Key Takeaways
- Web3 games built to reward players have created a culture of casual investors, not gamers.
- Somnia is capable of handling over 1 million TPS.
- The network currently hosts over 60 live games and applications.
Web3 gaming has come a long way in recent years, but it still faces a key challenge: winning over traditional gamers.
Despite the innovation, many titles have struggled to shake the perception that they prioritize profits over playability.
We spoke with Paul Thomas, founder of Somnia, a rising name in Web3 gaming and immersive entertainment, to understand what’s holding the space back and how it can evolve.
He shared his thoughts on what needs to change, how the industry can rebuild trust, and why fun must come before financial incentives.
Because if it doesn’t? Games that put earning before fun will fail, Thomas warns.
On-Chain Entertainment
Beginning his early career as a software engineer at Goldman Sachs, Thomas went on to lend his tech talents to Improbable, a future-facing venture capital and gaming tech firm.
At Improbable, he played a role in creating technology capable of hosting “tens of thousands of players in real time with full voice and interaction.” This eventually led to the development of its metaverse business, and Somnia was “spun out” to address a key gap.
He explains, “existing blockchains couldn’t support the kind of real-time, rich, persistent experiences we were building.” As a result, Somnia was created as a Layer-1 designed specifically for fully on-chain entertainment.
“Somnia is a Layer-1 built from the ground up for fully on-chain entertainment. Our aim in Web3 is simple: we want to make blockchain invisible, fast, and frictionless, so developers can focus on experiences and users can focus on what matters—just play.”
The network launched its testnet earlier this year, which has already seen over 60 projects go live, including games like Sparkball, Maelstrom, Variance, and Masks of the Void.
“What ultimately brings them to Somnia is our performance, simplicity, and support offering. The Somnia network’s key USPs are its speed—with over 1 million TPS—our vibrant and active community, and grant systems like our Dream Catalyst Accelerator.”
Somnia also offers software development kits (SDKs) for Unreal Engine and Unity, two of the most popular and powerful game development engines.
Noting their ability to turn 3D assets into interoperable game items, Thomas believes this will give studios the tools they need to unlock the full potential of blockchain through Somnia.
Record Speeds
Somnia recently broke Ethereum’s daily transaction record with over 80 million transactions in a single day—an achievement that was no accident, according to Thomas.
“It comes down to the custom execution engine we built from scratch and IceDB, our database designed for real-time throughput,” he adds.
The milestone demonstrates that fully on-chain, high-speed applications are possible. But as Thomas puts it, “the real test is what will be built on top.”
Helping developers push the boundaries of what’s possible with games, AI agents, and complex experiences is now a top priority.
“We continually provide opportunities for our community to engage with the network. Either through quests, challenges, or the games themselves, there’s always a reason to transact, which really drives activity,” Thomas notes.
One standout example is Chunked, a voxel-based MMO on-chain game. Thomas notes it as a major success story—players mined every possible block in less than a month.
“It’s funny that the initial run of the game only coded for 1,027 pickaxes because anticipated player numbers were much lower than we actually saw, which you could consider a fail of sorts,” he said.
The game reached over 70,000 concurrent players. Despite the creative scrambling for mining tools, the chain itself “didn’t stress at all.”
Still, Thomas acknowledges that Web3 gaming remains in its early days, mostly because “most blockchains” aren’t built to handle fully on-chain apps or games. But Somnia aims to be the exception.
“Speed, scale, and support. We process over 1 million transactions per second, have sub-second finality, sub-cent fees, and EVM compatibility—and we’ve reached 1.6 billion transactions on our testnet alone. Currently, this is unmatched in the industry.”
Yet even with impressive technical benchmarks and engaging gameplay, Thomas knows that’s not enough to win over traditional gamers—an audience that remains wary of Web3.
Players, Not Investors
Crypto has a reputation problem, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) haven’t fared much better. Unfortunately, Web3 gaming has inherited the worst of both.
From failed launches and abrupt shutdowns to outright scams, the space has struggled to build lasting trust.
And right now, the biggest draw for most “players” are clicker-style titles like Hamster Kombat and Bombie—games that promise small rewards in exchange for time, attention, and often money.
“We’re not nearly at the stage where Web2 gamers are playing on-chain en masse,” says Thomas. “And Web3 gaming generally doesn’t have the best reputation for executing quality projects that last.”
Most of these games fade into obscurity once the rewards are claimed and players move on to the next speculative opportunity.
