Author: TechFlow
For a long time, many Crypto players believed that games are the track closest to Web2 and at the same time the farthest.
The reason is that when the global player base exceeds 3.4 billion, games are one of the most potential entrances to Web3 to introduce a billion incremental users.
The reason is that when Web3 games deviate from the original intention of Play and focus only on unsustainable Earn, they are far from comparable to Web2 games in terms of experience, user volume, and willingness to pay.
This is a huge gap, and as the blockchain casual game Bombie has exceeded 11.1 million users worldwide and total revenue has exceeded US$20 million, we seem to be witnessing the bridging of this gap.
As the countdown to Bombie TGE approaches and the new Bombie ecosystem work CapyBomb is about to be launched, we had the honor of having an in-depth conversation with Bombie Foundation COO Barry Lau.
As both placement games are deeply rooted in social platforms, many players regard Bombie as a perfect tribute to the WeChat mini-game Super Black Horse (Xundao Daqian). Barry said:
The Social + Game model captures the two key elements that enable small games to quickly break out of the circle: traffic and interaction. Based on (Seeking the Great Thousand), Bombie is an evolution towards the Web3 era.
Of course, when talking about Web3 games, we cannot avoid the ultimate question of "how to balance playability and profitability".
The community often talks about Bombie's enviable ARPPU (average revenue per paying user) data: Kaia ecosystem is as high as $319, and the Japanese market is as high as $804. Why do players love to spend money on Bombie?
At the same time, CapyBomb also recently announced IAS (in-app staking) mechanism, kill two birds with one stone and other profit-making methods.
When it comes to how to avoid being a flash in the pan and achieve sustainability, Barry is more resolute:
We had a clear understanding at the beginning of the design: first, the game itself must be fun, and second, the revenue must be a natural extension. CapyBomb is not simply a choice between "Play" and "Earn", but a true pursuit of the two-way sustainability of experience and revenue.
In this issue, let’s follow Barry’s sharing to learn about how Bombie has grown to tens of millions of users, the top revenue on both Telegram and LINE platforms, and the new growth curve enabled by the new game CapyBomb.
Social + Game is the key to breaking the circle and creating TG and LINE as the double king of revenue
TechFlow: I am very happy to have the opportunity to have an in-depth exchange with you. First of all, you are welcome to introduce yourself (you can share some of your past educational experience, work/entrepreneurial experience, the opportunity to join Bombie, etc.).
Barry：
Hello everyone, I am Barry Lau, COO of Bombie Foundation. I am very happy to have this opportunity to have an in-depth exchange with you.
I started as a product manager at Yahoo! in 2000, so I entered the Internet industry in the Web 1.0 era. In 2009, I started a business distributing games on social platforms, and officially transitioned to Web 2.0. Later, the company was listed on KOSDAQ in South Korea in 2016. In 2020, I led the team to acquire a mobile game development company and successfully listed it for the second time.
After I quit in 2022, I started to explore Web3 and wanted to combine my many years of gaming experience into GameFi. At that time, I found that combining the successful mini-game model on WeChat with the technology and economic model of Web3 to allow players to truly own game assets was a very promising direction.
Later, I found my current team and started the Bombie project in the middle of last year.
TechFlow: Many people say that Bombie is the Web3 version of (Xundao Daqian). What do you think are the similarities and differences between Bombie and (Xundao Daqian)?
Barry：
Indeed, many people compare Bombie to Xundao Daqian, which is understandable because the two games have some similarities in gameplay. For example, Bombie also uses the lightweight loop gameplay of "opening boxes to upgrade" and "unlimited monster fighting" like Xundao Daqian, emphasizing low threshold, high ease of use and strong sense of achievement, which is very consistent with the current trend of users pursuing easy entertainment.
But Bombie is more than just a simple replica. We have introduced Web3 elements to the basic gameplay, such as airdrop rewards, asset on-chain, and token economic system, so that players can enjoy the fun of the game while truly owning the assets they have accumulated in the game.
At the same time, we have also made a lot of new explorations in overall content updates, incentive mechanisms, and cross-platform layouts (such as Telegram and LINE), with the aim of allowing players to play easily and obtain real value returns in the process.
