The universe of blockchain innovation and cryptocurrencies has recently witnessed tremendous growth, with the climaxes between 2020 and 2021. While the popular categories like financial services (exchanges, lending, and payment methods) dominate, innovative approaches have seen the crypto world foray into many real-world use cases, from art to entertainment to data management. Non-fungible tokens are currently popular, as satisfied tokenization continues to gain remarkable traction in the realm of entertainment. The gaming industry is not abandoned, growing in leaps and bounds between 2020-2021.
Play-to-earn games took the audience’s focal point in the crypto space in 2021, with a whirlwind of activity that has seen the likes of Axie Infinity record income volumes of more than $700 million. Other gaming sensations have also recorded impressive numbers, making the sector blast with developers building and launching games on several blockchain networks. Although games have been in the crypto space for some time now, the play-to-earn model and the fusion of NFTs into gaming ecosystems have drawn the attention of many crypto enthusiasts. To understand the appeal of play-to-earn NFT games and how they work, the basics that define the shape of such projects should be appropriately understood.
What are NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens are a cryptocurrency standard that differs from the standard, such that they are interesting and cannot be transferred in slivers. At the point when special items like a substance or a work of art (music, a video, or an artwork) are cryptographically stored on the blockchain, they are known as non-fungible tokens. NFTs are remarkable, which makes them advantageous for content creators, as no two versions of the same non-fungible token can at any point exist. Whether there is an assortment of identical NFTs, each one retains exceptional metadata that cannot be duplicated.
NFTs have been introduced into blockchain games for quite a while, serving as in-game assets, trading cards, and rewards. The fusion of NFTs and decentralized finance into blockchain games gave rise to the play-to-earn peculiarity.
What is Play-to-earn All About?
Computer games are a major source of recreation globally, especially for young individuals. Since the gaming industry encountered a blast in the 90s — the era of gaming consoles, cartridges, and 8-bit and 32-bit graphics — studios have continued to enhance the rhythm and increase the quality of new releases. However, while computer games and smartphone games have been psychologically rewarding, they have hardly made anyone more extravagant, besides through occasional tournaments that reward the best of the best. Players even had to make in-game purchases with their credit/debit cards, and they never really claimed whatever assets they acquired within the game.
The play-to-earn gaming model changes all of that. Gamers can now earn real cash — in crypto — for playing, own in-game assets and rewards as NFTs with full command over their assets, and investigate the universe of Defi within the game. Essentially, the play-to-earn model rewards gamers for their skills and even playing time.
Players also appreciate the exposure to Defi services like farming, liquidity mining, and staking. In some game setups, players stake the in-game cash to earn rewards in tokens and NFTs. In others, gamers can stake their NFTs and get rewards in tokens or other in-game assets. Gamers can also lease their assets to other gamers and earn commissions from their winnings. Play-to-earn games combine the beauty of gaming and decentralized finance, creating a good excursion for each gamer.
How Does The Play-to-earn Model Work?
Blockchain innovation allows gamers to earn real rewards for playing without compromising their identities or bank accounts — regular games will expect players to associate their cards with making purchases. While players can participate by connecting their crypto wallets to the in-game setup, authorization and transaction approval rests in the hands of the gamers. Most importantly, play-to-earn is facilitated by the use of smart contracts.
- A vital part of the blockchain includes
- Smart contracts ensure the smooth running of decentralized applications
- Can program milestones to a smart contract such that when a player reaches a particular achievement
- The smart contract initiates a reward transaction straight to the player’s wallet
- No outsider involvement is required, and the whole process poses no danger to either player or the game
- The gameplay is represented by smart contracts, programs, and codes
- There can be no accusation of manipulation from the designer, except if a bug is recognized in the code.
What are In-game NFTs?
Gamers generally love to be rewarded, and when these rewards come in the type of cryptocurrencies and NFTs they have full command over, it is much really interesting. In play-to-earn NFT games, in-game money, and in-game assets, NFTs, are the rewards available for players. In games that combine the play-to-earn model with NFTs, the assets in the game’s ecosystem — gameplay, marketplace, training — are all non-fungible tokens, giving the players full command over their assets.
Players can purchase, sell, lease, and upgrade their in-game NFTs or even transfer them starting with one wallet and then the next. Most games liaise with established NFT marketplaces to trade assets from the game, while others have a marketplace within the game’s ecosystem.
Play-to-earn NFT games generally come in two categories: allowed-to-play and pay-to-play games. As their names suggest, allowed-to-play games don’t need an initial investment for players to participate. In contrast, pay-to-play games largely expect gamers to purchase characters, assets, or tokens to start playing and earning.
The Future of Play-to-earn NFT Games
Several games are beginning to propose the idea of a metaverse — a virtual world involvement with which players will completely participate — while some like The Sandbox already feature virtual reality as gaming studios turn towards creating entirely different fictional worlds for blockchain games, many trusts that play-to-earn NFT games are just getting started. The blockchain gaming industry is proposed to be worth more than $250 billion in 2026, and the improvement of metaverse-themed games appears to be a catalyst for the projected growth.
Play-to-earn NFT games are the future of blockchain gaming, giving players many opportunities to earn rewards for their time and resources.
