Crypto Who? Making Web3 Gaming Accessible to Everyone

My Neighbor Alice Marketing Director Joana Baruch shares her journey from Microsoft Xbox to Web3 gaming, revealing how they overcame entry barriers to reach 100,000 users in less than two months after launch.

• From managing Xbox brand at Microsoft to launching a token at ExceedMe with zero crypto knowledge
• Breaking out of the Web3-only bubble by making games accessible to mainstream players
• Implementing one-click browser play with no wallet requirements using Web3Auth
• Balancing marketing for both crypto-savvy investors and traditional gamers across different platforms
• Using KOLs, gaming guilds, and a token airdrop campaign to drive adoption in global markets
• Creating authentic connections through showing the human faces behind Web3 projects
• Believing that eventually "Web3 gaming" will simply become "gaming" when the technology becomes invisible

Follow Joana on X or LinkedIn for more insights into Web3 marketing and gaming.

Web3 gaming has often been criticized for its high barriers to entry, with complicated wallet setups and technical knowledge requirements frustrating mainstream players. However, Joana Barros, Marketing Director at My Neighbor Alice, has demonstrated that these obstacles aren't insurmountable. In a recent Web3 CMO Stories podcast episode, she shared how her team successfully bridged the gap between Web3 and traditional gaming communities, reaching 100,000 users in under two months after their full launch.

Joana's journey into Web3 gaming is itself fascinating. After five years at Microsoft, where she spent two years managing the Xbox brand in Portugal despite having no gaming background, she discovered a passion for the industry. "It's really easy to fall in love with gaming even if you are not a gamer," she explains. "You are working with how people spend their free time, and that's a lot of passion." This understanding of gaming as an emotional experience rather than just a product would later inform her approach to Web3 marketing.

Following her time at Microsoft and a venture into edtech during COVID, Joana entered the Web3 space in December 2020. Despite having zero background in blockchain or cryptocurrencies, she immersed herself in the industry, reading extensively, listening to podcasts, and building connections. Her first role involved project managing a token launch for ExceedMe, throwing her into the deep end of Web3. This experience taught her the value of decentralization in gaming – giving players ownership of their in-game assets and making them the true centerpiece of the gaming ecosystem.

When Joana joined My Neighbor Alice as Marketing Director, she faced a provocative challenge: how to reach one million players. She quickly realized that focusing solely on Web3-native players would severely limit their growth potential. "We have to open up the game, lower the entry barriers so that we can also onboard Web2 players," she explained. This realization drove their strategic shift over the past year, culminating in their successful June 2023 launch.

The team implemented several key changes to make the game more accessible. First, they made it playable directly in a browser, eliminating the need to download a launcher – a significant barrier, especially for skeptical Web3 newcomers. Second, they created a one-click play option, allowing immediate access to the game world. Most importantly, they implemented Web3Auth, enabling users to create accounts using just an email or phone number, with the platform automatically generating a wallet in the background. "This way, there is no excuse for a non-Web3 savvy person to join the game," Joana notes.

This strategic repositioning required careful marketing execution across multiple channels. On X (formerly Twitter), they balanced content about the game itself with discussions about Web3 technology and trends to engage their crypto-native audience. Meanwhile, on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Discord, they focused almost exclusively on the game experience – highlighting landscapes, outfits, and gameplay without emphasizing the underlying technology.

The launch strategy also included partnerships with key opinion leaders (KOLs) and gaming guilds, with a particular focus on Asian markets where simulation games traditionally perform well. They also implemented an in-game rewards platform offering an airdrop campaign of half a million ALICE tokens over four months, providing additional incentives for player engagement and retention.

Joana believes the future of gaming transcends the Web3/Web2 distinction. "I truly believe that in a couple of years maybe there will not be this thing of Web3 gaming," she states. "It doesn't really matter if we are a Web3 game or a Web2, or a mobile or whatsoever, if the experience is good enough." This philosophy – prioritizing player experience over technological distinctions – may well represent the path forward for blockchain gaming to achieve mainstream adoption.