Blockchain technology has enabled a new era of games, known as play-to-earn games. Play-to-earn games are a popular topic among gamers, cryptocurrency investors, and tech junkies.
These are games that utilize several blockchain technologies to deliver a unique, never-before-seen gameplay. In these gameplays, players are able to perform tasks such as monetize in-game assets, interact with other players from across the globe over the blockchain, and so much more.
In this article, we will take a look at what exactly crypto gaming tokens are and also take a look at some of the best games currently in the market.
The Rise of Play-To-Earn
With the growing popularity of metaverses, and the ability for people to earn cryptocurrency in them, comes the birth of the term: play-to-earn. This is the basis of Game Finance, or GameFi for short, as players can now play blockchain games, in the form of the metaverse, and earn cryptocurrency.
This is growing into a viable option for people to earn money as more people join the metaverse due to the impact of Covid-19. This growing popularity has led to a race between projects in the space to create a metaverse that attracts the largest market share.
This race results in metaverses that offer players more ways to earn and subsequently earn more. As this race for a better metaverse continues, the viability of play-to-earn games as a source of income will grow.
What Are Play-To-Earn Games?
A play-to-earn game is any video or online game that harnesses cryptocurrency technology to reward players with something that has both virtual-world and real-world value.
The rewards that are given in these games usually come in the form of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, which are cryptographically unique tokens that can be used to prove ownership of digital content such as images or music.
Now that we have taken a look at what play-to-earn games are and how they grew in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic, let’s now take a look at some of the best play-to-earn games currently in the market.
What Are Gaming Coins?
A gaming coin is an in-game crypto that is native to a specific game. Using a gaming coin, you can purchase in-game items, characters, and weapons among other things. Players are also able to earn crypto by fulfilling in-game activities. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can sometimes also be used in these games.
Although using game coins is still in its infancy, most of these coins are already gaining traction in the more conventional gaming industry. For instance, the gaming corporation Atari partnered with the GameFi firm, Ultra, in 2020 to assist in the creation of ATARI’s VCS for home entertainment.
By the end of 2021, the market cap of all play-to-earn cryptos had topped $25 billion.
Best Play-To-Earn Games
Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is currently the most popular play-to-earn game in the market. The gameplay involves breeding various monsters, called Axies, and pitting them against each other in either the virtual arena or in adventures. Each Axie is a unique NFT and has its own genetic code. Players can interbreed Axies to breed even stronger creatures as well.
Players can also win two tokens while playing. These tokens are Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) and Smooth Love Potions (SLP). The former is a governance token and the latter is needed to breed new Axies. Players can offer their creatures up for sale on a native NFT marketplace. The better the genetic code of the creature, the more valuable it is.
One thing to note however is that Axie Infinity is not completely free to play as users will need a few ETH to buy their first Axies.
The Sandbox
The Sandbox is an open-world game built on top of the Ethereum blockchain. It’s similar to the popular game Minecraft. In the game, players create their own worlds, organize adventures in the social hub, and create their own games within the virtual world.
All of this can then be monetized. One of the most important resources in the game is LAND. Each piece of LAND is also a NFT and represents land ownership in the virtual world.
Another important aspect of the game is SAND, which is the in-game currency. Players can earn it by completing tasks or playing games within The Sandbox. Some games will require players to pay SAND first before they can participate in the game.
Players also need to hold SAND if they want to create and monetize their own games. SAND earnings made during the game can then be converted into Ether (ETH).
Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained is a blockchain-based collectible card game. Players can build decks of cards and compete against other players with them. These cards can also be won from or traded with other players. A ranked system is used to ensure that players with comparable skills compete against each other.
Valuable cards in the game are NFTs, and can be traded in the game’s NFT marketplace using the game’s native cryptocurrency, GODS. It can also be earned in tournaments. Once earned, users can then decide if they want to cash out their GODS through a supported cryptocurrency exchange or use the earnings to better their card collection.
