GMGames secured an exclusive interview with Rebecca Liao, CEO of Saga, who pulls no punches discussing the failures of first-generation blockchain games. Liao reveals Saga’s radical technical and business strategy that could finally bridge the gap between traditional gaming and blockchain technology. As one of the few women leading a major blockchain company, her candid assessment and innovative approach present a compelling vision for what comes next in an industry desperate for reinvention.

The Autopsy of Web3 Gaming 1.0

“Web3 gaming is not niche. It’s dead.”

These direct words from Rebecca Liao cut through the typical industry optimism that characterizes most blockchain conversations. As CEO of Saga, Liao isn’t interested in sugarcoating the current state of blockchain gaming—she’s focused on building what comes next.

“Web3 gaming, as we have known it, does not work,” Liao explains. Her assessment comes from watching numerous projects attempt and fail to create sustainable blockchain games over the past several years.

The fundamental flaws became clear early in Saga’s journey. First among them: tokenomics that simply don’t function as viable business models. “If you rely on a token to generate revenue for the game, that’s not a revenue model,” Liao states plainly. Games that launched with tokens as their primary economic engine often saw initial speculative interest followed by rapid collapse once the novelty wore off.

This connects directly to the second major failure: the NFT crash. As floor prices for digital collectibles plummeted across the board, in-game assets marketed as NFTs suffered equally devastating value drops. What was once pitched as revolutionary player ownership quickly became a liability when those assets lost 90% or more of their supposed value.

“Web3 gaming, as we have known it, does not work,”

“In-game assets that were developed as NFTs, categorized as NFTs, really suffered,” notes Liao. The market discovered that simply labeling something an NFT didn’t create sustainable demand or value.

Perhaps most damaging was the industry’s fixation on producing “AAA” blockchain games despite lacking the resources needed for such ambitious projects. “There’s been a huge emphasis in Web3 gaming on finding the AAA game—our version of Call of Duty or Counter-Strike,” Liao observes. “But talking to anyone who’s been a game developer for a long time, AAA title in gaming period is very, very hard.”

Even established studios with massive budgets regularly produce expensive failures. For Web3 teams with limited funding, less game development experience, and minimal publishing connections, the goal of creating blockchain’s killer app was an unrealistic burden that set the entire space up for disappointment.

The technical limitations made these business challenges even worse. Games built on Ethereum or other layer-one blockchains not designed for scaling faced crippling performance issues. “Your transaction speed will be too slow. You will have to deal with gas fees. The user experience for executing transactions is really, really terrible and just completely disruptive to gameplay,” Liao explains.

Instead of enhancing the gaming experience, blockchain often became its biggest liability. Players faced friction at every turn—creating wallets, managing keys, paying fees, and suffering through laggy transactions that broke immersion and frustrated rather than delighted.

This cascade of failures led to a simple conclusion for Liao and her team: the approach needed complete reinvention, not incremental improvement.

“So in many ways, Web3 gaming as we know it just is not valid,” she concludes.

But spotting these failures also illuminated a path forward—one that would require rethinking not just the technology, but the entire business approach to bringing blockchain and gaming together. For Liao, who throughout her career has broken barriers as a woman in tech, identifying broken models and creating better systems is familiar territory.

“If you rely on a token to generate revenue for the game, that’s not a revenue model.”

Saga’s Technical Innovation

When Rebecca Liao and her co-founders started Saga, they didn’t set out to simply create another blockchain. They recognized that the fundamental architecture of existing platforms couldn’t solve gaming’s unique challenges.

“For us, because we were really built for hyper scaling… we realized that the biggest problem was in gaming,” Liao explains. This insight came from deep experience in both Web2 and Web3 spaces.

Saga’s core innovation is deceptively simple yet revolutionary: it’s “a layer one to launch layer ones.” This means a game can have as many dedicated blockchains as needed to support its performance requirements. Unlike other platforms where all applications compete for the same limited block space, Saga allows each application to scale independently.

“You should never run out of block space. You should never run into any scaling issues with that kind of architecture,” Liao says. This approach mirrors how traditional cloud computing scales in Web2 environments.

“This is how people scale in Web2 as well. This is how cloud scales,” Liao explains. “As a developer, you probably start off with one instance of AWS, but as your application grows, you just grow to multiple instances of AWS, and then pretty soon you have an entire cloud service that is working to power your application.”

The parallel to established cloud infrastructure is intentional. Saga’s team deliberately emulated proven scaling methods from Web2 that developers already understand.

What truly separates Saga from competitors attempting similar multi-chain approaches is automatic interoperability. Other platforms like Avalanche Subnets allow developers to create new chains, but those chains exist in isolation until manually connected.

