The Future of Web3 Games and Digital Ownership

Today Frank Downing and Nick Grous are joined by current CEO of Polygon Studios, Ryan Wyatt! A lifelong gamer and technology enthusiast, Ryan shares his journey through these worlds as a user and then as a professional before we dive into Polygon and some of the foundational elements of what they are doing in the gaming and non-fungible token (NFT) space. Ryan talks about the Polygon protocol, and also how the company relates and compares to its peers and adjacent technologies. From there, the bulk of our conversation is spent unpacking what Polygon Studios is bringing to the table and how they are aiming to attract customers through their unique value offer. We also cover exciting avenues in the gaming world and weigh how much of this is going to the move into the Web3 domain. Ryan also comments more generally on the buy-in to decentralization, interoperability concerns, and his perspective on the realities of the metaverse.

“We’re not really a studio. We’re not making any games in-house. We’re not creating any IP in-house. That’s very intentional, because I would never want to be at odds with any of the people that are building.” — @Fwiz Key Points From This Episode:

• Some background from Ryan on his journey through the world of gaming and media.
• Unpacking the Polygon protocol and how Polygon Studios fits into the ecosystem.
• Introducing Polygon’s role in the context of Ethereum and companies like Solana.
• The main products that Polygon is targeting as a means of attracting customers.
• Ryan shares some of the development happening at Polygon.
• The new toolset that is now available for game development.
• Possibilities for the future of the play-to-earn model and cosmetic purchase options.
• Considering mass adoption of Web3 and the current readiness for this.
• The spectrum of investment in the idea of decentralization.
• Interoperability arguments and Ryan’s thoughts about how best to tackle some of the issues.
• The transition that Ryan made from YouTube to Polygon and his reflections on the contrast.
• Ryan’s perspective on the potential of the metaverse.