In the fast-moving world of Web3 gaming, there is no shortage of bold ideas or flashy token launches. But beneath the surface, very few companies are building the durable financial and operational infrastructure required to scale real businesses. According to Mihee Park, CFO at Big Time Studios – the creator of Open Loot, the leading Web 3 game distribution platform, and Big Time, the flagship AAA ARPG Web 3 game, and formerly CFO at Zilliqa – that missing layer is the true bottleneck to Web3 gaming’s evolution, and also its biggest opportunity.
“True infrastructure in Web3 gaming goes far beyond just designing tokenomics or issuing an in-game currency,” Park explains. “It’s about creating a fully integrated system that connects gameplay, asset flow, user behavior, revenue recognition, compliance, and operational scalability.”
While most projects focus on incentive models and initial mints, Park sees tokenomics as just the starting layer—“the blueprint,” as she puts it. The real work happens beneath: how transactions are tracked, how assets move between users and systems, and how financial and regulatory systems remain aligned as player behavior evolves.
“At Big Time, for example, we had to build systems that tracked and reconciled fiat payments, crypto transactions, NFT mints, marketplace behaviors, and in-game actions—all in real time,” she says. That coordination required tight collaboration across finance, engineering, design, and compliance teams, each operating at the edge of traditional and decentralized systems.
It’s that blend between Web2-grade operational discipline and Web3-native flexibility—that Park believes will define the next era of gaming platforms. For her, true infrastructure is not just about scaling fast. It’s about scaling responsibly.
“It’s not just about understanding how tokens function,” she notes, “but also about how each economic activity maps to user incentives, regulatory requirements, and gaming infrastructure in a broader sense.”
“In short, true financial infrastructure means building the rails that ensure your game is not only innovative but also auditable, scalable, and sustainable. It’s the foundation that allows a Web3 game to operate like a real business, with integrity, transparency, and long-term viability.”
More Than a Marketplace
That perspective is now at the heart of Open Loot, a platform built to serve as the financial and operational backbone of Web3 gaming studios. And as Park sees it, most studios are not equipped to build this stack themselves.
“Open Loot is purpose-built to support Web3 gaming studios by providing the infrastructure, tools, and services that are often too complex, costly, or time-consuming for studios to build in-house, especially in early or scaling stages.”
While most people know Open Loot for its NFT marketplace and distribution platform, the full offering goes far deeper. Behind the interface is a robust operational layer designed to abstract complexity for game teams while delivering security and scalability to players.
“At its core, Open Loot offers a comprehensive platform that handles the full lifecycle of digital asset management—from minting to marketplace—with a focus on delivering seamless experiences for both developers and players,” she says.
That includes far more than just asset sales. Park outlines a backend stack that includes global fiat and crypto payment processing, integrated KYC and AML compliance, risk management, customer support and dispute resolution, a PC game launcher tailored for Web3, and tools for user acquisition and growth.
“By handling these complex backend functions,” she says, “Open Loot allows studios to launch faster, scale more efficiently, and operate in a compliant and secure environment—all while creating player-driven economies that are sustainable and engaging.”
“In short, Open Loot is more than a marketplace—it’s the operational backbone for Web3 gaming.”
A CFO Role at the Intersection of Product and Platform
Park’s leadership role at Open Loot reflects the platform’s hybrid identity: part game studio, part infrastructure provider. As CFO, she is not just overseeing a budget or reporting financials—she is helping to architect the systems that power every transaction and token lifecycle on the platform.
“What makes my role as CFO at Open Loot unique is the breadth of responsibilities that go far beyond traditional finance,” she explains. “In addition to overseeing financial strategy, I design the payment processing platform architecture and token operations, which are both critical pillars of our platform and directly tied to the success of our partner studios.”
That includes everything from compliance-heavy fiat integration to user-facing crypto utility feature enablement on the platform. On the payments side, Park leads infrastructure efforts that ensure fiat and crypto can flow freely, without compromising compliance or user experience.
“Payments aren’t just a back-office function at Open Loot,” she says. “They’re a key part of the user experience, powering seamless marketplace activity across Web3 games.”
Her token operations work is just as involved, stretching from tokenomics design through to designing platform infrastructure behind exchange integrations, liquidity modeling, and utility across in-game and marketplaces.
“It’s a highly cross-functional domain that requires financial rigor, technical fluency, and a deep understanding of player behavior and game design.”
Park believes one of Open Loot’s biggest advantages is its dual identity as both a platform and a game developer. That inside perspective gives the team empathy and precision when building systems that need to serve both engineers and end users.
“We’re not just a platform—we’re also a game development company. That means we intimately understand the needs of both developers and players.”
“As CFO, I’m not just managing numbers—I’m helping build ecosystems where games can thrive, assets can flow securely, and players can engage meaningfully.”
Building the Future Quietly
While much of Web3 gaming continues to chase the next viral drop or airdrop cycle, Park is focused on something more foundational.
“Innovation in this space is exciting, but what Web3 gaming actually needs is infrastructure that makes innovation operational, compliant, and repeatable.”
And in her view, that’s where the real opportunity lies—not just in building games, but in building economies that last.