Web3 CMO Stories Crypto Who? Making Web3 Gaming Accessible to Everyone | S5 E35
The wall between Web3 and mainstream gaming is finally crumbling, and Joana Barros is helping to tear it down brick by brick. As Marketing Director at My Neighbor Alice, she's spearheading a revolution in how blockchain games approach player onboarding – with remarkable results.
Joana's journey to this role is fascinating. After managing the Xbox brand at Microsoft despite having no gaming background, she discovered how deeply passion drives the gaming industry. "You are working with how people spend their free time," she explains, "and that's a lot of passion." This insight would later inform her approach to Web3 gaming marketing after a surprising pivot into blockchain in late 2020.
When faced with the challenge of reaching one million players for My Neighbor Alice, Joana recognized the fundamental problem: entry barriers. While the game had built a dedicated Web3-native community since winning Binance Project of the Year in 2021, that audience alone couldn't sustain growth. Her team implemented three critical changes: browser-based gameplay (no downloads), one-click play access, and most crucially, Web3Auth – allowing account creation with just an email, generating wallets invisibly in the background.
The results speak for themselves – 100,000 accounts created in less than two months after their June 2023 launch. Their marketing approach carefully balanced dual audiences, using X (Twitter) to engage their crypto-savvy base while focusing platforms like Instagram and TikTok purely on gameplay experiences. Strategic partnerships with KOLs and gaming guilds, especially in receptive Asian markets, further amplified their reach.
Joanna's vision extends beyond immediate growth. She believes the distinction between Web3 and traditional games will eventually disappear: "It doesn't matter if we're a Web3 game or Web2 or mobile if the experience is good enough." This philosophy – that technology should serve player experience, not define it – represents the future path for blockchain gaming's mainstream adoption.
Ready to see how blockchain can enhance rather than complicate your gaming experience? Visit My Neighbor Alice today and discover a world where owning your digital assets feels as natural as playing the game itself.
This episode was recorded through a Descript call on August 8, 2025. Read the blog article and show notes here: https://webdrie.net/crypto-who-making-web3-gaming-accessible-to-everyone/