Simply put, Bombie is based on (Xundao Daqian) and has evolved into the Web3 era.
TechFlow: With tens of millions of players, why do you think the casual games that Bombie focuses on are more likely to succeed than 3A blockbusters like (Black Myth: Wukong)?
Barry：
I think the core reasons lie in "user threshold" and "scale effect".
3A games like Black Myth: Wukong are excellent in terms of production accuracy and worldview depth, but they often require players to invest a lot of time, energy and equipment requirements to fully experience them. This model is naturally suitable for some deep players, but for a larger group of light users, the entry threshold is still relatively high.
Bombie focuses on a "lightweight" and "low threshold" leisure experience. Users can play anytime, anywhere with zero learning cost, without continuous long-term investment, and without too much cognitive pressure. This feature is very suitable for fragmented usage scenarios in the mobile Internet era, and is also in line with the usage habits of users of IM platforms such as LINE and Telegram.
In addition, lightweight games are naturally easier to spread quickly through mechanisms such as social fission and invitation rewards, which creates a scale effect. Once a certain user base is reached, the growth is very fast. This is also an important reason why Bombie can gather tens of millions of users in a short period of time.
TechFlow: Just as (Xundaqian) relied on WeChat traffic to achieve huge success, Bombie took root in Telegram and LINE, two major social platforms, and radiated the global market. It attracted the attention of tens of millions of players at the beginning of its launch. Do you think this Social + Game model is the key to breaking the circle of small games?
Barry：
I think it is. The Social + Game model actually grasps the two key elements that enable small games to quickly break out of the circle: traffic and interaction.
For example, Xundao Daqian relies on a huge social traffic platform like WeChat, which allows users to seamlessly access games during chatting and socializing, thus greatly reducing customer acquisition costs and dissemination barriers. Bombie is also based on the same logic and chooses to deploy on the two major instant messaging platforms, LINE and Telegram. On the one hand, it connects a large number of global users, and on the other hand, it makes full use of social relationship chains to help the natural spread of game content.
More importantly, the usage scenarios of the social platform itself are very fragmented, which just fits the experience of light, fast-paced, and easy-to-start and interrupt mini-games. This natural match makes it easier for mini-games to reach a wide range of people and form a viral growth effect.
Therefore, judging from Bombie’s actual verification, the Social + Game model is not only the key to breaking the circle, but also an important direction for the continued growth of small games in Web3 and the global market in the future.
TechFlow: Faced with the layers of levels in the game, how does Bombie get rid of the boredom of the upgrade and monster-killing process, and continue to stimulate players to produce endorphins, thereby attracting long-term retention?
Barry：
This is a very good question. When designing Bombie, we paid special attention to how to keep players fresh and have a continuous sense of achievement in the process of leveling up and killing monsters, so as to avoid boredom.
First of all, we adopted the "random drop + instant reward" mechanism, such as opening treasure chests, defeating enemies and dropping props, etc. This kind of random little surprise can constantly stimulate the player's endorphin secretion, making every game full of expectations.
Secondly, Bombie will gradually increase rewards and token output after each level is upgraded. Players can see the real increase in income after each level is passed. This intuitive positive feedback can continuously strengthen their sense of investment and motivation.
At the same time, we will also regularly launch new content updates and special events, such as limited-time challenges, themed levels, additional airdrops, etc., to continue to bring new experiences to players and increase the freshness and activity of the game.
Overall, what Bombie hopes to achieve is: to allow players to gain visible progress and rewards every time they level up and fight monsters, while maintaining long-term user enthusiasm and retention by constantly updating and enriching the gameplay.
TechFlow: As the game with the highest revenue on Telegram and LINE platforms, why are users more willing to spend money on Bombie compared to other Web3 games?
Barry：
I think the key lies in three aspects: experience, value and trust.
First of all, it’s about the experience. Bombie is essentially a fun and easy game with a lasting sense of achievement. Players will naturally want to accelerate their growth in the process of killing monsters, opening treasure chests, and upgrading. Moderate payments can significantly increase the growth rate, bringing an immediate sense of pleasure and satisfaction. This willingness to pay is smooth and spontaneous.
