Gaming serves as a sandbox to explore tech avenues — Mysten Labs exec

Christian Thompson, the chief information security officer at Mysten Labs — the primary contributor to the Sui Foundation — described gaming as a sandbox that allows developers to explore different technologies. 

At the Future Blockchain Summit in Dubai on Oct. 14, Thompson told Cointelegraph how gaming plays a role in the Web3 space and the company’s upcoming hardware gaming device, “SuiPlay0X1.” 

According to Thompson, gaming is an “interesting playground” for technologists to explore the Web3 space. The executive highlighted that Web3 is a convergence of technologies like artificial intelligence, decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

Thompson said that gaming provides Mysten Labs with a way to experiment and apply these technologies. “Gaming isn’t just about gaming for us. It is really this idea that we get this sandbox and be able to explore all of the avenues of technology,” he said. 

Giving gamers access to Web3

On Sept. 3, Mysten Labs announced the SuiPlay0X1, a hardware Web3 handheld gaming device expected to be delivered in the first half of 2025. The company said this will allow users to play games built on the Sui blockchain and games on PC. 

When asked about the upcoming device, the Mysten Labs executive did not disclose many details but mentioned that they aim to allow users to interact with technologies like AI, DeFi and NFTs. He explained: 

“SuiPlay0X1, for us, is really the first entry of a hardware device for gaming and Web3. It will allow our users to interact with all of the technologies that I just spoke about and really have that dynamic sort of interaction.”

The executive explained that they wanted to focus on hardware to give users an easy way to interact with Web3 technology. 

Related: Regulation by enforcement leads to ‘exodus’ of talent — RAK DAO exec

User experience hindering gamers from trying Web3

In a survey by Web3 gaming protocol Elympics, the complexity of crypto wallets was one of the top barriers that prevented gamers from trying out Web3 games. Over 10% of survey participants put complicated crypto wallets as the primary reason they haven’t played blockchain-based games. 

When asked about onboarding gamers, Thompson told Cointelegraph that historically, the experiences of getting wallets and into Web3 gaming systems “have not been good.”

Despite this, the executive said that their team has been working on streamlining this user experience and shared that they’ve developed a way for users to use their Facebook or Google accounts to get an immediate wallet with a single click. 

“That user experience will certainly get better and better over time, but we have a ways to go there for sure,” Thompson added. 

Magazine: Web3 Gamer: How AI could ruin gaming, The Voice, addictive Axies game