Recorded: Apr 2025 | Runtime: ≈ 1 h 15 m
Host: Thomas “Thomas Bahamas” (Solana OG, pod-obsessed Degen)
Guest: Jorge – Gaming-on-Solana lead at the Solana Foundation, long-time Web3-gaming evangelist and architect of the brand-new Solana Game Pass.
Episode Overview
“Good games take years. We’re finally at the point where Solana titles are hitting players’ hands—and the community is about to feel the network effect.”
— Jorge
For years, Solana builders have teased AAA trailers and ambitious pitch decks; now they’re shipping. Jorge walks us through the Solana Game Pass (mint live on Magic Eden), explains why trustless assets fix black-market skin trading, and makes the case that Solana’s speed + near-zero fees + global payment rail will pull millions of gamers on-chain—often without them even realizing it.
Thomas pushes the conversation into regulation, taxes (50k+ TXs a year?!), fully-on-chain experiments like DeFi Dungeons, and what the community can expect at Accelerate NYC in May and Breakpoint Abu Dhabi in December.
Detailed Show Notes
0:00 – 1:10 | Warm-up & Disclaimers
- Thomas welcomes listeners, reiterates “Nothing here is financial advice.”
- Sets intention: highlight trends, use-cases, people behind Solana growth.
1:11 – 9:50 | Meet Jorge & The State of Web3 Gaming
- Jorge’s back-story: traditional marketing → crypto rabbit-hole → Solana Foundation.
- Why combining “Solana + Web3 + gaming” in one sentence finally makes sense.
- AAA timelines comparison: GTA VI & CoD take 5-7 yrs; same for blockchain titles.
9:51 – 17:30 | Who’s Building & How Long It’s Taken
- Active Solana titles ⤵
- Star Atlas (space MMO) – Unreal Engine 5 demo live.
- Aurory (turn-based RPG) – Production build + staking economy.
- MIXMOB : Racer 1, Honeyland, Decimated, Ian Heroes, Rory, EV.IO.
- Games are beyond white-papers: playable alphas, asset sales, live economies.
17:31 – 25:00 | The Visibility Problem → Gaming on Solana
- Solana’s Twitter-native culture = discovery channel #1.
- Gaming on Solana account born to:
- Aggregate content (clips, dev AMAs, alpha leaks).
- Run weekly Spaces (Tuesdays).
- Funnel eyeballs to indie & AAA teams equally.
25:01 – 32:15 |
Solana Game Pass
Deep Dive
- Mint window: 4 weeks on Magic Eden (opens 3 pm EST).
- No FOMO drop—join week 4 and still complete all quests.
- Prize pool funded by studios and infra partners (Solflare, Gamer, Boom, Beam, Play Solana).
- Language mirrors Xbox/PlayStation Game Pass → avoids NFT jargon, eases Web2 gamers.
32:16 – 40:45 | Fixing Black-Market Skin Trading
- Legacy issue → teens wiring $$ via shady Discord brokers.
- On-chain = provably scarce, verifiable, instant global payout.
- Solana fees (< $0.001) make micro-trades viable.
40:46 – 46:10 | Global Rail, Micro-Payments & UX
- Solana lets a player in Bogotá trade seamlessly with someone in Tokyo.
- Speed + fee-less feel = “first chain begging users to spam it.”
- Jorge predicts network-effect lift once Game Pass quests go live.
46:11 – 52:40 | Fully-On-Chain Experiments
- DeFi Dungeons:
- Open ticket raise target: $3 M → pulled $130 M (broke Meteora launchpad).
- 11 k NFT collection instant sell-out.
- Star Atlas reports $700 k+ monthly on-chain revenue (fuel, ship parts, etc.).
52:41 – 1:06:08 | Regulation, Taxes & “On-Chain Super-Cycle”
- Thomas files 50 k+ TXs/yr → tooling like Wakeyn Tax closing the gap.
- Jorge calls for legal & CFO hires—two roles Web3 keeps skipping.
- Discussion of recent U.S. policy wins, Trump memecoin antics, and why clarity is bullish.
- Thomas’ thesis: “on-chain super-cycle” = user + TX growth > price cycles.
1:06:09 – 1:10:00 | Culture Check: Why Solana Sticks
- Authenticity > paid shills; grassroots meme energy (Helium users, community devs).
- Builders who survived China bans, bear-market downturns, meme-coin nukes “carry a badge of steel.”
1:10:01 – 1:15:00 | Events, Content Blitz & Sign-Off
- Accelerate NYC (May 22) – full camera crew, live demos, surprise drops.
- Breakpoint Abu Dhabi (Dec) – Game Pass season-one results + 2025 roadmap.
- Jorge’s CTA: Mint the Pass, join Tuesday Spaces, grab him IRL for content cameos.
- Thomas closes with the classic: “Subscribe, leave a review, shield your bags—work for them!”
Key Quotes
- “Technology’s not sexy—gamers just want a better experience. Solana hides the tech, delivers the fun.”
- “If you traded 50k times last year, the IRS will know soon. Better tools are your friend.”
- “We’re past white-papers; we’re in controller-in-hand territory.”
- “Community is Solana’s moats inside moats—authentic, relentless, worldwide.”
Resources & Links
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| Mint Solana Game Pass | https://magiceden.io/launchpad/gaming-on-solana-pass |
| Gaming on Solana (Twitter) | @gamingonsolana |
| Game Pass FAQ & Quest Board | https://gamingonsolana.com/pass |
| Featured Studios | Star Atlas • Aurory • MIXMOB • Honeyland • Decimated • Ian Heroes • Rory |
| On-Chain Tax Tool | awaken.tax |
| Events | Accelerate NYC – May 19-23, 2025 • Breakpoint Abu Dhabi – Dec 2025 |
Action Steps for Listeners
- Subscribe & Review on Apple/Spotify – it fuels the algo.
- Mint a Game Pass and hammer the quests (prize pool grows weekly).
- Join Tuesday Twitter Spaces to hear founders leak fresh alpha.
- Meet Thomas & Jorge in NYC (DM @solanaweeklypod / @gamingonsolana).
- Share this episode with one non-crypto gamer friend—show them the future.
(Solana Weekly and its guests provide educational content. None of the discussion constitutes investment, tax, or legal advice.)
Solana Weekly 