The second is the sense of value. Bombie uses a real token reward system. While players pay to improve their experience, they can also accumulate $BOMBIE tokens through gaming behavior, forming a positive cycle of "having fun and making real money." More importantly, players also have high trust expectations for future Bombie token airdrops, which further strengthens their confidence in paying.
Finally, there is trust. Bombie is a star project officially supported by Telegram and LINE, and has received a large number of official event resources and exposure opportunities. This official support from the platform not only proves Bombie's compliance and potential in product and operation, but also greatly enhances players' trust in the stability and sustainability of the game, making them more willing to invest time and money in the game.
TechFlow: Many paid games may face the problem of "paying players dominating the economy and free players leaving". How does Bombie achieve a balance between paying players and free players?
Barry：
This is an issue we paid great attention to in the early stages of designing Bombie. We believe that the key to achieving a healthy balance between paying players and free players is to achieve "tiered incentives" and "each player gets their own fun".
First of all, in Bombie, free players can continue to earn $BOMBIE tokens and various rewards by killing monsters, completing tasks, and participating in activities, and have a stable growth path. Even if they don't spend money, they can enjoy the experience of continuous upgrades and a sense of accomplishment.
Secondly, the payment of krypton gold players is mainly reflected in accelerated growth and acquisition of rare resources, such as faster upgrades and more efficient combat, but it will not undermine the overall fairness. Krypton gold can make the experience smoother, but it will not allow them to directly "crush" free players, ensuring the health and playability of the overall ecosystem.
In addition, we promote positive interaction between free players and paying players, rather than simply opposing them, by setting up social invitation rewards, arena matching mechanisms, level challenges and other gameplay methods. Free players can also gain good benefits and a sense of growth through activeness and participation.
Simply put, Bombie hopes to build a positive cycle in which "paying players have a faster experience, free players have a longer experience" but both players can enjoy fun and profit.
TechFlow: In addition to the advantages mentioned above, what else do you think you and your team did right to successfully escape the fate of being a flash in the pan for most Web3 games?
Barry：
I think in addition to the product positioning and platform strategy mentioned above, there are several key points that are important reasons why Bombie can continue to develop stably.
First of all, we insist on "long-term operation thinking". We did not treat Bombie as a one-time project from the beginning, but designed it according to the rhythm of long-term operation, including the sustainability of the token economic model, the planning of content updates, and the stability of the activity rhythm, avoiding the problem of many Web3 mini-games being short-lived.
Secondly, we invest in the gaming experience. Although Bombie introduces Web3 elements, we always prioritize user experience, lower the entry threshold, simplify the understanding of gameplay, and take into account the reasonable expectations of Web3 players for real asset returns. This design allows players from different backgrounds to find a way to participate that suits them, rather than being discouraged by complex financial logic.
Third, it is an effective extension of existing successful experiences. Bombie’s basic gameplay system has been market-proven in the WeChat ecosystem, proving the adaptability of lightweight, closed-loop, and highly sticky designs on high-traffic platforms. Telegram and LINE, as new social ecosystems, also have similar user characteristics and usage scenarios, so we are confident that we can extend this model to a larger international market.
Finally, it is the close collaboration with the platform. Bombie not only received traffic support on Telegram and LINE, but also participated in many official activities. This deep cooperative relationship helped us establish a relatively strong brand credibility and user trust foundation in the early stage.
Overall, Bombie's continued development is attributed to our solid game product foundation, our understanding of the real needs of different user groups in the Web3 environment, and our ability to find a more natural balance between experience and benefits.
New Game CapyBomb: New Growth Curve
TechFlow: As a new work in the Bombie ecosystem, what kind of game is CapyBomb?
Barry：
CapyBomb continues Bombie's basic experience of being easy to get started and lightweight monster-killing, while incorporating more cute and interesting elements, such as the popular Capybara character. The overall style is more user-friendly and suitable for a wider user group.
