Whereas some people look at gaming as a flimsy escape for the young, it is a highly-engaging activity with massive worldwide acclaim. The global gaming market is expected to climb from USD178 billion in 2021 to a whooping USD268.8 billion in 2025.
Gaming has penetrated various avenues, from consoles to PCs, mobile phones and social media. Blockchains are definitely a medium that gaming could steadily spill over to. Let’s dive deeper into what has come to be known as crypto gaming and how to go about it in 2022:
What is crypto gaming and what makes it special?
Crypto gaming is a type of gaming that harnesses the fundamental attributes of a blockchain such as decentralization along with other capabilities like non-fungibility and permission-less access to revolutionize gaming experiences.
Conventional gaming is centralized and therefore it often limits gamers when it comes to using in-game items elsewhere, capitalizing on in-game earnings beyond that particular gaming environment, and playing with other gamers across the world.
Crypto gaming breaks down hardware-related barriers and the vendor-lock associated with certain games. Gamers no longer have to worry about having the same consoles as the people they want to play with, or choosing games that aren’t exclusive to a specific console.
Secondly, gamers can use the items and points they earn across different gaming platforms.
Thirdly, crypto gaming facilitates new ways to profit from gaming such as the play-to-earn model. Previously, an entity run by humans would set up a tournament of sorts, with participation fees and a rulebook created by a central body.
But with the play-to-earn model, the administration is performed by code running on a blockchain with rewards automated. Players can earn tokens native to that gaming platform, which they can then trade for other cryptocurrencies and even cash out at fiat off-ramps.
It’s also worth noting that crypto games not only allow players to have ownership of what they collect within the game, but institute mechanisms that make these items more valuable.
Rather than just giving every new player credits, players have to work their way up, which makes whatever item they earn more valuable, on top of it having special characteristics that can be used to differentiate it from other items on a given platform.
Gamers can also participate in decision-making processes that determine the direction the games will take (eligibility issues, integration and compatibility, rewards systems, etc.).
Examples of successful crypto games
Alien Worlds
Alien Worlds is an NFT Metaverse that allows people to discover unique items and use them to connect with other players. In this environment, you can lease spacecrafts for missions, join a group of explorers to work on NFT drops, and even create your own games.
You can also trade game cards to be used for mining, fighting and other missions. Players can earn the token Trilium (TLM), which enables them to participate in planet politics.
They can stake TLM in a Planet DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) to vote in planetary elections and increase their planet’s reward pool.
As a Trilium holder, you can submit proposals on how the planet’s treasury should be distributed, and contest for a planetary council position. Thanks to the cross-chain bridge, one can move their tokens across blockchains like WAX, Binance Smart Chain and Ethereum.
This feature gives your earnings more functionality in the blockchain space. Players pay fees whenever they engage in activities in this metaverse such as fighting, NFT shining and more.
These fees are split between landowners and the planet DAOs. The federation implements an inflation regime that declines over time and burns some of the TLM tokens paid as fees.
Getting started
To start playing in the Alien Worlds NFT metaverse, you need a wallet that enables you to interact with the applications on this metaverse’s supporting blockchain. In this case, a WAX Cloud wallet is the more straightforward option for connecting to this NFT metaverse.
Depending on the range of functionality you want to take advantage of, you might have to get wallets that facilitate interactions with dApps built on other blockchains.
if you want to engage in Alien Worlds missions, you need to connect to the Binance Smart Chain network, preferably using a Metamask wallet or scanning with WalletConnect.
Additionally, make sure you have a decent amount of the native tokens of whichever chain you’re trying to connect to. This is because in most cases, interacting with games and other applications built on a blockchain involves signing transactions, which often come with a fee.
Just like the Ethereum blockchain won’t allow you to use a DEX for swapping tokens without some ETH for gas fees, BSC and WAX also have their own restrictions.
Axie Infinity
This highly popular virtual world allows you to build a team of characters called Axies that can battle and conquer enemy territory. You can engage in different kinds of battles such as adventure and arena battles, with each type having its own kind of rewards.