CryptoBlades
CryptoBlades is a blockchain RPG game built on the Binance Smart Chain. Players create their own characters and give them a fantasy costume. This character is then immortalized into a NFT on the Binance Smart Chain. Similar to Axie Infinity, the game is not free to play. Newcomers will have to convert some Binance Coin (BNB) into SKILL Token for the character.
The characters compete with each other in virtual battles, allowing players to earn more SKILL in the process. Players can then use the newly acquired SKILL to unlock new traits, as well as forge and improve weapons. The SKILL Token is also a payment means for the decentralized marketplace, and characters and items can be sold for SKILL.
Splinterlands
Another blockchain-based card game on the list, Splinterlands, not only allows players to collect cards, but also items, skins and virtual lands. All of these items are NFTs that can be traded or exchanged with other players. Should players win their card battles, they will also win the in-game currency called Dark Energy Crystals (DEC).
Players can also earn DEC from completing challenges in-game. Lastly, cards can be burned to obtain more DEC, which can then be exchanged for other items.
Spliterlands is also not free to play. It will cost beginners around $10 to get started with a starter pack with their first cards. Players can also earn the game’s governance token, Splintershards (SPS), during battles which they can then stake to participate in voting.
Alien World
Originally launched on the WAX blockchain, Alien World now also runs on the Ethereum and Binance Smart chain. According to the project’s website, it is a decentralized metaverse on the base that is centered around a number of planets which players can colonize.
The planets can also join together to form federations and explore the universe together. There is also the option to fight other factions that is available in-game.
On each planet, players can mine new NFTs and a cryptocurrency called Trilium (TLM), therefore creating new tokens. Among other things, players can use these tokens to participate in voting in the “Planetary DAO”. Furthermore, they are also used to take control of other planets. Lastly, TLM can be exchanged for WAX and then sold as well.
SolChicks
SolChicks is one of the most popular play-to-earn games and is built on the Solana blockchain. In this fantasy game, the main characters are all little chicks dressed as knights and mages. Each chick is an unique NFT with its own properties, design, and attributes.
The chicks can also be bred using “Shards of Love” (SLC) Tokens. These tokens and other NFTs can be obtained by completing in-game tasks.
Overall, the concept of SolChicks is similar to the previously mentioned Axie Infinity. However, the project is still in development. There are plans to create an independent metaverse for SolChicks. Until then, players can play the game in PvE and PvP mode.
Thetan Arena
Thetan Arena is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game. This is a genre that continues to captivate millions of players. In a nutshell, Thetan Arena offers an arena in which multiple players can compete against each other to take over the enemy base. All player characters, equipment, and items are NFTs.
Unlike the other games discussed in this list, Thetan Arena is completely free to play. Players are able to earn Thetan Coin (THC). This can then be used to purchase additional NFTs or can be sold on the marketplace.
MetaWars
In MetaWars, multiplier strategy and role-playing elements are combined as players explore the vastness of the universe and go to war with other factions in space battles. An ecosystem of its own is created within the virtual world in the process.
The focus of the game is on the exploration and colonization of space. Players cooperate with each other and battle other enemy factions.
The players receive collectible NFTs and their own cryptocurrency called WARS, which can be staked. WARS serves both as governance tokens and as currency for the native marketplace. Furthermore, players can insure their own ships with the token. The NFTs earned can be sold on the marketplace.
Zed Run
For anyone that has ever wanted to own a racehorse, Zed Run is the perfect game for you. With Zed Run, you can own a digital NFT-based racehorse. The gameplay is focused towards the racing and breeding of the fastest digital horses, which can be traded on the marketplace.
The minimum requirements to get started are that a player must at least own one virtual racehorse. These horses can be purchased with Ethereum on the popular NFT marketplace, OpenSea. Over time, an entire racing stable can grow. Furthermore, owners can breed the horses with each other or auction valuable animals on the marketplace.
What Is a Metaverse?
A metaverse is a virtual world built using blockchain technology. Its gameplay is similar to ready-player-one games where you are given an avatar and can freely explore the entire virtual world. Some metaverses include obstacles or in-game assets that your avatar can interact with. Some also include a way for you to earn money by completing various in-game tasks or jobs.
