What is Crypto Gaming? Play, Earn, and Own in Virtual Worlds

Introduction 

The evolution in tech and blockchain advancements paints an enticing transformation and history in almost every industry, including gaming. From Nim and Spacewar, which dates back to the 1960s, to Minecraft and Metaverse games like Sandbox and Axie Infinity, you have probably played at least one. It’s hard to ignore the paradigm shift in the gaming industry and new avenues it holds. But what exactly is this crypto and gaming transition? And how can you benefit most from it? 

This article will uncover crypto gaming, its working, perks and risks, a few top gaming platforms, and how you can earn money with crypto gaming. Let’s begin.

What is Crypto Gaming? 

In simple terms, crypto gaming is the fusion of crypto assets into modern games to create a gaming economy for players where they can make money from playing activities. Gamers can own in-game assets, like characters, skins, maps, etc., in NFTs and exchange them for money on centralized and decentralized crypto marketplaces. 

The crypto gaming platforms are trying to create virtual worlds as games with their native currencies and ownership rights. The native assets power the game economy, enabling participants to do monetary transactions, buy digital assets, and share with other players. 

Let’s check out types of crypto gaming based on their gameplay and monetization models:

• Play to Earn (P2E) games: Gaming platforms where you can earn crypto tokens and NFTs by participating. Players collect such rewards by completing quests, battling, conquering milestones, and other in-game contests, which can be sold at marketplaces.
• NFT-based games: These games tokenize in-game assets like character skins, potions, tools, and maps to NFT-based digital collectibles. Gamers can collect, buy, and sell game collectibles and use them to mint new NFTs (For example, you can breed Axies to create new Axies in the Axie-Infinity). 
• Metaverse gaming: Games that use blockchain technology and virtual reality to create an online space where users interact and get a real, lifelike experience. Players create unique characters and personalities to participate in the game; they can also own, develop, and trade virtual land properties.
• DeFi-based games: Gaming protocols that infuse decentralized finance into games so players can play, learn, and earn through yield farming, staking, tokenizing, mining, and other DeFi activities. 

How Crypto Gaming Works? 

Most crypto games often have a play-to-earn model that uses NFTs and cryptos to facilitate transactions and engage players. These P2E models reward gamers for devoting more hours to the game by paying them in NFTs or cryptos to complete simple tasks, tournaments, etc. 

Crypto gaming platforms utilize the infusion of web2 and web3 technologies, such as they often rely on centralized servers and engines for gaming environments player data. For cryptos and NFTs, they use blockchain-distributed ledgers. 

Let’s understand the workings of crypto gaming with an example of Axie Infinity. To kick start the game journey, players will first need to create an Axie (these are NFT-based game characters with unique classes, abilities, body parts, rarity attributes, etc.). Players use these little creatures to battle with other players, fight monsters, etc., to level up. With the completion of each level, your Axies upgrade, the game difficulty rises, and you can breed them for new Axies. Players earn money by selling these Axies at the NFT marketplace or AXS (native token) at crypto exchanges.

Additional Read: How to Play & Earn with axie Infinity

Benefits & Risks of Crypto Gaming 

Here are a few benefits of crypto gaming: 

• Players get to enjoy the game while also making money from their participation.
• Both developers and users can expand their revenue sources with such platforms.
• Crypto gaming is often considered the most prominent blockchain application other than dApps and DeFi.
• These gaming ecosystems provide players with real ownership, control, security, and transparency through NFTs and crypto assets. 

Risks of crypto-based games:

• Crypto volatility is nothing new, if the prices of player assets fluctuate drastically, they might lose everything earned.
• Players might need basic knowledge or buy digital collectibles before entering the game, which can create an entry barrier to this space.
• Security risks like transferring assets to the wrong address, falling into scams, and smart contract faults can risk a player’s game earnings.

Read More: Popular Web3 Games & Platforms

Top Crypto Gaming Platforms 

Let’s check out the top crypto gaming platforms and their tokens:

• Axie Infinity: It’s a blockchain-based game with NFT-based creatures called Axies that are used for battling in arenas, tournaments, and breeding. Players are required to strategically deploy their Axies to fight against other players and earn crypto by participating in the game. The game has two tokens: Axie Infinity Shard (AXS), which grants voting rights to players, and Small Love Potion (SLP) token, which is received on winning battles and is used to breed Axies or sell at the marketplace.

• The Sandbox: This virtual world platform built on blockchain allows players to design, create, and monetize their own games. It has a voxel-based design, which means one can use prior development experience to create 3D characters and games. The Sandbox is powered by ERC-20 based native token SAND that serves utility purposes like transaction fees, buying and selling gaming assets, etc.

• Decentraland: Another virtual world crypto project where players can own and create their own land plots. But Decentraland is not limited to gaming, users can do almost everything: socializing, shopping, etc., on the platform. Users can create and sell land clothing items, mini-games, and more. The platform follows a dual-token economy: 
  • MANA tokens are used to purchase avatars and other assets on its marketplace,
  • LAND are NFTs that represent land boxes in the Decentraland metaverse.

Read On: Top Metaverse Crypto Projects in 2023

How To Earn Money With Crypto Gaming?

One way to earn money from crypto gaming is by participating in the game itself- for this, you will need a crypto wallet or some assets that you can use to engage in battles, complete quests, and other activities. Once you complete tasks- you will earn rewards through NFTs, XP powers, and in-game assets, which can be used in the game or sold at marketplaces for funds. To generate interest, you can also stake earned tokens in DeFi platforms by staking, lending, and yield farming.

Some crypto games also allow players to deploy assets like tools, skins, characters, and potions, which they can sell to other players for cryptos. But, one should note since earned assets are cryptos, their prices can fluctuate heavily. 

Know More: Top Crypto Games To Know

Future of Crypto Gaming

The crypto gaming industry is rapidly growing and holds enormous possibilities for the future. Crypto games have transformed conventional gaming, enabling players to make an income stream from their life interests and gameplay. As it’s still in its infant stages, it faces challenges like creating an engaging and equal-opportunity environment for all players. But with new trends and technological advancements, it has a broad potential for developers and players.