More importantly, CapyBomb introduces a new "Stake-to-Earn" mechanism. Players can unlock more extra rewards in the game, such as rare equipment, exclusive props, and additional airdrop opportunities, by staking $BOMBIE tokens. This design not only strengthens the user's motivation to hold BOMBIE tokens, but also allows players to gradually learn and get in touch with the staking logic of Web3 in an easy-to-understand way.
Overall, CapyBomb is not only a content upgrade for the Bombie ecosystem, but also a systematic iteration of user education and long-term retention in terms of gameplay and economic models.
TechFlow: Are there any special considerations for choosing the animal image of "Capybara" as the main character of the game?
Barry：
We chose Capybara as the main character of CapyBomb after careful consideration. There are several main reasons:
First of all, Capybara is very popular around the world. With its cute, gentle and healing image, it has a strong affinity among young users. Especially on social media, Capybara has become a very representative "healing IP" that can quickly break the barriers of age and cultural background, helping games to establish emotional connections more easily around the world.
Secondly, from the perspective of product design, Bombie itself is based on a relaxed, low-threshold, high-sense-of-achievement experience. The Capybara, an animal with a natural "slow-paced, relaxing atmosphere", is very consistent with our overall product positioning. It can further enhance the player's experience of relaxation, healing, and continuous rewards in the game.
Finally, by collaborating with the original development team of (Capybara Go!), we hope to help CapyBomb gain stronger topicality and brand awareness in the early stages of its launch by leveraging existing well-known IP resources, and accelerate the process of breaking through the cold start problem that traditional Web3 mini-games are prone to encounter.
TechFlow: CapyBomb introduces the IAS (in-app staking) mechanism. How does this gameplay empower CapyBomb players?
Barry：
The IAS (In-App Staking) mechanism introduced by CapyBomb is an innovative upgrade to the traditional Web3 staking gameplay, specially tailored for gamers.
Specifically, players can stake their airdrop rewards ($BOMBIE tokens) received in the Bombie main game directly into CapyBomb, without the need for additional top-ups or consumption of other assets. This staking behavior allows low-cost participation and can unlock rare game props, special bonuses, and even other additional assets without additional fees, greatly improving the player's growth efficiency and gaming experience.
The IAS mechanism brings several clear advantages to players:
This effectively reduces the immediate selling pressure of tokens in the market, because players are more motivated to continue to invest tokens in the game rather than selling them directly.
A truly "closed-loop game economic system" has been established, allowing tokens to circulate within the game and enhance ecological stability.
For players, the participation threshold is low and they can continue to enjoy additional rewards without a large investment, which reduces the psychological burden of participating in Web3 games.
At the same time, the IAS mechanism also helps alleviate the "first launch peak" phenomenon common in the TON ecosystem, making Bombie's overall economic system healthier and more sustainable.
In summary, IAS is not just a simple staking entry point, but a deep integration of staking and daily gaming experience, allowing players to enjoy entertainment while truly understanding and participating in the Web3 value system.
TechFlow: The "kill two fish, kill many birds" gameplay is also attracting much attention. In what dimensions can players gain benefits in the CapyBomb game?
Barry：
In CapyBomb, we have specially designed a "kill two birds with one stone" gameplay mechanism, the purpose of which is to allow players to gain benefits from multiple dimensions while participating in the game, rather than just a single token reward. The main aspects are as follows:
The first level is the basic token income. Players can continue to obtain additional rewards in CapyBomb by staking the $BOMBIE tokens obtained in Bombie, forming the secondary value utilization of the tokens.
The second level is rare game props rewards. Through IAS staking, players can unlock scarce resources such as rare equipment, limited skins, special function props, etc., further improving the game experience and combat effectiveness.
The third level is the opportunity for ecological rewards. As the Bombie and CapyBomb ecosystems expand further in the future, staking may gain additional airdrop qualifications and cross-game asset exchange opportunities, further improving the liquidity and potential value of assets.
The fourth level is asset value management. By recycling tokens in the game, players actually participate in the economic construction of the entire Bombie ecosystem, indirectly helping to stabilize the value of the tokens they hold, while also avoiding the problem of rapid price declines in traditional GameFi projects.
