After the noise and bubble of the blockchain gaming track fade away, how to build a business model that can both accommodate real trading needs and operate sustainably in the long term has become a question that the teams remaining at the table must answer. The story of OVERTAKE is born from such a background: it does not rely on token incentives to "pull in users," nor does it stack concepts to create hype, but rather steadily moves the verified demand for game asset trading from the Web2 market onto the blockchain.
Founder SH was once a hardcore player obsessed with ladder games and has formulated growth strategies for tech giants at a top consulting firm. Now, he leads a team of engineers and designers, attempting to reconstruct the relationship between players and digital assets through on-chain ownership, smart custody, and a seamless product experience. In this industry migration from PvP to PvE, OVERTAKE aims not to be a temporary winner but to serve as the underlying infrastructure for the future of on-chain gaming commerce.
From Hardcore Gamer to Entrepreneur Captain: The Birth of OVERTAKE
BlockBeats: Many people are unaware of your background. Can you share your transition from a "hardcore gamer" to a Web3 entrepreneur?
SH: I have been a hardcore gamer since childhood, battling day and night on the ladders of "StarCraft," "Command & Conquer," and "World of Warcraft." After graduating from business school in Rotterdam, I joined Boston Consulting Group, providing growth strategy advice to tech companies. In my work, I repeatedly encountered a problem—the digital value created within games had almost no connection to the distribution and settlement systems in the real world.
A prominent example is that large-scale peer-to-peer trading among players has long existed, but true ownership and transparency are lacking, which exposes players to significant risks and inefficiencies in transactions. In 2023, I gathered a small team of engineers and designers to try to solve this problem—allowing players to fully own and freely trade the value they create. This idea ultimately gave birth to OVERTAKE and was written into our vision and mission.
BlockBeats: Why is "true ownership of digital items" a timely proposition worth betting on?
SH: In my view, this is not a trend of a niche subculture but a generational shift concerning digital fundamental rights. The secondary market for digital goods has already circulated tens of billions of dollars annually, with the gaming sector alone estimated to be around $55 billion. However, most of this value still flows through fragmented, opaque, and unofficial channels.
When on-chain ownership is combined with smart custody mechanisms, the three major issues of trust, speed, and liquidity can be addressed simultaneously. This not only changes the identity of players—they are no longer just "users" but actual economic owners, which we refer to as the "player-driven economy."
How to Create a Web3 Product That "Doesn't Look Like Web3"?
BlockBeats: If you had to explain what OVERTAKE is in one sentence, how would you say it?
SH: OVERTAKE is a peer-to-peer trading market based on Sui, providing security for game asset transactions through smart contract custody.
BlockBeats: OVERTAKE initially was not a trading platform but started from game publishing. What made you decisively shift towards building market infrastructure?
SH: Our initial attempt was a combination model of "game publishing + trading market." However, early Web3 games often attracted profit-seeking reward hunters rather than long-term players, leading to high user churn rates. We realized that if we could meet the already existing and verified peer-to-peer trading demand with appropriate infrastructure, it would be a more sustainable path.
Thus, we rebuilt the backend system—covering smart custody, wallets, settlement, and risk management—and focused our efforts on the core of trading. This shift aligns closely with our vision—building infrastructure around real user behavior.
BlockBeats: ItemBay and ItemMania have been very successful in the Web2 virtual goods trading space. What prompted you to decide to move this mechanism onto the blockchain?
SH: The Web2 peer-to-peer trading model in South Korea has already been validated in terms of scale, user habits, and trust. By combining it with the transparency and programmable settlement of blockchain, we can structurally reduce costs, speed up settlement, and minimize fraud.
In other words, the user experience remains familiar—but in terms of underlying operations, it becomes safer, more efficient, and lower cost.
BlockBeats: What "decentralized subtlety" designs are currently in OVERTAKE's product architecture? How do they help users transition naturally to Web3?
SH: Our goal is to achieve a "quiet decentralization":
Seamless access: Starting from logging in with an email or social account (zkLogin) → the backend automatically generates a wallet, and the platform sponsors Gas fees.
Smart custody: Assets are locked and released by smart contracts, with transparent logs and no need for manual intervention.
Gradual on-chain integration: Adding tokenization, verification, custody, and other functions in a modular way without disrupting the user experience.
This way, Web2 users can enjoy all the advantages of Web3—ownership, portability, and security—almost without feeling any friction.