“We are the only chain in crypto that does the same thing [as cloud computing]. You can have as many layer ones as possible.”

“The problem is, adding a chain doesn’t mean that chain is automatically connected to everything else. It is off on its own island, until you actually build all the bridges,” Liao points out. “Right now, Avalanche, anyone in the market actually, is doing all of this interoperability manually. That is not going to scale.”

Saga solved this by making connections automatic. “Any single time that you spin a chain on Saga, you already have all the bridges, all the connectivity, not just to the rest of Saga, but also out to any ecosystem that’s connected to us, which is pretty much all of them,” Liao notes.

This technical architecture is particularly well-suited for games because they represent one of technology’s most demanding use cases. “Gaming is usually the trailblazer because it is the hardest use case to solve for. Gamers are very demanding in terms of their player experience. They want a lot from the technology, and therefore you’re really going to test the limits of that tech,” Liao explains.

She draws parallels to other technologies that started in gaming before expanding to broader applications: “Nvidia, for instance, started off as a chip company specifically for gaming. It has evolved into many other things since then, obviously, but it cracked gaming, and that allowed it to build the best chips, the fastest chips possible on the market.”

Another example she cites is Slack, which “started off as a communications tool for gamers, and then developers realized, ‘oh, wait, this is a really great tool for us internally,’ and then eventually, like, whole companies ended up with Slack.”

For Saga, focusing on gaming wasn’t just about market opportunity—it was about proving their technology in the most challenging environment possible. If their infrastructure could handle the demanding requirements of games, it could handle virtually anything else built on blockchain.

This approach reflects Liao’s broader career philosophy. Throughout her journey from Stanford to Harvard Law to crypto entrepreneurship, she’s consistently tackled difficult problems that others deemed impossible—particularly as a woman in male-dominated spaces.

“What I tell women in crypto, really in tech period, but in crypto is, it is an enormously difficult space for women,” she acknowledges. Yet she’s found success by identifying fundamental problems and creating innovative solutions, regardless of industry expectations or limitations.

The Business Model Revolution

While Saga’s technical innovations address the infrastructure problems plaguing blockchain gaming, Liao recognized that technology alone wouldn’t revive the space. An equally important revolution needed to happen on the business side.

“At the beginning of this year, we completely changed our strategy for Web3 gaming,” Liao reveals. This pivot centered around bringing in expertise from traditional gaming to reshape their approach from the ground up.

The key hire was Fernando Vascones, previously head of business development for Samsung in gaming and a 20-year industry veteran with experience at Rovio and as a publisher. His involvement signaled a fundamental shift in how Saga approached the market.

“If you crack gaming, then you crack everything else.”

“What I really love about his approach is he is very open-minded,” Liao explains. “He sees the potential of crypto for community engagement, which is key for any sort of game growth, for supplementing revenue through a token if it is actually issued correctly, for peer-to-peer trading.”

This balanced perspective—recognizing blockchain’s genuine advantages while maintaining traditional gaming’s business fundamentals—forms the core of Saga’s new approach. Instead of reinventing game economics entirely around tokens and NFTs, they’re integrating blockchain selectively where it adds real value.

Perhaps most significant is Saga’s creation of its own publishing arm, Saga Origins. “We are the only chain with our own publisher,” Liao notes with pride. This unique position allows Saga to not just provide technical infrastructure but guide the entire go-to-market strategy for games built on their platform.

The selection process for games is rigorous and pragmatic. Liao explains their dual approach: “The majority of our pipeline now is games from Web2. They have already developed a very healthy user base. They have already generated profit… but they’re looking to grow, and we can definitely assist that through Web3.”

For entirely new games, the path runs through Saga Origins, where the company takes a more hands-on role. “When we bring on a brand new title as a publisher, you are responsible for the go-to-market, and we are the technology infrastructure as well,” Liao explains.

This publishing relationship provides several critical advantages traditional blockchains can’t offer. “The reason why that game signs with you and they end up sharing revenue with you is they know that you have a way to use your acquisition, that you have a marketing arm that can actually market this game, and that this relationship goes on for a very, very long time.”

The focus on metrics has shifted dramatically from token price and NFT floor values to traditional gaming KPIs. Success is now measured by user retention, return on ad spend, regional performance, and sustainable profit—the same metrics that matter in traditional gaming.

“When you launch day one, what should your soft launch numbers be? If you’re a mobile game, what should they be if you’re a PC/console game? What should your retention look like? What is your return on ad spend?” These are the questions Saga now prioritizes when evaluating games.

This approach represents a complete departure from the speculative, token-centric models that dominated the first wave of blockchain gaming. It’s a recognition that while blockchain can enhance certain aspects of gaming, the fundamentals of what makes games successful haven’t changed.

