Pi Network builds a Web3 version of Steam! 50 million user game ecosystem To da moon

Pi Network announced on November 13, 2025, revealing its vision to create a Web3 version of Steam, integrating gaming, Blockchain, and payment functions into a single ecosystem powered by Pi coin. Pi Network is expected to launch the open network phase in 2026, achieving full connectivity with external exchanges and the Web3 ecosystem.

Pi Network from Mobile Mining to Web3 Gaming Platform

(Source: Dr. Chengdiao Fan)

Pi Network was founded in 2019 by Stanford University PhD Nicolas Kokkalis and Chengdiao Fan. It is a mobile-friendly mining project that allows users to earn Pi coins directly using their smartphones, without consuming battery power. This innovative mining mechanism completely disrupts the traditional model of cryptocurrency mining that requires high-performance hardware and significant electricity, enabling ordinary users to easily participate.

By the end of 2025, Pi Network will have over 50 million users in more than 150 countries/regions. This scale is extremely rare among cryptocurrency projects, even surpassing the user numbers of many mainstream public chains. The open network phase, expected to launch in 2026, will achieve full connectivity with external exchanges and the Web3 ecosystem. This means that Pi coin will be able to trade on mainstream exchanges and interoperate across chains with other blockchains, truly entering the mainstream cryptocurrency market.

Transforming from a mobile mining platform to a Web3 gaming platform is an important step in Pi Network's development strategy. This transformation is not accidental but is based on a profound understanding of user needs and market trends. The Pi coins accumulated by 50 million users require practical usage scenarios to generate value, and gaming, as the most attractive and sticky application scenario, has become the preferred direction for the expansion of the Pi Network ecosystem.

The announcement from Pi Network reveals its strategy to integrate gaming, blockchain, and payment functionalities into a single ecosystem powered by Pi coin, without relying entirely on complex blockchain technology. The key to this integration strategy is to lower the technical barriers for developers and users, allowing traditional game developers and players who are unfamiliar with blockchain to easily participate in the Web3 gaming ecosystem.

Benchmarking Steam: The Four Core Advantages of Pi Network

The ambition of Pi Network can be seen in its comparison with Steam. Steam is a mainstream gaming platform under Valve, with over 120 million monthly active users, which has fundamentally changed the Web2 gaming landscape. Pi Network is currently working to replicate this success in the Web3 space, empowering developers to create, deploy, and profit from blockchain-based games that use Pi coin.

Decentralization and inclusivity are the core of the Pi Network ecosystem and the most important factors driving developers to adopt the platform. Compared to traditional gaming platforms, Pi Network offers four core advantages that make it stand out in the Web3 gaming space.

Core Advantages of Pi Network for Developers

Seamless Payment: Pi coin enables fast, low-cost cross-border transfers, and in-game purchases without the need for credit cards or complex payment gateways.

Real-time Analysis: Developers are able to track player engagement and behavior in real-time, and make informed decisions based on data to enhance user experience.

Enhance Security: Pi Network uses Blockchain identity and end-to-end encryption technology to protect transaction security, minimizing fraud, hacking attacks, and data breaches.

Global Scalability: The Pi Network, based on a mobile-first architecture, can accommodate millions of users simultaneously without worrying about performance bottlenecks.

In terms of seamless payments, Pi coin enables fast and low-cost cross-border transfers. Traditional in-game purchases require credit cards, PayPal, or other payment gateways, with each transaction incurring a fee of 2% to 5%, and cross-border transactions may take several days to settle. The use of Pi coin eliminates these frictions, allowing players to complete purchases instantly, developers receive funds almost immediately, and transaction fees are close to zero.

The real-time analytics feature provides developers with tools similar to Google Analytics, but optimized for Blockchain games. Developers can track key metrics such as player engagement, retention rates, and payment conversion rates in real-time, and make informed decisions based on the data. This data-driven development approach is key to the success of modern games, and Pi Network has introduced it into the Web3 gaming space.

Enhancing security is achieved through Blockchain identity and end-to-end encryption technology. In traditional games, players' identities and asset data are stored on centralized servers, making them vulnerable to hacking and data leaks. Pi Network's Blockchain identity system allows each player to have their own private key, with assets and data completely controlled by the player. Even if the platform is attacked, the player's assets will not be affected.

Global Community-Driven Pioneer Model

The advantage of Pi Network lies in its community, known as “pioneers.” These users are responsible for validating transactions, testing applications, and promoting its adoption worldwide. Local chapters like Pi Network Saigon are crucial for raising awareness in various regions, indicating that people are increasingly trusting the Pi ecosystem and its mission to make Web3 accessible to everyone.

The Pioneer Mode is the unique aspect that distinguishes Pi Network from other Blockchain projects. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, which rely on professional miners, the security and governance of Pi Network are maintained by ordinary users. The daily act of opening the application and clicking the mining button not only serves to acquire Pi coins but also contributes to the network's security. This low-threshold participation mechanism allows Pi Network to quickly accumulate a large user base.

50 million users are distributed across over 150 countries, and this global distribution provides a natural advantage for the Web3 gaming platform. Game developers can publish games on the Pi Network and immediately reach a global market without worrying about payment channels, language localization, or regional restrictions. Pi coin, as a unified in-game currency, eliminates the complexities of exchange rate conversion and cross-border payments.

The economic model developed by Pi Network anchors the value of its currency to practical utility in the real world, especially in the gaming and market sectors. Internal forecasts indicate that by 2026, there will be 10 billion tokens circulating on the network, and due to the popularity of gaming and staking, demand will grow. This valuation model, based on utility rather than pure speculation, provides a more solid foundation for the long-term value of Pi coin.

Regulatory and Competitive Challenges Faced by Pi Network

Despite the success of Pi Network, it still faces challenges in regulation and competition. The platform also needs to meet regulatory standards such as the EU's MiCA and the US SEC. MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) is a comprehensive cryptocurrency regulatory framework that the EU is set to implement, requiring crypto projects to register, disclose information, and comply with strict consumer protection rules. The US SEC continues to review whether cryptocurrencies qualify as securities, and if Pi coin is deemed a security, it will face stricter regulatory requirements.

In addition, Pi Network is also competing with major Web3 gaming networks such as Immutable X, Gala Games, and Axie Infinity, which control parts of the decentralized gaming economy. Immutable X is known for zero gas fees and high performance, Gala Games has multiple mature blockchain games, and Axie Infinity pioneered the Play-to-Earn model. These competitors have already established strong ecosystems and brand recognition in the Web3 gaming space.

However, Pi Network stands out due to the convenience of mobile access, a strong global community, and a decentralized payment infrastructure. The scale of 50 million users is hard for other Web3 gaming platforms to reach, and these users are not only potential players but also game developers, content creators, and ecosystem builders. The mobile-first architecture allows Pi Network to reach users in developing countries, where high-performance computers are often lacking but smartphone penetration is high.

Starting from the open network phase in 2026, Pi Network will truly enter into direct competition with traditional Web3 gaming platforms. At that time, the market will test whether Pi Network can truly become the “Steam of Web3” or just another ambitious but hard-to-implement Blockchain project.