How Brycent supports a new gaming economy with NFTs
Bryce Johnson, better known as Brycent, is a leading voice in Web3 gaming. A longtime player, he first stumbled upon NFTs when he heard Axie Infinity — called Pokémon on the blockchain — mentioned on a podcast in early 2021. It was a perfect fit for Brycent, who grew up playing Pokémon and worked as a software engineer.
The timing was also right. A recent startup venture had failed, and Brycent decided to return to a nine-to-five job, intending to play games in his spare time. Little did he know that his passion for gaming would soon lead him on an incredible journey, making him a key figure in the new Web3 gaming landscape.
As a 2023 NFT100 fee, nft recently sat down with Brycent to discuss his journey to gaming prominence and his thoughts on the future of the space.
Discover Axie Infinity
Brycent acknowledged that developers could not create a sustainable reward token and, in his words, “print money out of nowhere.” Instead, in his eyes, success in Web3 games requires two crucial elements: entertaining content and education about the value of blockchain technology. “I saw that gaming to earn tokenomics was not sustainable and I got a lot of backlash for it,” he admits.
Brycent continued to forge his own path after signing with Gary Vaynerchuk’s VaynerSports in 2021.
Building a Web3 gaming brand
With its daily streams and sharp industry commentary, Brycent quickly became a knowledge base for newcomers to Web3 gaming. Through 2022, he focused on building his community across Twitter, YouTube and Twitch, where he now has over 300,000 combined followers. He has amassed a following thanks to his commitment to iteration, soliciting feedback, creating consistency and embracing the possibility of failure.
Brycent’s dedication to his craft led to him winning the Gam3r’s Choice Content Creator of the Year Award. He also helped to found Loot Squadan NFT Gaming Guild specializing in building blockchain consumer products and yield farming in NFT Games, further cementing his position in the industry.
Behind the scenes, Brycent now works with a team of editors, community managers and more, many of whom he met during his Axie Infinity days as part of the game’s scholar program. Through this program, players like Brycent, who have complete sets of Axie NFTs but had limited availability, could support players who had enough time but lacked the financial means to participate in the game.
Although Brycent has achieved considerable success, he is far from complacent. He says: “I want to be a leader. Not just in games and not just in Web3. But across web2, Web3 and entertainment in general.”
Brycent on TikTok, YouTube and what’s next
Reflecting on the current state of content creation, Brycent says, “I think we’ve gotten to a place where we overvalue 15-second videos. Yes, the metrics for that content may be good, but what is memorable about it?”
A successful YouTube channel, according to Brycent, has the potential to drive followers to other platforms, something he doesn’t see happening with TikTok and other short-form channels. He notes, “I know a lot of creators who have millions of TikTok followers and only a few thousand on other channels. What good is that to anyone?”
Even TikTok seems to be shifting towards long-form content, acknowledging, as Brycent does, that short-form content can boost superficial metrics but not make a real impact.
With this in mind, Brycent plans to invest more time in long-form YouTube content – “old reliable” as he calls it – to build a sustainable ecosystem in Web3. As for what those videos will look like, he wants to focus on educational content and broader game commentary as he moves forward.
His Twitch channel, where he streams four hours a day from Monday to Friday, remains his lifeline. But he plans to expand his streaming hours to YouTube, concentrating on making fewer high-impact, high-quality videos.
Embracing the future of Web3 gaming
Brycent believes there is a significant opportunity for other creators to participate in Web3 games and welcomes the competition.
He is convinced that challengers will push him and everyone else to improve. “There is a lack of people who want to be tastemakers in the right way in Web3[…]my content is not based on whether i make a dollar from it or not. I want to entertain and educate.” True to his word, Brycent doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s been known to do impersonations during streams and freestyle for extended periods of time.
Despite his playful attitude, Brycent is realistic about the challenges facing Web3 games. He envisions the space struggling with mainstream adoption for some time due to its niche nature. However, he expects a few games, such as Dr DisRespect’s Deaddrop, to see mass adoption this year despite the wider market being flooded with “pixelated junk” and Ponzi schemes.
Brycent is determined not to be the guy who hypes games that don’t make it. Instead, he wants to be the voice game studios turn to when the market takes off: someone with an audience of open-minded gamers eager to explore and push the boundaries of something new.
He positions himself as “that guy” by creating meaningful, educational and entertaining content. “Good content is like good music,” says Brycent. “You can listen to Stevie Wonder today and it still hits. I want to create content like this. The kind that I can look back on in 10 years and see that it’s still impactful and still relevant.”
Want more NFT100 honoree interviews? Get the full list of everyone we spoke to here.
