

The gaming industry has long connected the virtual and real economies. For example, some creators on gaming platforms monetize game content, and the economies built in certain virtual worlds can rival the GDP of small countries.

However, these economic systems operate in a closed environment. The platform providers and issuers charge high fees, and users are restricted to creating captured value within a specific ecosystem. This centralized structure of the platform hinders users from fully realizing their economic potential.

B3 builds an open and expandable economic ecosystem through high interoperability to address these issues. In the B3 ecosystem, various game chains support the seamless use of digital assets across game environments. The shared token accumulation model allows players to acquire premium items or special quests across games using B3 tokens, creating a value cycle that transcends the boundaries of individual games. This effect is similar to economic activities expanding from domestic markets to global trade, enhancing market scale and liquidity.

This structure separates users' economic activities from single