In a candid conversation, Barwikowski opened up to CCN about the hard lessons learned from Web3’s early failures, the player behaviors that surprised him most, and why he believes the future of P2E isn’t dead.

Success in P2E

Pixels is a casual, social, and free-to-play Web3 game built on the Ronin Network.

It draws inspiration from classic titles like Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley, layered with the social dynamics of Habbo Hotel.

Of course, the main differentiator against both of these similar titles is Pixels’ intense Web3 features, which include a full-on-chain economy and robust P2E mechanics.

The past year has seen dramatic success for Pixels, particularly from in-game purchases.

“We hit $20 million in revenue in 2024, and it’s all from in-game purchases,” Barwikowski told CCN.

“VIP subscriptions, cosmetics, currency, events—those are the major drivers,” he added.

In May, the game ecosystem recorded a notable milestone, more $PIXEL tokens were deposited than withdrawn for the first time.

This, Barwikowski suggests, is a strong indicator of rising player confidence and a healthier in-game economy.

Bullish, But Realistic on P2E

Barwikowski remains highly optimistic about the viability of P2E, but his enthusiasm is tempered by a clear-eyed view of the industry’s past missteps.

“I still firmly believe that sustainable P2E is achievable,” he said.

“In Web2, we’ve already seen companies break through with similar reward-based models, so we know the foundation works,” he added.

“What’s interesting about Web3 is that crypto actually makes it ten times easier to build and scale platforms like this.”

The real difference, according to Barwikowski, lies in the strategy.

Pixels has shifted away from targeting solely “earn” users, those who hop from game to game farming tokens, and is instead working to attract Web2-style players who spend for enjoyment, not just profit.

“Our initial thesis was: bring in earn-motivated players and convert them into spenders. But what we learned is the Web3 base is overwhelmingly earnings-focused,” he says.

“Extraction players will always come back if rewards are good. The harder challenge is pulling in and retaining new spenders who actually support the ecosystem’s growth,” he added.

This pivot is also shaping the company’s broader platform ambitions.

Barwikowski envisions Pixels evolving into a kind of user acquisition engine for Web3 games, helping developers build sustainable economies rather than simply launching tokens.

“Our goal is to build a user acquisition stack for Web3 games, or even just games in general,” he said. “We want to be the platform that helps games grow and, ultimately, make more money.”

Beyond the Hype

While many Web3 projects chase AAA-level polish and cinematic trailers, Pixels is taking a more pragmatic approach: move fast, ship often, and learn quickly.

“AAA games in Web3 struggle to work,” Barwikowski told CCN. “They burned a ton of money and had worse outcomes than many of the lower-fidelity projects.”

“What works best is shipping and iterating quickly,” he said.

That doesn’t mean abandoning Web3. Instead, it means being more deliberate about how and why blockchain elements are introduced.

According to Barwikowski, Web3 should not be the core selling point; it needs to provide real, tangible value.

“Some people lean heavily into ‘game first’ and then basically ignore the Web3 aspect altogether. If that’s the case, I’d question why they’re building a Web3 game at all.

“The game itself, like gameplay, fun, and mechanics, is a given. But the Web3 part needs to deliver meaningful value too,” he added.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be P2E or strictly about the game economy,” he added. “Web3 benefits can come in different forms, but if your Web3 layer isn’t contributing something unique and valuable, then the whole point is lost.”

Data, and More Data

At the heart of Pixels’ strategy is a deep commitment to data. The company has often claimed to have “probably the most robust data set in Web3 gaming,” and Barwikowski reiterated that belief.

Every adjustment to the in-game economy is meticulously tracked and analyzed, allowing the team to understand how players behave and how to best incentivize them.

“We break the economy down into different segments like who’s extracting value, who’s spending, and who has the potential to convert into a spender,” Barwikowski explained.

“We’ve categorized rewards into five or six core buckets—retention, engagement, spend, growth, sharing—and we model out when and where to use each.”

That level of precision has translated into meaningful outcomes.

One example is the launch of a new multi-game staking system: a decentralized publishing model where players stake $PIXEL across multiple games, not just one.

“Instead of just one project generating all the value, you’ve got a growing set of games and teams building on top of this system and rewarding the same token holders,” Barwikowski said.

“It’s like an index model. That’s what gives $PIXEL staying power.”

Beyond the Farm

Pixels has evolved far beyond its origins as a simple Web3 farming game.

Since launching in pre-alpha in 2022, it has grown into a broader platform with five to six games in development, all experimenting with different genres and reward mechanics.

“Early on, we were focused solely on Pixels as the core experiment. But we realized there’s only so much you can learn by betting everything on one game,” Barwikowski said.

“Now we can run multiple experiments at once,” he added.

Some of those experiments are already showing strong results.

For instance, Pixel Dungeons, one of the newest games in the ecosystem, has occasionally achieved a positive return on reward spend, meaning it’s generating more economic value than it costs to incentivize.

With better targeting and more granular data, Barwikowski believes this kind of performance can become the norm rather than the exception.

“We’re working on some new systems around hyper-targeted rewards. Once we integrate better data—especially using Web2-style big data systems—we’ll unlock major efficiencies,” he said.

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