The gaming industry boomed in the past years as streaming platforms allowed anyone to become a creator and build up an audience. Today’s most popular streamers started as regular people on the internet, such as PewDiePie, who gained traction on YouTube through Let’s Play (LP) content.
But he was not the only streamer who broke the internet with video content.
Interestingly, his popularity drew more curiosity over gaming from people worldwide, which boosted the gaming industry and made developers and companies more profitable than ever. Collaborating with gaming streamers has become a way to appeal to customers more humanistically, changing the entire outlook on gaming.
As technology evolved, we’ve seen different sectors being introduced in gaming. Blockchain, for example, would allow players to tap into new worlds and perspectives. VR and AR became more popular through gaming, blockchain, and cryptocurrency.
In fact, this trend sparked the rise of play-to-earn (P2E) games, where users leverage the Bitcoin price to fund their portfolios and boost their income through gameplay. But what does P2E actually imply?
What are P2E Games?
P2E games allow users who play games on the blockchain to win money in the form of a virtual currency. Depending on the game’s infrastructure and developing team, earning currencies could mean receiving valuable in-game assets for playing a certain number of hours.
Although most players are used to receiving these assets and using them only in the game, P2E blockchain games allow users to transfer these valuables to their portfolios, send them to regular accounts, and withdraw them.
The best thing about play-to-earn games is they’re decentralized, meaning there’s no central authority controlling games or interfering with the player’s gaming experience.
We already know what happens when a gaming company hinders a player’s experience by making them pay for absolutely anything in the game (yes, we’re talking about EA and their in-game microtransactions).
What are the Current Best P2E Games?
Although they’re not as famous as other games on the market, these decentralized games are pretty popular in the crypto ecosystem, gaining a considerable number of players on their blockchains:
- Axie Infinity enables players to earn rewards like NFTs, in-game currencies, and Axie Infinity Shards by playing with Pokémon-like monsters. The game is based on the Ethereum blockchain, so players have to deposit ETH in their wallets in to be able to start and buy three Axies characters;
- The Sandbox is a gaming platform on the Ethereum blockchain based on user-generated content production through which players receive copyright ownership of their in-game assets. In the game, anyone can build and monetize their virtual worlds and win NFTs;
- Illuvium is another Ethereum-based game in which players can collect and use the Illuvial creatures in battle. The open-world exploration game blends in PVP features, making it engaging and exciting;
Why Are So Many Blockchain Games Using Ethereum?
The Ethereum blockchain is one of the main technologies used for P2 games, as it offers developers plenty of tools to develop them. Some of these games include 3D graphics or Artificial Intelligence that require the proper infrastructure to be adequately designed, and Ethereum is one of them.
Ethereum is an excellent choice for game developers as it provides high-security features and transparent transactions.
This is the main feature that makes playing and earning available because the model requires the use of decentralized platforms (dApps) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are necessary for gaming.
Ethereum allows for:
- True ownership for in-game assets so users can trade characters, weapons, or collectibles easily;
- Unique game mechanism through smart contracts that automate in-game transactions;
- Market evolution as the use of NFTs in gaming expands the horizon for future innovations;
So, How Can You Play Decentralized Games?
Decentralized games require a few more things than regular ones in order to be played. That’s because after finding a game that appeals to your liking, you must set up a digital wallet in order to fund it and receive cryptocurrencies.
Digital wallets can be hot (software-based) or cold (hardware-based). Make sure to choose wallets from reputable companies and secure them well to protect your funds from hackers or vulnerabilities.
After setting up the wallet, you need to buy some cryptocurrency, usually Ethereum, but
depending on the game’s requirements, it can be any other cryptocurrency in the market. Transfer the crypto to your digital wallet, and you’re good to go.
You must connect your wallet to the game, which will transfer you to its interface. Since it’s built on the blockchain, it might look a bit different than regular games, so take your time to familiarize yourself with the design and commands.
Pros and Cons of P2E Decentralized Games
P2E games are great because they provide gamers with incentives. But that’s not the only advantage. Since they’re built on the blockchain and are backed by cryptography, decentralized games are more secure than regular ones.
At the same time, they ensure enhanced privacy as the player has more control over their in-game assets.
However, players must also consider the downsides of decentralized games. For example, they require a certain level of technical know-how, so gamers must learn about blockchain, cryptocurrency, and decentralization to improve their gaming experience.
Moreover, even after learning about these technologies, players might face problems with interoperability, as blockchains are still far from seamlessly communicating with each other.
Finally, the endless scalability issues make it difficult for games to adapt to an increasing number of players on the blockchain, hindering the gaming experience.
Have You Played P2E Games Yet?
The increasing popularity of the gaming industry helped play-to-earn games gain traction in the entertainment industry, becoming an essential part of the sector.
P2E games allow gamers to receive considerable rewards for engaging in these decentralized environments, contributing to the improvement of the industry. Games like Axie Infinity or Illuvium are now popular user choices, and they’re great for users who want to take it slow with blockchain gaming.