For Liao, who has navigated career transitions from law to AI to blockchain, this shift mirrors her own professional evolution. Just as she once recognized that being “a lawyer means that all the time you are advising your clients, you’re doing a lot of paperwork, but you’re never the decision maker,” she saw that blockchain gaming had positioned itself adjacent to the real gaming industry without understanding its core principles.

By bringing veteran gaming expertise in-house and adopting proven metrics for success, Saga is attempting something much more ambitious than creating another blockchain—they’re building a bridge between two industries that have struggled to find common ground.

Path Forward

With a clear-eyed assessment of past failures and a reimagined technical and business approach, Saga is charting what Liao believes is a viable path forward for blockchain gaming. But what exactly does this new paradigm look like in practice?

“Our strategy literally is completely different than anybody else in the market,” Liao asserts. Instead of chasing the elusive blockchain “killer app,” Saga focuses on becoming what Liao describes as a “one-stop shop” for game developers.

For established Web2 games migrating to blockchain, this means selective integration of features that deliver real value. Community engagement tools, optional tokenization models, and peer-to-peer asset trading can supplement existing revenue streams without disrupting what already works.

“He [Fernando Vascones] sees the potential of crypto for community engagement, which is key for any sort of game growth, for supplementing revenue through a token if it is actually issued correctly, for peer-to-peer trading,” Liao explains. “These things are not possible in Web2.”

This nuanced approach recognizes that blockchain should enhance games, not define them. It’s a stark contrast to earlier projects where the blockchain components were often the primary selling point rather than the gameplay itself.

For new games developed through Saga Origins, the focus is equally practical. Rather than promising quick riches through token speculation, Saga helps developers build sustainable player economies and communities from day one.

“The majority of our pipeline now is games from Web2. They have already developed a very healthy user base. They have already generated profit… but they’re looking to grow, and we can definitely assist that through Web3.”

The types of games finding success in this new paradigm tend to be those that benefit most from blockchain’s natural advantages—games with strong social components, economies based on player-created value, and experiences that improve with genuine digital ownership.

Yet challenges remain. While Saga’s infrastructure solves many technical hurdles, the industry still struggles with onboarding friction and explaining blockchain’s benefits to mainstream gamers who remain skeptical after years of overpromising and underdelivering.

“Blockchain gaming, as we have known it, does not work,” Liao reiterates. Her candid assessment serves as both warning and opportunity—a chance to rebuild on more solid foundations.

The timeline for mainstream adoption remains measured. Rather than predicting an imminent blockchain gaming revolution, Saga is focused on gradual integration and proving value case by case.

“Generally, publishing agreements run for several years,” Liao notes, emphasizing the long-term commitment required to succeed in gaming. This patience contrasts sharply with the boom-and-bust cycles that characterized early blockchain gaming.

For Liao, who brings perspective from her extensive career spanning law, politics, AI, and now blockchain, this patient approach reflects the reality of how transformative technologies actually gain adoption—not through hype cycles, but through delivering genuine improvements that users recognize and value.

As someone who has personally experienced the challenges of being a woman in tech, particularly in crypto where “misogyny is not a problem here… you can totally get away with it as a man,” Liao also sees Saga’s practical, results-oriented approach as a way to open the industry to more diverse voices and perspectives.

“There are allies… the men who are respectful of female talent, who see women just as a really great brain with a really great skill set, those are the men who are able to attract the best talent from women, and honestly, their projects go so much farther because of it,” she observes.

This inclusive vision extends to Saga’s view of the gaming market itself—not as a space to be disrupted and replaced, but as an industry to be understood, respected, and enhanced through thoughtful integration of new technology.

Conclusion

The story of blockchain gaming’s first chapter reads much like the boom-and-bust cycles that have defined cryptocurrency itself—big promises, speculative excitement, and ultimately, widespread disappointment. Rebecca Liao’s blunt assessment that “Web3 gaming is dead” serves not as an epitaph but as a necessary reset for an industry built on shaky foundations.

The revolution, when it comes, won’t be announced with flashy token launches or NFT drops, but through games people genuinely enjoy playing—games that happen to use blockchain, rather than blockchain projects pretending to be games.