“Until we reach a stage where Web3 gaming is perceived as genuinely positive for the gaming industry more broadly, our job isn’t done,” he adds. “We’d welcome more gaming chains to strengthen the space as a whole.”
A big part of the problem, Thomas explains, is that too many early projects led with speculation, not gameplay. “Ultimately, many blockchain games were built blockchain-first,” he says, creating a culture of what he calls “casual investors.”
“Gaming doesn’t work like this,” he adds. “Gaming is driven by creativity, culture, and community—and in the past, gaming developers have lost sight of this.”
Thomas says it has to start with building games that are actually fun and playable. Tokens and earning mechanics can come later, as a bonus, not the foundation.
He points to Off the Grid as a strong example of how Web3 can be integrated in a way that enhances, not overshadows, the game.
“Gamers can sign on to a massive platform like the PlayStation Store, download the game for free, and start playing—without setting up a wallet or even realizing they’re interacting with blockchain technology.”
Another standout for Thomas is Pirate Nation, a fully on-chain title that still manages to be fun.
“Fully on-chain games have a reputation for very simple gameplay with a heavy focus on financial features and rewards,” he says. “but Pirate Nation is one of the rare games that was able to strike a good balance, resulting in a fun game that people want to play because they actually enjoy it, regardless of the rewards.”
Thomas says that Web3 gaming could do with less overpromising. There’s too much hype that “isn’t necessarily substantiated.”
Most importantly, it’s about treating gamers as more than just that. In Web3, they’re active members of a growing ecosystem that comprises games, DeFi, fan experiences, and other on-chain communities.
“Rewards should feel like a natural extension, not the main goal,” he says. Otherwise, Web3 will continue to attract users with “misaligned motives.”
Somnia supports “play-to-own and dynamic economies”, but without sustainable economies and games that offer a return “joy, and not just money”, the sector may stagnate.
In Bloom
Somnia’s testnet, Shannon, is very fast.
It launched at the beginning of 2025 and has since handled well over 1.6 billion transactions with an average block time of 0.1 seconds.
Under “stress test” conditions, Somnia’s devnet exceeded 1 million transactions per second (TPS) and fees of less than $0.01, indicating huge potential.
“We also need to take a minute to mention the incredible Somnia community that has supported us throughout our whole journey.”
Adding:
“I truly believe community is a non-negotiable when it comes to anything web3, so having such a band of Somniacs behind us is a real strength, not just for Somnia but for projects wanting to join the ecosystem.”
According to Thomas, the “next phase of the network” is coming soon. Light on the details, he notes that “one thing” he can share is a new partnership with Google Cloud.
“We are combining their technical backbone, AI agent frameworks and security layers with Somnia’s real-time entertainment-focused chain. It is about making sure developers have the best possible building blocks.”
But, even with the best team and tools around, crypto remains a painfully volatile economy, and it’s likely that dozens, if not hundreds, of projects will rise and fall this year.
“We have faith in our underlying technology,” he says.
Thomas is confident that Somnia’s current strengths and increasingly diverse ecosystem of entertainment, DeFi, and dApps will keep the network afloat during difficult periods.
“The high performance, the sub-cent costs, and the sub-second finality are fundamental foundations for making this possible online today.”
He adds:
“If we strip web3 of all the other bells and whistles that are associated with the industry, there will always be a need to offer faster, cheaper and better solutions for businesses looking to connect with communities online, and these are our guiding principles.”
By 2027, Thomas is hopeful that blockchain will be an invisible element in video games. Furthermore, Somnia will be powering thousands of real-time apps across games, entertainment, AI, and finance.
“We want to be the place where developers build what’s next and where the next generation of entertainment and commerce is born.”
Eddie is a gaming and crypto writer at CCN. Covering the often weird and wonderful world of Web3 with an adoring, but skeptical eye.
Prior to CCN, Eddie has spent the past seven years working his way through the crypto, finance, and technology industry. He began with PR and journalism with Bitcoin PR Buzz and BitcoinNews.com, eventually working his way to become a copywriter with a dozen firms, including the likes of Polkadot before returning to journalism in 2023.
Having studied Radio production and journalism at University in the UK, Eddie spent a few years making podcasts and presenting on a local London radio station as he built up his writing chops.
A lifelong skateboarder, Eddie can often be found at the skatepark or touring the streets looking for something new to try. That, or kicking back playing JRPGs on his original PSP.
