Web3 and Deep Play: Blockchain Gaming in the Global South

Chair: Dr. Penn Tsz Ting Ip, Hong Kong Metropolitan University

Speaker: Saskia Witteborn, The Chinese University of Hong Kong 

Discussant: Jianhua YAO, Fudan University

About the Lecture:

Blockchain-based games and other Web3 applications have been explored in the media and communication literature through various theoretical lenses. The talk engages with this literature and expands existing arguments through the study of play-to-earn gaming and the concept of sociotechnical affordances. Specifically, the study addresses the situated sociotechnical affordances of Web3 technologies in the context of the play-to-earn game Axie Infinity in the Philippines. The data corpus encompasses interviews with play-to-earn communities in the Philippines, social media, and document analysis. The arguments illustrate first how a history of labor out-migration, business process outsourcing, and uncertainty during the Covid-19 pandemic have created the setting for blockchain and cryptocurrency adoption in the country. Against this background, the analysis shows how the engagement with the technical and social affordances of the Web3 game depends on the socioeconomic status of users and collectively meaningful cultural practices. Moreover, the study explores why young women were attracted to the game and to the Web3 economy. The talk argues to complement narratives of technological victimization in the Global South through narratives of strategic aspiration. At the same time, the talk cautions against corporate narratives of Web3 hype and the promotion of financial speculation as opportunities for the poor in lower-income countries. Overall, the discussion emphasizes the importance of situated research and a focus on economic globalization, cultural practices, and demographic markers to understand better how and why people engage with the affordances of Web3 in general, and gaming in particular.