Pushing Frontier Tech in Gaming

Nov 18, 2025

Join Marco van den Heuvel, co-founder of Beam, as he dives into the future of gaming with revolutionary tech like blockchain and AI. He reveals how Beam is building a gaming ecosystem that adapts to frontier technologies and discusses the complexities of tech adoption in gaming. Listen in as Marco explores the potential of programmable economies, the impact of AI in gaming, and exciting trends in esports and digital collectibles. A must-listen for anyone curious about the next wave of gaming innovation!

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ANECDOTE

From Community Work To Beam

Marco described his path from Web3 community work to founding Merit Circle and pivoting to Beam.
He explained Beam's shift to a gaming-first tech stack and frontier-tech investing focus.

INSIGHT

Gamers As Ideal Frontier Testers

Gamers are ideal early testers because they understand tech and give blunt feedback quickly.
That fast, honest feedback speeds iteration and reveals UX, latency, and economy issues early.

ADVICE

Design Transparent, Tweakable Economies

Use blockchain to create transparent, tweakable in‑game economies rather than only tradable assets.
Expose drop rates and real‑time economy data to design features like timed hunts and dynamic scarcity.

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Pushing the boundaries of what's possible in gaming often means embracing unproven technologies and building in the fog of innovation. In this episode, host Devin Becker is joined by Marco van den Heuvel, co-founder of Beam, to explore what it means to operate at the bleeding edge of gaming infrastructure. Marco shares the origins of Beam and its evolution into a gaming-focused ecosystem built around frontier tech that includes blockchain, AI, and beyond. The episode covers how Beam is navigating past the noise to uncover the practical, long-term opportunities these technologies can offer game developers and players alike.

The discussion also unpacks how AI fits into Beam’s broader vision, the future of esports from a tech-powered perspective, and what it will take for blockchain to hit the hype cycle “plateau of productivity.” Devin and Marco dig into the real hurdles in tech adoption, from developer onboarding to ecosystem incentives, while also speculating on what might lie ahead from AR to brain-computer interfaces. If you're interested in where the games industry might be headed next and how to prepare for it, this episode offers a grounded look at the intersection of emerging tech and gaming.

We’d like to thank Heroic Labs for making this episode possible! Thousands of studios have trusted Heroic Labs to help them focus on their games and not worry about gametech or scaling for success. To learn more and reach out, visit https://heroiclabs.com/?utm_source=Naavik&utm_medium=CPC&utm_campaign=Podcast

We’d also like to thank Neon – a merchant of record with customizable webshops optimized for conversion – for making this episode possible! Neon is trusted by some of the biggest names in gaming and can help you sell direct without the typical overhead. To learn more, visit https://www.neonpay.com/?utm_source=naavik

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Sound design by Gavin Mc Cabe.