Here is the theory put forward by Animoca:
I liken the ownership of a NFT sword that can only be used in a single game that has since shut down, to a pair of grubby Nike trainers. You might own the trainers (which were expensive when you bought them), but this doesn't alter the fact that they have little re-sale value. They are of no interest to a collector, so whether you choose to throw them in the rubbish or keep them, once you stop wearing them, they have lost almost all their value. There will be some exceptions, such as the trainers worn to run your fastest marathon, which will have strong emotional value, which is the example used by Yat, but such examples will be extremely rare.
Interoperability is crucial to the value proposition of blockchain games, because the sword would retain multi-game utility. It would be akin to getting your grubby trainers professionally cleaned and repaired at no extra cost. Their useful life is extended indefinitely!
I imagine that some items, such as avatars or wearables, might lend themselves more easily to cross-application support, but a sword with special powers much less so. It could take the industry the rest of the decade or longer to agree interoperability protocols and the likelihood is that there will be many different protocols, just as there are many blockchains. This is the downside of decentralised networks.
As a blockchain gaming conglomerate, Animoca's key advantage is that it develops (and thus controls) more blockchain games than any other company at present. Therefore, Animoca would be the prime candidate to be the first to develop truly interoperable items, such as swords that can be used as weapons in multiple games that they have developed.
This vision seems to be the driving force behind Animoca's strategy of partnering and investing in other games, companies and infrastructure that might one day support "this bold new standard for cross-application support". Despite all the talk of open ecosystems, blockchain gaming companies still retain a huge amount of control. They just exert this control in a different way to those utilising the traditional closed loop model. As holders, we will hopefully reap the rewards that come from the control of cross-game ecosystems that Animoca has at its disposal.
