Lessons in Web3 Game Finance from Mihee Park’s Journey — Zilliqa, Big Time, and Open Loot
As Web3 gaming continues to evolve from an experimental frontier to an investable class, few voices carry the cross-functional credibility of Mihee Park, CFO at Large Time Studios – the creator of Open Loot, the main Internet 3 recreation distribution platform, and Large Time, the flagship AAA ARPG Internet 3 recreation, and previously CFO at Zilliqa. Having led at protocol-layer platforms like Zilliqa, transitioned to studio-level operations at Large Time Studios, Park has developed a uncommon perspective on how operational management should adapt at every layer of the stack.
Her journey throughout these vastly totally different organizational fashions has reshaped how she thinks about danger, and the function of leaders in decentralized ecosystems.
“Working with protocols like Zilliqa required a macro-level method to danger, targeted on systemic points akin to community safety, token volatility, regulatory ambiguity, and the broader ecosystem’s well being,” Park displays. “Danger administration was closely tied to the protocol’s sustainability and the financial alignment throughout decentralized contributors.”
On the protocol degree, danger was measured in broad strokes. Governance uncertainty. Validator incentives. System-wide token provide. For Park, sustainability meant aligning incentives throughout actors who usually had competing pursuits—and doing so with minimal direct management.
However issues modified dramatically when she moved to Large Time Studios, the place the work turned way more operational and rapid.
“In distinction, at gaming studios like Large Time, the method turns into extra granular and operational,” she explains. “The dangers are faster-moving and nearer to the consumer—issues like in-game asset inflation, financial imbalances, compliance with NFT gross sales, and even market conduct.”
Web3 video games function in a stay atmosphere with a extremely engaged (and extremely reactive) consumer base. Small modifications to merchandise drop charges or token utility can shift consumer sentiment—and income—nearly immediately. Park emphasizes the necessity for precision and pace in response.
“You’re coping with a stay, player-facing product, which suggests you want real-time information and controls in place. Recreation economies are dynamic, and small modifications can have outsized impacts on each the consumer expertise and income integrity.”
What emerged was a brand new framework—one rooted in speedy iteration and embedded collaboration.
“My method advanced from managing ecosystem-scale, systemic danger to designing real-time, economy-driven controls. In protocols, the important thing was alignment and sustainability. In video games, it’s precision and flexibility.”
“Finally, I now see danger not simply as one thing to mitigate, however as one thing to design round—particularly when your financial system is user-owned, real-time, and constructed on decentralized rails.”
Redefining the CFO Function in Web3
Park’s evolution as an operational chief is emblematic of the broader shift occurring throughout the business: the place conventional CFOs as soon as targeted on price facilities, compliance, and reporting, the brand new Web3 CFO have to be operationally embedded and deeply concerned in product growth.
For these entering into this world, she presents clear recommendation grounded in each self-discipline and imaginative and prescient.
“At first: do your homework. Learn the whitepapers. Be taught the expertise. Perceive the market. You will not be writing code, however you will need to be capable of interact deeply along with your product and tech groups.”
Web3 finance will not be a back-office perform. It’s deeply intertwined with product design, token technique, consumer conduct, and platform expertise. With out context, even fundamental selections like treasury allocation or pricing can backfire.
“Web3 finance is multidisciplinary—you’ll be able to’t lead should you solely perceive one piece of the puzzle.”
Second, Park emphasizes the significance of staying near the motion.
“Keep hands-on and operational. The Web3 area is 24/7. Conventional monetary markets shut; Web3 doesn’t. When you’re not near the day-to-day operations, you’ll miss insights and alternatives to optimize your small business.”
It isn’t nearly strategic fashions—it’s about execution loops. And in Web3, these loops are quicker and fewer forgiving.
“Third: know your ‘why.’ Don’t enter Web3 as a result of it’s stylish. Perceive the core worth it presents, particularly the shift towards consumer possession and decentralization. This shift challenges many conventional assumptions about worth creation.”
This precept has guided Park throughout each function she has taken. From Zilliqa’s protocol governance to Large Time’s in-game asset administration to Open Loot’s infrastructure layer, her focus stays on creating integrity at scale.
“Finally, a Web3 CFO have to be a enterprise chief with the imaginative and prescient to innovate, the ability to execute, and the dedication to empower customers,” she says. “Monetary management on this area isn’t about following templates—it’s about combining operational and tech expertise to ship new merchandise at scale on your group.”
Constructing the Template Others Will Comply with
As extra video games start to look past token launches towards sustainable enterprise fashions, Park’s voice is one among readability in an area nonetheless wrestling with volatility. Her journey displays the sorts of transitions Web3 finance should undergo: from protocol-level alignment to player-facing precision, from static planning to real-time management, and from conventional compliance to adaptive, embedded design.
In an area that always prizes hype over construction, Park represents the inverse—a frontrunner targeted on constructing the rails that may outlast the cycle.
And as she places it greatest, that work is not only about mitigating danger. It’s about designing the way forward for how Web3 video games function.
