Simon Davis, the co-founder and CEO of Mighty Bear Games, is a veteran in the gaming industry with almost two decades of experience. However, his journey into the gaming world was unexpected. Before venturing into crypto and gaming, Davis worked as a professional guitarist, playing in metal bands, cover bands, and teaching guitar to make a living. However, when the money from his music career dried up one summer, he took on a six-week gig as a professional game tester, which ultimately changed the course of his career.
Over the years, Davis has held various management and product lead positions at well-known gaming companies such as King Digital Entertainment, Ubisoft, Bigpoint, AKQA, Empire Interactive, and Laughing Jackal. In 2017, he teamed up with some friends and industry veterans to establish Mighty Bear Games in Singapore. Initially, the plan was to focus on creating traditional games, but in 2022, they pivoted to blockchain technology. In 2023, the company launched an open beta for its first Web3 gaming title, Mighty Action Heroes.
Davis, who is often referred to as “Papa Bear,” has a unique approach to running his company. Each employee at Mighty Bear Games receives a “bear title,” with names like “Arty Bear,” “Bear-Abel,” “Excel Bear,” and “Bear McNumbers.” This playful and inclusive culture is a reflection of Davis’ leadership style and the overall atmosphere at the company.
The decision to pivot to blockchain gaming was influenced by Davis’ early exposure to Bitcoin in 2015 and his exploration of NFTs in 2021. Living in Southeast Asia allowed him to witness the rise of Axie Infinity and the growing interest in crypto and Web3 technologies. Davis believes that player-owned and operated economies will become the dominant business model for live service games in the future. He argues that digital property rights are essential for the development of virtual worlds and enable new possibilities that have only just begun to be explored.
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When it comes to attracting users to blockchain gaming, Davis believes that mobile gaming is the most promising platform, especially in countries where existing payment systems are not well-developed. Markets like Indonesia and Brazil, where people are predominantly unbanked, rely heavily on mobile devices. Davis considers the focus on high-end Web3 games to be misplaced, as the majority of potential users do not have access to the necessary hardware. Instead, he advocates for targeting the mobile market to reach a wider audience.
Despite the potential of blockchain gaming, there are still hurdles to overcome for large-scale adoption. Davis believes that the current user experience is lacking, particularly in terms of ease of use and security. He emphasizes the need to make blockchain gaming as user-friendly as Web2 experiences, where users don’t have to worry about managing private keys. He draws a parallel to the early days of the internet when setting up a dial-up connection was a complicated process but eventually became seamless for mass adoption. Davis anticipates meaningful improvements in the near future that will make blockchain gaming more accessible to mainstream users.
Addressing the negative reputation associated with blockchain and NFT gaming, Davis acknowledges that there are bad actors taking advantage of the lack of regulation. However, he also sees the positive side of the technology, such as games that allow players to earn small amounts of Bitcoin. He points out that mainstream platforms like Reddit have successfully introduced NFTs to a large audience, even if not everyone is actively transacting on-chain. Stealth onboarding, where users are introduced to blockchain without realizing it, can be an effective approach to changing perceptions and increasing adoption.
In terms of metrics for measuring adoption, Davis looks beyond the traditional installation and sign-up numbers. He focuses on factors like daily active users, user retention, and the growth curve of player engagement. As Mighty Bear Games prepares to launch its flagship game, Mighty Action Heroes, Davis is particularly interested in attracting non-crypto-native players and observing how they integrate with the existing crypto community.
Davis sees potential in new technologies like ERC-6551 tokens, which allow assets to communicate with each other directly without relying on external wallets. This opens up possibilities for more complex in-game interactions and expansion of the gameplay experience.
In conclusion, Simon Davis and Mighty Bear Games are at the forefront of the blockchain gaming industry in Southeast Asia. Davis’s unique background and experience in the gaming industry, combined with his early exposure to crypto, have positioned him as a leader in this emerging field. With a focus on mobile gaming and user-friendly experiences, Mighty Bear Games aims to drive widespread adoption of blockchain gaming and explore the full potential of Web3 technologies.