Simply put, CapyBomb uses the "kill two birds with one stone" mechanism to allow players to have fun while accumulating asset value and game accomplishment in multiple levels and paths, thereby improving the overall participation experience.
TechFlow: Many people are arguing about whether blockchain games should focus more on "Play" or "Earn". Under the attraction of high returns, how does CapyBomb balance playability and profitability to achieve sustainable development?
Barry：
Regarding the balance between "Play" and "Earn", we actually had a very clear understanding when designing CapyBomb.
We believe that to achieve sustainable development, two things must be done: first, to ensure that the game itself is interesting, and second, to make profit a natural extension rather than the only goal.
In CapyBomb, we first ensured that the basic gameplay is fun and easy, such as the introduction of the Capybara image, the thrill of growing up by killing monsters, and the surprise of random treasure chest drops. These are designed purely from the perspective of "the game is fun". Even if players don't care about the benefits at all, they can still enjoy the complete growth experience.
At the same time, in terms of revenue design, we introduced the IAS (in-app staking) mechanism, allowing players to naturally obtain rare props, additional rewards and future airdrop qualifications by staking $BOMBIE tokens. The revenue logic here is "the deeper the participation, the more rewards", but it will not disrupt the game rhythm of normal players, avoiding the problem of attracting short-term speculators purely by high returns and causing ecological imbalance.
More importantly, through a low-threshold, low-burden design, CapyBomb uses revenue as an "incremental incentive" to reward players for long-term participation, rather than letting economic returns overwhelm the game itself from the beginning.
In summary, CapyBomb is not a simple choice between "Play" and "Earn", but through interesting gameplay, it naturally integrates Earn into the long-term experience, truly achieving two-way sustainability of experience and revenue.
TGE countdown brings a true "Fair Launch"
TechFlow: WeChat’s mini-game ecosystem has produced many hits, providing valuable experience and endless inspiration for many Web3 mini-game teams. Taking CapyBomb as a starting point, will Bombie launch more mini-game products in the future?
Barry：
Indeed, the success of WeChat’s mini-game ecosystem has provided a lot of valuable references for Web3 mini-games, but for Bombie, our future focus will be more focused.
First of all, we will continue to delve into existing games, such as Bombie and CapyBomb, and constantly update and optimize the gameplay content, reward system, and user experience to ensure that old players can continue to feel fresh while also constantly attracting new users to join.
Secondly, we plan to further expand the original IP of Bombie, and extend the world view and character settings of Bombie to new game categories of different types, such as strategy, development, or social interaction games, so that players can feel the unified and rich Bombie ecosystem in different experiences.
At the same time, we will also actively promote joint cooperation with other well-known IPs, based on the existing social platforms, such as Telegram and LINE, to create a larger-scale and more interoperable Web3 game ecosystem network, continuously enrich the content level, and enhance player stickiness and ecological activity.
In general, the future development of the Bombie ecosystem will not simply pursue the stacking of quantities, but will create a truly long-term sustainable and user-value-increasing Web3 lightweight gaming system through fine-tuning of content, expansion of IP influence, and multi-IP linkage.
TechFlow: Whether it is the original album (Bombie Rise) or the animation series (Fake Elon), Bombie has frequently explored IP integration. What will these explorations bring to gamers? Will Bombie have more initiatives in the future to gradually build a multi-dimensional IP ecosystem?
Barry：
Indeed, whether it is the original album (Bombie Rise) or the animated series (Fake Elon), Bombie's exploration of IP integration and content diversification is part of our long-term strategy.
Our goal is to not only keep Bombie in the game scene, but also extend Bombie's IP to a wider range of cultural content through music, animation, comics and other forms, and reach more users from different circles. These explorations can help us make Bombie's world view, character stories, and brand image more three-dimensional and tangible, so that players and users can continue to have an emotional connection with Bombie outside of the game.
In the future, in the field of games, we will develop more new game series of different types around the Bombie IP, and actively cooperate with other well-known IPs to create a rich and interconnected cross-game ecosystem.
