Imagine if you could make money from interacting with a game—from players, non-players, and even people who want to speculate on a game’s ecosystem.
This is a reality that Shards is creating today. Shards is a web3 brand offering a highly innovative approach to monetization through its unique SDK.
This platform doesn’t just focus on the gamers invested in racking up points or acquiring digital assets.
It broadens the playing field to include everyone. Developers, players, speculators, and even passive participants who may never touch a controller but are still interested in the financial possibilities that gaming ecosystems offer.
Shards integrate the competitive spirit of gaming with financial speculation, creating a dynamic economy where studios can monetize their non-gaming audience, too.
This groundbreaking approach leverages Web3 technology to enable game studios to tap into new revenue streams by allowing non-players to engage with the game ecosystem through asset speculation and financial services.
By integrating financial speculation directly into gameplay, Shards provides a frictionless experience that merges fun and economic opportunity, turning traditional gaming on its head.
The platform’s SDK allows game studios to offer tokenized assets that can be traded or speculated upon, giving non-gamers a stake in the game’s economy and generating new financial opportunities for everyone involved.
This isn’t just about revenue—it’s about creating a viral economy. Think about it—this is not just a win for players but for anyone who wants to capitalize on the economy of digital gaming.
As Corey Wilton, the CEO and Co-Founder of Shard, said,
“Shards’ free-to-plug SDK allows fractionalized ownership of in-game teams, allowing anyone to trade tokens of teams to drive more revenue and engagement to the game.”
The inclusivity and easy-to-integrate solution Shards present put games in a unique position. But not just game brands; the gamers and audience benefit from this.
In this article, we go in-depth into how shards work. If you’re excited about a viral gaming economy, you might love reading this article.
Shards: The mechanics.
When you log into a game powered by Shards. You are not just about to play; you’re about to step into an entire ecosystem where every battle, every decision, and every victory translates into real-world financial value.
Simply put. With Shards, games enhance monetization and rewards faster.
Because it is a monetization layer for Web3 gaming. Each move you make in the game isn’t just about personal glory—it’s about making everyone who owns a fraction of your team more money.
As you compete in battles and tournaments, your guild’s value fluctuates. You’re not just playing to win—you’re playing to increase your guild’s market worth.
And here’s where it gets even more interesting. Even those who are watching can speculate on your success and trade fractional ownership of your guild like stocks on the market.
The more you win, the higher your guild’s value, and the more everyone involved in your team profits. This includes you and those supporting you.
This dynamic of guild ownership and speculation turns every game into an opportunity to earn.
And guess what? You, the gamer, aren’t the only one making money. The people who’ve invested in your team—even if they’ve never picked up a controller—are profiting too.
Now, you’ve got not just fans, but a financially invested audience rooting for you.
And just like Corey Wilton, founder and CEO of Shards, said,
The technology aims to monetise non-game players for web3 games, adding an additional layer of revenue streams by creating a speculation flywheel across the entire game.
Shards: The Setting
Corey Wilton, founder and CEO of Shards, mentioned that the main focus of Shards is the monetization of non-players for Web3 games. This opens up an additional layer of revenue stream for games.
This was why in 2023, Corey and his team founded Shards to boost revenues for game studios, realizing that traditional methods like token launches and NFT sales don’t go far enough.
In his exact words, he said, “We asked ourselves, How do you succeed in getting money in Web3 gaming if the only two monetization methods don’t work?”
The setting in Shards? Think of it like the high-stakes world of finance, but dressed up in a Web3 gaming experience. Guilds, factions, and characters are all part of a competitive world, but it’s not just combat—it’s about speculation, trading, and profit.
As a monetization layer for Web3 gaming. Users can trade team fractions like tokens. Every guild isn’t just a team of players—it’s a tradable asset on the blockchain, and that’s where the magic happens.
But here’s the catch—this isn’t a typical linear storyline where you’re just following along. This is an open economy with real-time strategy baked into the very fabric of the world.
Every character, every asset, and every move you make in the game you play has value. On its own, Shards is simply the monetization layer integrated into the game you’re playing.
Whether or not you’re playing Citizen Conflict or AneeMate by QORPO World or REVENGE by Everreach Labs or OverTrip … shards SDK sparks up monetization in there like never before.
In Shards, you’re not just playing a game; you’re building an empire—one that stretches beyond the virtual walls into the real world.
Shards: How it Works
Shards was designed to offer an intuitive and distinct experience to game developers, teams, and backers. With an opportunity to discover guilds, own fractions, and earn.
Backers
Backers are individuals who spectate and support their favorite teams and share in the rewards. They get to choose their teams and purchase a fraction of their favorite teams in seconds. Track their performance, and then their teams dominate; they earn with them.
Backers simply find the team spirit and share their success. But first they have to snipe new teams early. By using the Shards dashboard to snipe fractions in the newest guilds before anyone else.
Sure, this gives them a first-movers advantage but also presents an opportunity to earn
Teams
People can build their eSports team. They can get the best players, play with their friends, or even scouts from existing teams. However they do it, they need to build a team that can do whatever it takes to win.
Backers really look at teams that have a chance of winning. It’s those teams they go on to buy a fraction of.
This is all about competition. Teams compete head-to-head against each other. They train, strategize, and compete for prizes (and money) in some of your favorite games.
Now here’s where it gets interesting. Teams can earn even if they do not win the head-to-head competitions. As long as they have some backers, teams can earn every time someone buys or sells a Shard of your team!
So it is important to build a strong team so backers can go on to buy or sell a shard of your team. And just like that, teams can turn their esports dream into a reality.
Game Developers
Remember shards is simply a monetization layer for Web3 games? These means With shards SDK, Web3 games can monetize their games even faster and easily, but not just that, they can also
- Boost their player retention
- Player life time value
- Conversion Rates
- And so much more.
They get to do these with minimal development effort from their end. They can integrate the Shards SDK: the game engine and chain agnostic. With simple walk-through steps and with the help of the Shards documentation and integration team.
With the shards SDK, game developers can enable the trading of “fractions” or shares of teams on their game and earn 3-4% of all the fraction trading volume on our platform.
More than that, they can run amazing tournaments. Teams can make these competitions more intense and leverage Shards as a monetization layer to scale profits.
Get moolah without the grind!
According to Corey, the project’s early campaigns have already seen over 10,000 trades worth over $300,000 in a 30-day window.
This, along with the success of early-stage games like Petopia, demonstrates that people enjoy the SDK as it encourages competition and speculation.
But here’s a question for you: What are your thoughts on playing the games you love, but the rewards are those virtual items that have no value?
Wouldn’t you prefer playing games that have an integrated Shards monetization layer? To earn more and play even more exciting games? If yes, check out Shards here.