Gamers Bet Big on Blockchain Games - Move from Pay2Win to Play2Earn

Virtual money has been an integral part of gaming, and hence gamers are clued to the concept of cryptocurrency. If gamers recall, in the game World of Warcraft, the earmarked currency was digital gold.

The use of cryptocurrencies in computer games has been arousing the interest of a vast community of players. It also enhances the popularity of games in which the player has ownership over actions and the consequences of actions.

Blockchain for gaming is being seen as made for each other. Blockchain solves many legacy problems inherent in the gaming sector. The concept of Non Fungible Tokens (NFT) and decentralization have opened new value arenas for game players and game design and game development companies worldwide.

Players can now own their assets, and developers need to be dominated by the monopoly of the big gaming studios.

The transition from Free2Play to Pay2Win to Play2Earn

For the most part, the gaming sector has been earning through microtransactions, through the Free2Play route. This model helped build a 159 billion dollar industry.

However, the balance started tipping in favor of those who had the income to undertake the microtransactions. So, ultimately it went to a Pay2Win model where the whales who could buy their way to winning had the edge over the other players.

This leaves a sense of dissatisfaction amongst the other players, seeing them reject the predatory tactics of developers.

With Blockchain gaming and NFT, the Play2Earn model is gaining prominence. This open market play incentivizes players, giving them ownership and control of assets, thus enabling a monetary revenue stream for them from playing.

Related post: Gaming Industry Trends 2021

Creating earning opportunities instead of spending helps create sustainable digital economic ecosystems with flourishing secondary and tertiary marketplaces. 

The New Gaming Economics with Blockchain

Developers have always taken inputs from players to help with game design and content. However, it has not translated into direct benefits for the player community. 

Blockchain games embrace the open economy and allow gamers to redeem in-game assets for real-world money and reward them for their contributions.

Smart Contracts can enable contributors to earn royalty and earn recognition on items they helped to develop or create to expand the game.

Just as consumers in the real world can resell or earn money on assets, the concept is the same in Blockchain games. Players invest time and effort to mine assets and now own them to use, sell, or trade.

An example case is that of Blockbabies; Block Babies has made deep inroads into the NFT arena. Block babies are fuelled by blockchain technology, are decentralized, promote gamer ownership, and offer players the opportunity to monetize their NFTs.