How Blockchain and NFTs are Proving Beneficial for Play-To-Earn Games

Gaming Industry has always been a major stakeholder in the entertainment sector attracting not only the teenage group but also young adults. The recent pandemic has also led to an increase in the number of users playing video games which has flourished mobile gaming as well as added to the popularity of Esports. The gaming industry reached an all-time high worth of 178 billion dollars at the end of last year but it is expected to reach new heights after the introduction of blockchain into the gaming industry.

Playing video games has always remained an entertaining and leisure activity but soon it will become a source of earning money too with the development of Play-to-Earn blockchain games. Previously, the revenue from video games was only associated with the companies or developers building it, but now with the notion of "decentralization" becoming famous among the users, developers are also looking forward to including players and gamers in the revenue model. Play to earn gaming model is a very attractive and innovative concept that will surely open a new gateway for the gaming industry. According to a famous NFT creator and writer, Loopify, "2022 will be the year of blockchain gaming sector" and it is proving out to be true as more than 1300 play-to-earn games are already developed and have a considerable amount of users playing them. Moreover, many websites have also announced scholarships and academies to help users enter this modern yet rewarding world of p2e games.

Play-To-Earn Games:

As the name implies, play-to-earn games reward the users upon playing the game in multiple forms. Either they unlock in-game assets or win rewards upon playing the game and then can sell off these assets or rewards to other users either inside the game or on a third-party platform. Although people have been earning money through video games previously either by live-streaming the gameplay on a platform like YouTube, unofficially selling their game accounts to other users, or participating in Esports. But all of these techniques come with a lot of conditions and are limited to a few top-notch gamers only. Play-to-earn blockchain-based games are a different concept that uses NFTs and blockchain to decentralize the whole gaming experience and allow users to have complete ownership of the in-game assets including characters, weapons, armors, XPs, vehicles, etc. These assets can be traded with cryptocurrencies to earn real money.

These games can prove to be a source of entertainment as well as earnings. Users can easily get started free of cost or some of these games require an NFT to start playing the game. Countries like Indonesia, Venezuela, and the Philippines have a massive young population that is earning a considerable income through these play-to-earn games. It may not be effective for everyone but surely these games offer opportunities for earning a good amount for the ones who dedicate their time. Play-to-earn games have revolutionized the gaming industry by introducing an in-game economy for benefitting not only the developers but also the key stakeholders of any game i.e. the users playing it.

The Role of NFTs:

NFTs are cryptographic tokens developed on the blockchain to represent unique collectibles and items. Normally, they are used to represent paintings, artworks, real estate, and any unique asset like a video, photo, or even a meme. They can have the description or characteristics of the item they represent in their metadata which can be used to prove ownership, verify the authenticity and originality of the collectible or unique item. Anyone can view the details of the NFT and can verify the actual ownership of the item. In traditional video games, everything inside the game is limited to a separate database owned by the game developer, while the play-to-earn games are developed on the blockchain and therefore everything inside the game is also on the blockchain. The in-game assets of the blockchain games are represented through NFTs i.e. they are unique, cannot be exchanged, and do not have the same value.

These NFTs allow users and gamers to own the in-game assets, move them to another game, sell them to other users or even transfer it to a third-party NFT exchange for trading them with cryptocurrencies. From weapons, avatars, and armors to clothing, land, and buildings inside the blockchain-based p2e games are represented through NFTs and can be collected by the user as a reward upon playing the game. As NFTs in p2e games like Axie Infinity are the characters that take part in gameplay and they represent virtual real estate in other games including SandBox, Decentraland, Bloktopia, etc.

The in-game economies of these modern blockchain games are based on these cryptographic non-fungible tokens and they are the basis of play-to-earn concept.

How Developers Can Benefit From Play-To-Earn Games:

In traditional games, the economy is driven by one side only and the developer gets the whole revenue. Developers either sell out the game CDs or use advertisements inside the games. While it may seem like the introduction of blockchain games or play-to-earn games will eradicate the chances of developers earning money but the opposite is actually true. With play-to-earn games, developers will have much more opportunities to increase their game revenue. Apart from the in-game assets that the users will win as a reward, developers can use the virtual infrastructure inside the game i.e. the real estate land, buildings, shops, etc. as NFTs, and can sell them to users. Most of the blockchain games also allow users to customize their property inside the game and developers can also earn by offering those customizations. Moreover, the games that involve battle can be used to arrange mega competitions inside the game attracting a huge audience with the tickets. Developers can also use smart contracts to earn a percentage over the reselling of NFTs and the virtual real estate inside the game.

A majority of the play-to-earn games aren’t completely free to play as they require purchasing an NFT to take part in the gameplay either in the form of a character/avatar or a virtual real estate land. So all these things can also be a source of revenue for the developers. This implies that play-to-earn games are appealing to both parties involved in the gaming industry making it not only fun but also a better source of earning cryptocurrency.

The Way Forward:

Play-to-earn games are already functional, the most famous include the Axie Infinity which has over 2.8 Million users playing it every single day with around 3.2 Billion dollars in total trading volume. Other popular ones include Bloktopia, Illuvium, Decentraland, SandBox, Vulcan Forged, Gods Unchained, etc. which involve earning through NFTs or their native coins. They are already proving to be a successful alternative to traditional video games. The current generation of p2e video games is focused more on earning and less on user engagement, better experience, and entertainment. Therefore, moving forward it is necessary to develop those video games on the blockchain that cater to both needs of the users so they do not get fed up playing these games.

With the development of Metaverse in the coming years, NFTs will play a major role in that virtual reality environment. People are currently investing in platforms like Decentraland and SandBox which support NFTs and also allow developers to build their own games. Play-to-earn games can be a revolutionary move in the Metaverse and who knows it may emerge as the only gaming model sidelining the traditional games. Multiple companies have already announced their plans regarding the development of next-generation p2e games and the emerging blockchains can be an appealing blend for the gaming community. ViCA is also one of these notable platforms that will launch its gaming NFTs in the upcoming months catering to the need of the gaming community. Users can buy these NFTs on the ViCA website and they will be able to transfer them to any of the blockchain games or use them in the Metaverse enhancing their entertainment experience.

About ViCA:

ViCA is a comprehensive ecosystem where arbitrage supports the development of a shared virtual reality Metaverse. ViCA utilizes the Ethereum blockchain in building a unique virtual world that is beyond digital assets representing land, it is a comprehensive system of 3D objects, buildings, cities, plants, personas, and way more that will be available in the form of NFTs. All these assets will be developed by the ViCA team and members of the community helping shape the ultimate parallel world as desired and pace up the transition towards the Metaverse. The ecosystem will be supported with its native token called the ViCA token which is based on an unprecedented Noflation concept and the arbitrage trading model.

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