Axies come with varying powers based on their genetic combinations and you can even breed you own Axies to sell. These Axies can be used across a variety of games within this universe. There’s also the option of becoming a land baron and starting your own kingdom.
You can also earn AXS tokens for engaging in game activities like battle tournaments. AXS holders can stake their tokens, participate in governance votes, and claim rewards.
Getting started
The first step here is to download and set up a Ronin wallet.
It is available on both Google Play and the Apple App Store. This wallet can also be run as a Firefox or Chrome browser extension. The next thing to do is deposit ETH into your wallet and connect to the Axie Infinity marketplace so you can buy Axies.
Create an account on the Axie Official marketplace and you’ll also be able to use it to connect to the Mavis Hub game launcher. You can then download Axie Infinity and start playing.
Splinterlands
Splinterlands is a next generation collectible card game built on the HIVE blockchain.
With Splinterlands you can engage in short exciting battles and earn. There are different types of cards with varying levels of rarity and combat capabilities. These cards can also be traded on third-party marketplaces like OpenSea, Monster Market, PeakMonsters and others.
The game offers different ways to earn on a daily basis, and such as tournaments, ranked play and quests. This way, players with different collection sizes and skill levels get a chance.
On top of earning HIVE tokens, Splinterlands has cross-compatibility with other blockchains such as Ethereum, WAX and Tron. This means you can buy in-game credits using various cryptocurrencies, which makes the game more accessible.
Getting started
To play Splinterlands, you need to register on the official Splinterlands website, after which a Hive Cryptocurrency wallet will automatically be generated for you.
However, to unlock the full range of capabilities, you have to purchase the Summoner’s Spellbook from the in-game shop using PayPal at only $10. This enables you to choose a unique account name, access your account’s private key and get for rewards of real value.
Other successful and budding crypto games
- Farmers World
- Sunflower Farmers
- Upland
- Crazy Defense Heroes
- DeFi Kingdoms
- Illuvium
- Rumble Kong League
- Aurory
- CryptoBeasts
- Galaxy Fight Club
- Guild of Guardians
Tips to consider for crypto gaming
- While crypto games may seem very accessible, games like Axie Infinity require you to have at least three Axies before you can start playing. With the cheapest ones somewhere around $100 dollars, this can be an expensive hurdle to skip for some new entrants.
Additionally, there are fees involved in taking different actions when in these environments and depending on the capabilities of the underlying blockchain, transaction fees can significantly eat into your earnings. Always beware of all the steps involved and their cost.
- Hackers are lurking in these metaverses, marketplaces, community forums and other platforms where they can get clues on who’s stacking valuables. Be cautious about texts inviting you to participate in inconspicuous programs as these could be phishing attacks.
Many people have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in NFTs and other tokens to these scams. In some cases, people even lose their valuables by simply entering the wrong addresses or addresses of incompatible blockchains when moving their tokens around.
- Depending on various factors such as the rate of adoption of a game, social media hype and overall crypto market investment patterns, any token’s value can fluctuate massively. It is possible to earn valuables only to wake up a days later and they are worth much less.
Make sure you keep tabs on price movements and have an exit strategy. And in that respect, some people look at this volatility as an opportunity to make a profit. This can encourage reckless speculative behavior even before we get to practices like opening of loot boxes.
The resultant gambling habits can have a negative effect on one’s health as they go down an abyss in search for the next big game so they can get in on the ground.
If you don’t enjoy playing a certain game and you know little about who’s behind it, its rewards-related rules, or how to build a profitable strategy around it, its best to leave it.
All-in-all, crypto gaming is filled with ingenious innovations meant to make it even more engaging than popular video game consoles. According to Statista, crypto games such as Alien Worlds have already reached 1.16 million users.
Forte has raised $725m from its gaming, while Patron and Mythical Games raised $90m and $75m respectively. Big money is flowing into this space, and users are also arriving in droves.
People in the Philippines are even earning a steady primary income from playing games like Axie Infinity so crypto gaming is definitely something to pay close attention to going forward.
Gerald Ainomugisha is a freelance Content Solutions Provider (CSP) offering both content and copy writing services for businesses of all kinds, especially in the niches of management, marketing and technology.
