Are you ready for the next iteration of the World Wide Web? That’s the question Yat Siu, co-founder and chairman of blockchain gaming firm Animoca Brands, posed to participants at the Asia Pacific Summit convened by Urban Land on Wednesday, August 31st.

Siu opined that the digital world might transition to Web3, the next iteration of the internet, much sooner than anticipated. He explained that millions of possible new players might emerge in the open metaverse over the next eighteen months, including fresh entrants to blockchain gaming offering more technologically advanced products.

At present, there are around 3.2 billion people worldwide who play digital games regularly, particularly those within what Siu called the enclosed metaverse. Over time, these players have created unique online identities, established virtual communities, and even claimed “ownership” of digital goods which are, in reality, merely being rented or leased out to them by developers or gaming platforms.

A Shift in Ownership Rights

The emergence of Web3 is expected to change this.

The new decentralized edition of the net may shift the balance of ownership from developers to users, enabling the latter to have greater cross-platform freedom throughout the open metaverse. Siu believes that this is an aspect that will change the game, as users will appreciate the freedom to explore ways to use their NFTs in a greater expanse of the digital field.

Physical constraints, in Siu’s opinion, are no bar to the impending transition. Indeed the bulk of the required physical infrastructure has been in place for some time now.

He also believes the transition won’t be hindered by physical constraints. Much of the underlying infrastructure in terms of the actual hardware and networks needed to support the transition to Web3 is in place already.