Thirdweb has appointed Atif Khan, formerly an executive at Meta, as its new Vice President of Gaming. Khan's recruitment aligns with Thirdweb's dedication to advancing the Web3 gaming industry. The company's commitment was recently exemplified by their development of a game from the ground up.
Based in San Francisco, Thirdweb is a startup that provides a complete toolkit for building Web3 infrastructure. Their platform empowers developers to create decentralized applications, such as blockchain games and NFTs. In a successful Series A funding round last year, Thirdweb secured $24 million, resulting in a valuation of $160 million. Noteworthy investors in the round included Haun Ventures, Polygon Labs, and Shopify.
Drawing on his extensive background as the Chief Operating Officer at Stardust and the Head of Mid-Market & In-App Ads for Global Gaming at Meta, Atif Khan joins Thirdweb with a wealth of experience. As the new team member, Khan is eager to leverage Thirdweb's robust toolkit to support and empower game developers.
The primary goal of Thirdweb is to simplify the process of Web3 game development. They achieve this by providing a holistic solution that eliminates the need for developers to navigate various platforms. However, Thirdweb also recognizes the needs of developers who require specific components from other service providers and accommodates them accordingly.
Thirdweb embraces a flexible approach that caters to studios seeking alternative RPC nodes or index relay providers. This modularity aligns with the growing trend among users who desire personalized experiences, especially when it comes to wallet options. Thirdweb supports a range of wallet choices, including smart, local, custodial, and non-custodial wallets, to meet the diverse preferences of users.
Thirdweb showcased the capabilities of their toolkit by creating a thrilling on-chain survival action game called Web3 Warriors. Within a remarkably short span of three weeks, the game was launched on Base's testnet, a scaling network on the Ethereum layer-2 developed by Coinbase. The game garnered significant attention, with more than 500 players and over 1,000 gaming sessions recorded in its inaugural week.
Thirdweb prioritizes the development of games that provide enjoyable gameplay and foster user engagement. They recognize the value of integrating blockchain features like non-custodial wallets and cosmetic NFTs into their gaming experiences. While addressing the challenges posed by the play-to-earn model, Thirdweb places a strong emphasis on delivering entertainment value, valuing it over solely focusing on cryptocurrency rewards.
Anticipating a shift in the industry's priorities, Atif Khan envisions a greater emphasis on the added value that blockchain can provide to both users and developers. He highlights the significance of community and social aspects in the success of games like Candy Crush. With a focus on creating accessible mobile games, Thirdweb aims to accelerate the adoption of Web3 technology and position itself as an indispensable developer tool within the Web3 ecosystem.
