With the popularity of cryptocurrency, blockchain gaming has become a new genre of gaming. Blockchain games are decentralized and use cryptocurrency to power their in-game economy. This allows for a more secure and transparent gaming experience.
Although blockchain gaming is still new, its impact on gaming is becoming the next big thing, and not just in terms of financial transactions. The use of blockchain can change the very nature of how games are played.
Here’s a look at how blockchain is being used in gaming, who are the players, and what it could mean for the future of this rapidly growing industry.
Blockchain-based games are already being developed and played. One example is Ethereum-based CryptoKitties, which allows players to breed and trade digital cats. Other games under development include decentralized versions of popular titles like FIFA, Call of Duty, and World of Warcraft.
The games industry boomed in lockdown and market value will reach $320 billion, and it is only natural that some of this money would flow into blockchain gaming companies. For instance, Everyrealm, one of the most active investors in and developers of the metaverse real estate ecosystem, just powered the launch of a new game on Sandbox. They previously raised $60M led by Andreessen.
There are already a number of popular blockchain gaming companies out there, each with its own unique offerings. One such example is Decentral Games which enables users to play games in the Metaverse.
The company follows the “play to earn” model. This model allows players to earn cryptocurrency (ICE Tokens) that can be traded for real-world currency. Decentral Games also completed its ICE merge recently which means ICE token emissions will drop by 55%.
According to the company, the drop is achieved by changing the type of rewards obtained by delegated players who are renting the wearable NFTs required for joining the game. From now on, instead of direct ICE rewards, they will obtain “banked ICE” which can be used to purchase wearables and join its tournaments.
“The existing play-to-earn model is broken. While offering limitless rewards to those that have invested nothing can be incredible for bootstrapping player liquidity, they are unsustainable. We’ve seen this with nearly every major GameFi project that kept this model. We’re taking a different approach. Our focus is on the long term and it centers on enabling our players to own in-game assets through their gameplay while managing the token emissions we create so that the player base can scale without issue. This is what’s going to set us apart over the next 12-18 months.”
Matthew Howells-Barby, CMO -Decentral Games
For those unsure of how to get into the Metaverse; joining the Metaverse is easy and only requires a few steps to get started. First, create an account on any of the many participating websites. Once you have an account, you can begin creating your own 3D avatar.
After you have created your avatar, you can start exploring the Metaverse. There are many different ways to explore the Metaverse, including visiting virtual worlds, chatting with other users, and of course, participating in online games.
Not only is this a great way for gamers to make some extra cash, but it also helps to support the development of new and innovative games. Blockchain gaming is still in its early stages, but it has already shown great potential for changing the way we think about video game monetization.