The most popular way to make money in the metaverse is by purchasing plots of land in the virtual world and then selling it at a higher price after holding it for sometime. Another popular way to earn in the metaverse is by acquiring rare in-game assets and then selling them on the marketplace.
All of these in-game assets, whether virtual land, characters with special attributes, or other assets like avatar skins, are all represented as non-fungible tokens. Let’s take a look at what non-fungible tokens are.
Non-Fungible Tokens Defined
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are both virtual and real-world objects represented as unique digital items that can be easily transferred. NFTs are non-fungible because they are unique and cannot be replaced by something similar to them.
They are non-interchangeable units of data that are stored on the blockchain. Using blockchain’s digital ledger, proof of ownership and the authenticity of each NFT can be verified.
Now that we have taken a brief look at what NFTs are, let’s take a look at how they play a critical role in play-to-earn metaverse games.
NFTs In the Metaverse
As mentioned earlier, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are used to represent in-game assets in the metaverse. Thanks to NFTs, in-game assets can now be bought and sold on various blockchain marketplaces and platforms like exchanges, giving players a way to earn money in the metaverse.
Companies are also creating their own virtual merchandise in the metaverse using non-fungible tokens. This merchandise is mainly in the form of wearables, which are virtual pieces of clothing that can be worn by players’ avatars – similar to player skins.
These pieces of virtual clothing are branded by the company and can be sneakers, caps, hoodies, t-shirts, or any other pieces of clothing. Another way that companies are growing their presence in the metaverse is through owning or renting virtual plots of land in the metaverse.
Should You Invest In Gaming Coins?
Since gaming tokens are essentially cryptos, they have the inherent risk associated with cryptos. Despite a large number of gaming tokens having heaps of success over the past year, the entire blockchain market saw a bearish turn, resulting in several popular projects losing 80% or more of their value from their all-time highs.
Gaming coins have a very uncertain future. This is mainly because virtual worlds and games built on the blockchain have a long way to go if they want to catch up to the video game industry. Should blockchain gaming manage to catch up, there is no way of telling which, if any, of the current games will survive.
If you do not want to spend too much time diving into gamin cryptos, or if you are concerned about the risk, crypto stocks are a good alternative. Big cryptos such as Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) tend to be a bit safer than smaller cap cryptos.
For everyone that decides to pursue crypto gaming as an investment opportunity, the age old advice of do your own research is more important than ever. Since gaming coins are relatively new, they have not yet established a track record. So, take your time learning about what each gaming token offers and what their goals are to make an informed decision.
What is Yield Guild Games (YGG)?
Yield Guild Games is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) that invests in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that are used in blockchain games. All of these blockchain-based games are part of a broader concept known as the metaverse.
The term metaverse refers to the many elements that make up virtual blockchain-based worlds, and includes the worlds’ pieces of lands, assets, and more.
Gabby Dizon, the YGG co-founder and CEO, noticed a trend in blockchain gaming forming in Southeast Asia. At the time, Dizon also noted how many people in the region wanted to get started with blockchain gaming, but lacked the necessary funding to do so. This led to the idea for the global YGG gaming community coming into fruition in 2018.
A core understanding of how empowering blockchain gaming could become for people in developing countries is what led to Dizon lending his own blockchain game NFTs to other players who were unable to purchase their own. This inspired him to co-found Yield Guild Games with Beryl Li in 2020 to help gamers thrive in the world of NFTs and blockchain gaming.
To Recap
With the growing popularity of metaverses, and the ability for people to earn cryptocurrency in them, comes the birth of the term: play-to-earn. This is the basis of Game Finance, or GameFi for short, as players can now play blockchain games, in the form of the metaverse, and earn cryptocurrency.
A gaming coin is an in-game crypto that is native to a specific game. Using a gaming coin, you can purchase in-game items, characters, and weapons among other things. Players are also able to earn crypto by fulfilling in-game activities.
