Web3 Domains as Gamertags: Leveraging Blockchain to Create an Exclusive Digital Identity for Game Players

Game development is progressing at an accelerated pace as companies look for newer and unique ways of differentiating themselves in the competitive virtual space. Web3 names are a new concept utilizing blockchain innovation to offer gamers unique, authenticated, and decentralized online identities. In addition to the status that comes with using them, using a Web3 name as a gamertag guarantees ownership, compatibility, and digital sovereignty in the future.

Having the gamertag in a blockchain-based format will render you visible and known throughout the metaverse and beyond regardless of your skill level of play, content creation, or competition. The below discusses why gamertags are important, what domain names in Web3 are revolutionizing them, and an introduction to blockchain-based web3 domain names.

What Are Web3 Domains?

Web3 domains are decentralized domain names on blockchain networks like Ethereum or Polygon. The domain names are stored on the blockchain, and as such are completely controlled by the users, cannot be censored, and can be transferred without an intermediary like traditional names such as .com or .net. The most widely used extensions .eth, .crypto, .nft, and .x offer several utilities.

In addition to decentralized web existence, such a Web3 domain can additionally function as a metaverse identity, an identifier that can receive funds directly to, say, gamername.eth, and—a most pressing concern for gamers—a gamertag that is unique to them. The identity can be used by gamers on multiple platforms since it is minted as an NFT, which gives them full ownership rights. This article explains why gamertags are important, how Web3 domains are changing them, and how to get started with blockchain-based web3 domains.

Why use Web3 Domains as Gamertags?

1. True Possession and Mobility

Typical gamertags are tied to central platforms such as Xbox, PlayStation, or Steam. Your identity as well as your reputation can be lost in an instant in the case of banning or deletion of your account. In Web3 communities, users own gamertags with the blockchain retaining them forever. You carry your identity with you wherever you go because you carry with you your domain name (e.g., DragonSlayer.eth) that you hold in your cryptocurrency wallet and which you can use on any compatible Web3 or metaverse platform.

2. Interoperability Between Platforms

No environment exists in which Web3 gamertags are in short supply. They can be utilized as global usernames in decentralized games, NFT marketplaces, DAOs, social media like Lens or Farcaster, and even metaverses like The Sandbox or Decentraland.

With this content creator, pro player, and broadcaster interoperability for building personal brands, gamers are able to present an identifiable and constant persona on all platforms.

3. Greater Credibility and Confidence

Others are able to view your transaction history, your collections of NFTs, your gaming badges, and so on because Web3 domain names are open, traceable, and tied to a wallet address. Your gamertag is assigned social validation and credibility by such openness, thus making it easy to establish credibility within gaming communities.

For instance, owning unique achievements that pertain to your niche or an elite-level NFT in-game elevates your status as those are readily apparent and verified by other people.

Use cases for Web3 gamertags

Web3 gamertags are becoming increasingly useful with use cases that are revolutionizing the way players interact with games. A Web3 gamertag can be used as an in-game virtual badge in the case of eSports and tournaments where users can sign up for events and claim on-chain rewards in an open and secure manner. By linking NFTs to their Web3 domain names, users can authenticate that they own unique skins, weapons, or other game items and make digital property more exclusive and secure.

From a content creator’s perspective, Web3 gamertags are easy to embed in social media and streaming handles in platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, and Discord. This enables fans to confirm the identity of the creator and interact with them directly using messaging or tipping. Players can then make money off of their domains or get support by allowing the donation in the form of cryptocurrency directly to the individual gamertag wallet, such as streamtips.eth. Web3 domains enable team brand consistency; guilds or clans can reserve an identity such as ShadowClan.eth and distribute each of its members with a subdomain, setting up an organized, professional identity system (player1.shadowclan.eth).

Decentralized Gaming Identity is the Key to the Future

To game creators and serious gamers alike, having the gamertag as a Web3 domain will be the way of the future with boundaries between virtual economy, games, and metaverses continuing to blur. It is indicative of the power of identity, ownership, and permanence on the blockchain. To take on a blockchain gamertag is to do so much more than pick an alias; it’s to stake your claim on the future of identity