Key Insights

The Death of Web3 Gaming 1.0

• “Web3 gaming is not niche. It’s dead.” – Rebecca Liao
• Token-dependent revenue models proved unsustainable
• NFT floor price collapses destroyed in-game asset value
• The focus on creating AAA titles with limited resources set unrealistic expectations
• Technical limitations created poor user experiences that disrupted gameplay

Saga’s Technical Solution

• A “layer one to launch layer ones” approach allowing infinite scaling
• Automatic interoperability between chains – no manual bridge building required
• Architecture inspired by cloud computing principles from Web2
• Gaming chosen as the first focus because it’s the most demanding use case

The Business Model Revolution

• Saga created its own publishing arm (Saga Origins) – the only blockchain with an in-house publisher
• Hired gaming industry veterans including Fernando Vascones (ex-Samsung, Rovio)
• Focus shifted to traditional gaming metrics: retention, ROAS, profit
• Two-track approach: onboarding successful Web2 games and publishing new titles
• Using blockchain selectively where it adds real value rather than as the core selling point

Women in Blockchain Leadership

• Liao never thought it was possible for a woman to become a startup founder until seeing role models
• Women in tech are credited for execution but rarely for vision and risk-taking
• Finding allies and supportive co-founders has been key to Liao’s success as CEO
• Projects with diverse talent often go further because they attract the best people

FAQ

What went wrong with the first wave of blockchain games?

According to Liao, the first generation of blockchain games failed primarily because they relied on unsustainable token economics, suffered from the NFT market crash, set unrealistic expectations about creating AAA-quality games with limited resources, and were built on infrastructure that couldn’t deliver good user experiences.

How is Saga different from other gaming blockchains?

Saga differentiates itself in two main ways: 1) Technical architecture that allows infinite scaling through multiple chains with automatic interoperability, and 2) A comprehensive business approach that includes an in-house publishing arm with traditional gaming expertise.

Why focus on gaming first?

Liao explains that gaming is the most demanding use case for any technology. If blockchain can successfully serve gamers’ high expectations, it can work for virtually any other application. She cites Nvidia and Slack as technologies that started in gaming before expanding to broader uses.

Does Saga still use tokens and NFTs?

Yes, but selectively and as supplements to traditional revenue models rather than as the primary economic engine. Liao emphasizes using blockchain for community engagement, optional tokenization, and peer-to-peer trading where they add real value.

Who is Saga’s target developer?

Saga works with two main types of developers: established Web2 games looking to integrate blockchain features, and new games that go through their publishing arm, Saga Origins. They focus on games that can generate sustainable player economies and communities.

What metrics does Saga use to measure success?

Rather than token price or NFT floor values, Saga focuses on traditional gaming KPIs: user retention, return on ad spend, regional performance, and sustainable profit.

When will blockchain gaming go mainstream?

Liao takes a measured approach, emphasizing that publishing agreements typically run for several years. She suggests mainstream adoption will come through gradual integration and proving value case by case rather than through another hype cycle.

How can women succeed in the blockchain/crypto space?

Liao acknowledges the challenges women face in crypto but emphasizes finding allies – both men and women who respect female talent. She advises women not to need the whole industry’s support – just a great set of allies to go far.

What’s next for blockchain gaming?

According to Liao, the future isn’t about blockchain projects pretending to be games, but great games that happen to use blockchain. The focus is shifting to creating experiences players genuinely enjoy where blockchain enhances rather than defines the game.

Web3 Gaming Glossary

Web3 – The third generation of internet services built on blockchain technology that emphasizes decentralization, user ownership, and token-based economics.

Blockchain – A distributed digital ledger that records transactions across many computers so that records cannot be altered retroactively.

Layer 1 (L1) – A base blockchain network like Ethereum, Solana, or Saga that processes and finalizes transactions on its own blockchain.

Token – A digital asset built on a blockchain that can represent value, utility, or governance rights within a game ecosystem.

NFT (Non-Fungible Token) – A unique digital asset that represents ownership of a specific item, character or piece of content in a game.

Gas fees – Transaction costs paid to blockchain validators for processing operations on networks like Ethereum.

Tokenomics – The economic model of a blockchain project that determines how tokens are created, distributed, and incentivized.

Floor price – The lowest price at which a particular NFT collection is currently available for purchase.

AAA game – High-budget, high-profile games produced and distributed by major publishers with large development teams.

Play-to-Earn (P2E) – A gaming model where players can earn cryptocurrency or NFTs with real-world value through gameplay.

Wallet – Digital software that allows users to store, manage and trade their cryptocurrency and NFTs.

Interoperability – The ability for different blockchain networks to communicate and share data with each other.

User acquisition – The process of gaining new users for a game, often through marketing campaigns or incentives.

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) – A marketing metric that measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising.

Chain – A blockchain network that processes and records transactions.

Publishing – The business of funding, marketing, and distributing games to reach their target audience.

Peer-to-peer trading – Direct exchange of in-game assets between players without intermediaries.

Player retention – The ability for a game to keep players engaged and returning over time.