BlockBeats: Many Web3 projects rely on "token incentives" for user growth, while you managed to run transactions during closed testing without issuing tokens. How did you achieve this?
SH: Our closed testing validated three core pillars—speed, low fees, and trust—without any token incentives. Transactions can be settled instantly (for example, sellers can receive USDC immediately after a transaction is completed), and the fees are significantly lower than typical Web2 market platforms. Through smart custody and reputation mechanisms, the risk of fraud is minimized. The results are clear—users engage in transactions for practicality and experience, not for rewards.
BlockBeats: OVERTAKE has launched several "friction-reducing" product features—such as automatically generating wallets and supporting credit card purchases for game skins. What is the product philosophy behind these designs? How does your TakeShop store model align with this vision?
SH: Our philosophy is to provide sellers with a secure on-chain store that they control while not changing their original trading methods. Through TakeShop, anyone can set up a store in minutes with zero coding, share the store link across any channel, and receive payments instantly through familiar payment methods—while wallets and Gas fees are handled automatically in the background. This is a "frictionless" Web3 experience: users can enjoy the benefits of Web3 without feeling cumbersome or burdened.
BlockBeats: Currently, your core focus is on the on-chain trading of game items, but this market has previously drawn regulatory attention due to issues like fraud and money laundering (including Steam banning skin trading arbitrage). Are you concerned that the platform will be required to bear more compliance costs due to true ownership?
SH: We are very aware of the risks involved—that's why we integrated compliance mechanisms into our design from day one:
Built-in KYC, transaction monitoring, and sanctions list screening in the process.
The transaction process based on smart custody allows for full traceability from asset locking to settlement.
Setting cooling-off periods, limits, and review rules based on different games and regions to prevent abuse.
True ownership may increase regulatory requirements, but with transparent records and programmable controls, we can actually reduce risks.
Can PvE Truly Open the Door to Web3 Commercialization?
BlockBeats: You mentioned that Web3 is shifting from PvP to PvE. How do you define the "PvE model"? What role does OVERTAKE play?
SH: In our definition, PvP is about recycling value within the same closed user pool, essentially a zero-sum liquidity game; whereas PvE introduces new users and capital from the external world through open value creation.
Stablecoins, RWA (real-world assets), and embedded crypto primitives have already proven how real-world issues can drive adoption. OVERTAKE is an application that aligns with the PvE path—it embeds on-chain ownership and custody mechanisms into existing game trading demands, thereby introducing new value and new users.
BlockBeats: OVERTAKE's product roadmap includes SDK suites, Protocol-as-a-Service, and other modular output paths. Does this mean you are more like "on-chain Steam" rather than "on-chain Axie"? Why choose this B2B path?
SH: That's right. We have proven that the market can generate healthy trading activity without relying on early token incentives—liquidity, trust, and low fees can drive real usage demand. Our token will be built on this foundation, linking rewards directly to trading activities and returning a portion of platform revenue to the community. Its design focuses on practicality—covering governance, fee discounts, and transaction-based incentives—ensuring that growth remains aligned with the long-term health of the ecosystem rather than just chasing short-term speculation.
BlockBeats: Moving mature Web2 demands onto the blockchain—you are not asking players to "migrate to Web3," but rather bringing the existing Web2 in-game asset market on-chain while maintaining a familiar front-end experience. Why is this the right path? What does it mean for players and game studios?
SH: Adoption should stem from practicality, not terminology. Most transactions already occur in Web2 scenarios; we are simply providing a better "track" for them.
For players, there is no need to learn anything new: they can pay in familiar ways, complete custody settlements instantly, and enjoy lower fees and verifiable ownership—while wallets and Gas are automatically handled in the background.
For game studios, our SDK/protocol can provide verified items, programmable royalties, and compliance tools, unlocking new revenue streams while retaining control.
Blockchain here is just an implementation detail, bringing security, auditability, and interoperability to behaviors that users already have.
BlockBeats: OVERTAKE emphasizes strategic cooperation with Sui. How does this make you a flagship project in gaming and on-chain commerce?
SH: Sui's high performance and object-based architecture enable fast, low-cost microtransactions and true asset ownership. Coupled with Slush Wallet and zkLogin, players can log in directly with social accounts and start immediately, without complex wallet setups. This seamless experience allows Web2 players to complete on-chain transactions almost without feeling it. Our deep integration with Sui positions OVERTAKE as a flagship project within its ecosystem, showcasing how blockchain can empower mainstream gaming commerce.
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