Devising a Revival Strategy for Web3 Gaming: An Interview With Stables Founder Constantin Garreau

I recently spoke with Constantin Garreau, founder of Stables. In our conversation, we discussed the problems of the Web3 gaming industry and a potential strategy for its revival. 

Constantin also discusses the potential impact of NFTs and in-game asset ownership on the broader gaming industry.

Hello Constantin, it’s great to have you with us. Can you please introduce yourself and share your journey with our readers?

Hi, I’m Constantin Garreau, the founder of Stables, a French horse-racing fantasy game that integrates real horse-racing with Web3 capabilities.

I’m building Stables for Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU), the 1st horse-racing betting organization in France. I joined PMU in February 2020, and since January 2022, I’ve been working as the Director of Innovation at PMU.

Prior to that, I was a Senior Strategic Accounts Advisor at Contentsquare, a digital experience insights platform.

I’ve also worked at Salesforce as a Marketing Account Executive for South EMEA and Strategic Account Executive.

Currently, I’m focussing on Stables to build an innovative game and rethink financing the French Equestrian industry.    

Why do you think the blockchain gaming sector crashed so severely? Can you tell us the main problems affecting the Web3 gaming industry?

I think there are multiple factors that led to the crash of the blockchain gaming industry.

To begin with, most Web3 games focussed on unsustainable tokenomics models that were just get-rich-quick Ponzi schemes.

These games relied on market speculation where the game economy compelled users to cash out their rewards in secondary marketplaces.

Most of these games had a shabby layout without any engaging narrative or interesting gameplay. Thus, players didn’t come to Web3 games to play and enjoy but to participate in a speculative frenzy over token prices.

The absence of high-level graphics, compelling characters, and a fun community experience contributed to the steady decline of blockchain gaming.

Is there a way out for the Web3 gaming sector in 2023? How do you think the industry can recover without harming general users?

Yes, I’m hopeful that the Web3 gaming industry can come back with a bang if they follow a robust multi-pronged strategy.

The key is to capitalize on the fundamental principles of blockchain technology to ensure better protection for common users. 

On one hand, developers have to focus on building games with interesting plots and graphically-rich gameplay.

Rather than focussing only on tokenomics, Web3 gaming studios must ensure that they offer an AAA gaming experience to players.

On the other hand, blockchains can function on the backend to benefit gamers by enhancing the utility of in-game assets.

Leveraging NFT technology, developers can build games with better digital asset ownership and asset provenance capabilities.

Apart from true ownership of in-game assets, NFTs can create a strong community based on mutual interests.

This community will help games to retain players in the long run and collectively contribute towards a game’s development. 

For instance, Stables is utilizing NFT technology that will offer a unique gaming experience to its players.         

Tell us about how you feel Stables is contributing to the revival of the crypto gaming industry.

As I mentioned before, Stables is a fantasy horseracing game where you can truly own your horse and participate in horseracing. Each virtual horse is an NFT that is linked to a real horse in the French Equestrian market.

Players can use their NFT horses to compete against each other and earn exciting rewards.

We’ve put special emphasis on making Stables an engaging Web3 game that doesn’t depend on purchasing costly NFTs to win races.

Although each NFT horse has unique abilities depending on its real-world twin, players can hone their horse’s skillset.

Thus, strategic decision-making will help players to win races, keeping the game interesting and open-ended. 

Stables also intends to build a well-knit community of gamers who are passionate and invested in horseracing. Using a token-gated feature, we will offer exclusive experiences and privileges to the Stables community.

We hope that Stables will lead the revival of crypto gaming with a combination of high-quality gameplay, transparent asset ownership, and a robust community.      

How is Stables different from other Web3 games?

I think the fundamental difference is that Stables comes from a century-old company with an ambition to venture into the Web3 world.

We’re not here for short-term gains but want to change the French Equestrian industry forever with Web3 gaming.

Stables uses the official licenses of France Galop and Le Trot, bolstering our vision to take horseracing to a global stage.

Apart from such institutional backing, our gameplay rewards players who make intelligent decisions to win races.

So anyone can become the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the Stables community without any intensive monetary investments.

We believe that NFT technology will empower players to have sovereign ownership over their gaming assets and build a well-knit community.

Stables is just getting started, and we have a lot lined up in 2023 with Gen1 and Gen2 NFT minting.

Built on a secure and energy-efficient Tezos blockchain, we’re hopeful that Stables will create an impact in the Web3 gaming scene.      

How do you think the Web3 gaming industry will shape up this year? Given that you talked about NFTs and in-game asset ownership, how important will these concepts be in affecting the broader gaming industry?

It’s an interesting question. Let me answer this by sharing an anecdote that some people might already know.

Vitalik Buterin, one of Ethereum’s founders, lost a spell’s power in a World of Warcraft game due to centralized control of gaming assets.

Buterin wanted to build a technology that can give true ownership of digital assets to users.

Blockchain technology, in general, and NFTs, in particular, have the potential to offer sovereign ownership of in-game assets.

Although NFTs are a revolutionary technology in Web3 gaming, most traditional gamers have perceived this to be just another money-grabbing scheme.

Thus, gaming studios like Ubisoft and Electronic Arts have faced severe backlash for introducing NFTs into their games.

I think the messaging has been wrong, and there’s a lot of work to do in educating people about how NFTs work.

Despite the current slump in market conditions, there has been steady funding to develop Web3 games.

So I think we’ll see a lot of high-quality crypto games this year with NFT-powered technology revolutionizing in-game asset ownership and monetization channels.

A last word from Constantin…

Why do we recruit gamers instead of gamblers, and why do we think this is important? We believe gaming is a new way to consume digital content and that our industry will grow through these gamers.

Additionally, we want to pre-empt new markets that are forming, such as Sorare, because the link with the real world and physical experiences can add real value to the player's experience.