What Is Play-To-Earn?
Play-To-Earn or P2E is an emerging business model, popular on blockchains, that has an economic incentive for users to play a certain game. All players who contribute to the economy of the game are rewarded for their efforts. The more you play the more you earn.
Play-to-earn games are not new, but the adoption of blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies has made it a popular avenue for users to make extra money.
Play-to-earn games work by providing a financial incentive to players to play the game and level up. In turn, this game model allows for the steady growth of an ecosystem as users are incentivized to play, benefitting both the user and others in the ecosystem.
How Can You Play Games And Earn Money?
Play-to-earn ecosystems are usually built on a blockchain, this is great for two reasons; cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Blockchains are immutable databases, this means data stored on the chain is there for everyone to see, but no one to touch.
You can play and earn rewards in various ways including;
Earning Cryptocurrencies
Various games will reward certain actions with a reward, sometimes these rewards are cryptocurrencies. These cryptocurrencies would be rewarded to your wallet, which can be cashed out to exchange or reinvested back into the game.
The cryptocurrencies you earn are usually paid out in the native crypto of the game. An example of this is Axie Infinity’s Smooth Love Potion ($SLP), which is rewarded to users for completing daily quests or for playing against other players or non-player characters.
Earning NFTs
Another reward users can earn are NFTs. NFTs can represent anything from in-game items, playable characters, or collectibles.[1]https://academy.binance.com/en/articles/what-is-play-to-earn-and-how-to-cash-out
Using Axie Infinity as an example, the characters used to play the game, called Axies are NFTs that can be bought, sold, or traded at any time. Axies can also be earned through playing the game or by breeding other Axies together using the Smooth Love Potion, earned from playing the game. You may be able to see how players are incentivized to play by now.
These NFTs can be usually be minted through playing the game.
Staking Your Earnings
Although not as popular, some games utilize proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus to reward their users. PoS allows users to generate rewards from staking their cryptocurrencies or NFTs which get locked in a smart contract for a specified time.
An example of this would be MOBOX. MOBOX allows players to play mini-games which reward them in the $MBOX token, $MBOX can then be staked on the platform which will reward players with NFT mystery boxes. These mystery boxes can contain in-game items ranging from common to epic rarity, which can be used or sold for a profit.
Participation Requires Value
Nothing comes free. Developing a game costs money, as does keeping it running. Although a majority of play-to-earn games are free to play, they require certain assets to participate. The idea of these games is that users are able to create value and then sell that on. But to do that they may have to buy a certain character, which would be an NFT.
The difference between these games and traditional games is that your in-game assets can always be sold when you’ve had enough or want to cash out some earnings, whereas traditional games may require you to spend money to progress, but your rewards can’t be sold.
The Best Play-To-Earn Games For 2022
| Game | Ticker | Genre | Assets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandbox | $SAND | Metaverse | NFTs |
| Decentraland | $MANA | Metaverse | NFTs |
| Axie Infinity | $AXS, $SLP | Card Game | NFTs |
| StepN | $GMT | Fitness (Move-To-Earn) | NFTS |
| Gala Games | $GALA | Collection Of Various P2E Games | NFTs |
Is The Future Of Gaming On The Blockchain?
Currently, there are over 3.24 billion gamers worldwide, and of that number over 2.65 billion are mobile gamers. [2] … Continue reading [3]https://www.statista.com/statistics/512112/number-mobile-gamers-world-by-region/
With blockchain-based games, they are much more inclusive to the public compared to something like a PC or console. This is due to the fact that as long as you have access to the internet and your cryptocurrency, you can take part in these games.
The fact that you can also be the sole owner of your in-game items makes the adoption of this technology a no-brainer for most gamers. Adding to this, a play-to-earn model could create a profession or even a side hustle for the average gamer.
The top blockchain-based game currently ‘Alien Worlds’ has around 1.2m mobile active users which is a mere 0.03% of the global gaming market.[4] … Continue reading
Although the future is bright for blockchain-based gaming, including play-to-earn, current games being launched are at a tremendous disadvantage. The lack of knowledge on how these systems work is the biggest problem in its adoption.
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