In the content field, we will continue to increase our investment in music, animation, social media content, etc. Through multi-dimensional and lightweight content products, we will shape Bombie into a truly Web3 native IP with broad influence and long-term value.
Simply put, Bombie will not stop at the game itself. We hope to expand the value of the IP through continuous innovation and cross-border exploration, while also continuously enhancing players' and users' emotional identification and sense of belonging to the Bombie brand.
TechFlow: According to Fortune magazine, citing two people familiar with the matter, Trump is working with business partners to prepare a real estate crypto game centered on his brand, which is similar to Monopoly Go! If this news is true, what do you think of Trump's entry into blockchain games?
Barry：
If this news is true, I think from an industry perspective, Trump's entry into the blockchain game market, especially in combination with real estate themes, is a very symbolic event.
First of all, this means that Web3 Gaming is gradually expanding from the pure crypto circle to the wider mainstream business and entertainment fields. Regardless of the final project results, the involvement of such a heavyweight public figure and brand alone can greatly increase the public's awareness and attention to Web3 gaming and even the entire Web3 ecosystem.
Secondly, from a product perspective, if we take the familiar, lightweight, and socially spread gameplay of Monopoly Go as a model, combined with the asset mechanism of blockchain, it is very consistent with the current trend of Web3 games towards lightweight, low threshold, and large-scale diffusion. Blockchain games are no longer a niche circle that only talks about complex financial models, but are getting closer and closer to entertainment products that ordinary players can understand and participate in.
Of course, the real challenge lies in how to convert brand influence into long-term user retention. Web3 games will eventually return to the experience and value itself. The brand effect can bring initial traffic, but whether it can retain players depends on the healthy sustainability of the gameplay design and economic model.
From the perspective of the Bombie team, we actually welcome more external forces to enter the blockchain game market, because this means that the user base and imagination space of the entire industry will be further opened up. And our own strategy will also insist on combining the game experience with Web3 value design to truly create sustainable and fun products for players.
TechFlow: According to CoinGecko data, there are no game tokens among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market value. This phenomenon has recently triggered widespread discussion in the community about whether "Web3 games are a false proposition." What do you think of this discussion?
Barry：
I think this phenomenon does reflect some of the current phased challenges in the Web3 gaming sector, but we cannot simply conclude that “Web3 gaming is a false proposition.”
First, in the short term, the decline of game tokens in the market value rankings is more because the past wave of Web3 game projects overemphasized financial attributes in design and ignored the core "playability", resulting in insufficient user retention and ecological stability. With the decline of liquidity and the tightening of the macro environment, the market has higher requirements for the return of the real value of the project, and this elimination is actually healthy.
But in the long run, the combination of games and blockchain technology still has extremely strong logical support. Because in the traditional game industry, players can never truly own assets; and Web3 can bring on-chain asset rights confirmation, open economic system, and cross-game interoperability experience, which can bring substantial value enhancement to players. However, the industry still needs more solid polishing and time to explore the path.
Taking Bombie as an example, we insist on improving the gaming experience first and using Web3 elements as a value supplement, rather than subverting the original entertainment experience. I believe that this approach of taking "fun" as a premise and then naturally grafting asset attributes is the path that can truly cross the cycle and move towards the mainstream.
Therefore, I personally tend to believe that Web3 games are in the early stages of trial and error and structural adjustment, rather than a false proposition. Truly excellent content-based Web3 games will show stronger vitality in the next round of industry upgrades.
TechFlow: Bombie TGE is coming, can you share more specific information with players?
Barry：
What we can currently share about Bombie’s TGE is:
BOMBIE token $BOMB is a truly "Fair Launch" project. Of the overall token distribution, 70% will be directly distributed through airdrops to players who actually participate in the game and contribute to the rankings, rather than reserved for early private placements or pre-sales, which can maximize the fairness of the ecosystem and the incentives of users.
The TGE is very close to its official launch, not a matter of months, but a "weekly schedule". We hope that through this relatively fast and transparent TGE process, players can truly own their own $BOMB token assets as soon as possible. For specific listing information, airdrop details and event arrangements, please continue to pay attention to Bombie's official announcements, and we will keep you updated with the latest developments!
