Play-to-earn gaming has taken the crypto world by storm, and it’s easy to see why. With this unique gaming model, which is geared to adults, participants are rewarded with cryptocurrency or NFTs just for playing games they would probably play for free. Axie Infinity, the most popular platform for play-to-earn gaming at the moment, allows users to build up a collection of “Axies” they can use across the company’s universe of games. From there, the company uses Blockchain to reward its players for taking part.
However, it’s worth noting that play-to-earn gaming isn’t technically “free” — at least not at first. With Axie Infinity, you need three Axies to get started in the first place, and these Axies cost cold, hard cash. To meet this requirement, you may have to fork over $1,000 USD or more, as you can see by looking at the game’s Marketplace Dashboard.
From there, you can make money by selling SLPs (smooth love potions), breeding rare Axies, and through AXS staking. You also earn crypto just for playing various games the platform offers.
Interestingly, each Axie in itself is an NFT, or non-fungible token, that is ultimately minted on the Ethereum blockchain. That’s why Axies cost money, and why you can sell them for a profit.
But note that you don’t have to sell your digital game assets through the platform itself. Any in-game assets you own or breed are yours, so they can be traded on platforms outside the game’s universe. You can also sell your Axies in an effort to get your money back if you stop playing the game.
The Power Of Play-To-Earn Gaming
According to Steven Walters, CEO and founder at Gallant Token, it’s no wonder Axie Infinity has such a huge following. The ability to earn real-world value by playing a blockchain game is luring people into the market for the simple reason that value can be earned by having fun, he says. He also adds that, with the addition of NFTs, you are not only earning money for your time, “but you are also gaining an asset.”
“These NFTs can be obtained by purchasing them, earning them, or receiving them as a gift,” he says. “In some ways, players can level up their NFTs and resell them in a marketplace.”
Walters also says that regular gaming could go the way of the dinosaur due to the play-to-earn gaming model. After all, there are opportunities for parents to create a wallet and allow their children or teenagers to play these games in the future, which would give them the opportunity to do things they couldn’t do after playing an Xbox. For example, they could earn money to spend on real-world items, save for college, or save for the future.
“Mass adoption is underway, and major players in the gaming industry have begun to lay the groundwork for this new era of gaming,” he says.
Diego Di Tommaso, co-founder and COO of OVR.ai, points out that play-to-earn gaming also showcases how NFTs are the building blocks of the internet of the future. The fact that you can truly own a digital asset and then sell it in permission-less fashion outside of the platform where it was initially created is a game-changer, he says.
After all, can you sell your skins from Fortnite in open markets? Tommaso says you can’t for now, but you could if those skins were NFTs.
Tommaso also says play-to-earn gaming showcases the potential of blockchain technology in general. For example, when was the last time Google or Facebook gave you back some valuable digital assets for interacting with their platforms?
Further, this type of gaming “opens up our mental models to imagine a world where people can actually make a living in a metaverse,” says Tommaso. “It shows us a way out from a possibly dystopian future where we spend our time in a metaverse that we can’t own.”
This makes play-to-earn gaming much different from the world we live in now — a world where all the economic value generated is captured by private companies who don’t share the spoils with the people who made it possible.
What Happens Next?
Stefan Ateljevic, who is founder of CryptoBlokes, says that many people around the world are currently bringing in a side income with play-to-earn gaming, and that the potential is unlimited. Average players are bringing in a few hundred bucks per month just for playing a couple of hours per day. If you already have a 9-5 job, it’s a great way of adding some income while having fun, he says.
However, this process has given the opportunity for people in developing countries to earn a respectable wage by playing games on the metaverse. In countries like Venezuela and the Philippines, many people are “playing-to-earn” on blockchain games as their full-time career, he says.
Ateljevic adds that, as the metaverse continues to evolve, it will gain more value and it will be entirely possible to make a good living as a professional gamer.
“Or rather, it will make it more accessible since nowadays only the top-tier players make good money playing mainstream games like Counterstrike, DotA and so on,” he says. “Games that run on blockchain, on the other hand, are connected to their native cryptocurrency and blockchain, giving them infinitely more value.”
The Bottom Line
Some experts say it’s likely we’re only at the beginning of this journey. Oleg Kurchenko, Founder and CEO of Binaryx digital asset exchange, says that the development of an entire industry is taking place in real time. With more people getting involved in play-to-earn gaming, the number of projects is also growing. This has led to an increased interest in cryptos and NFTs as a result.
Ultimately, play-to-earn gaming is more than a new twist on traditional gaming; it’s a way to earn money doing something you love. Kurchenko says more games will be working their way to the market in the near future, as well as more sophisticated products, which will only attract more investment.
“For the crypto and NFT platforms, it means a rapid expansion and development,” he says.
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