Gaming 2.0 | Blockchain Games With Their Play-To-Earn Model

Did you know you could make money from gaming? Your playing time could easily be your money-making time thanks to blockchain games. Back in the day, games were simple, with titles such as Space Invaders, Tetris, and Mario keeping things simple but interesting. 

Fast forward to some years later, and gaming has evolved into such an immersive experience with open-world games that come with crystal-clear graphics. Whether you enjoy role-playing games like Elden Ring or battle royale games like Fortnite, it’s undeniable that the gaming experience is on another level of steroids. It’s also undeniable that gaming has become quite costly with upgrades, releases, and “the next thing you need” popping up as a notification for you to purchase.

So, is there another level of gaming that tops this? Yes, and the answer is simple — blockchain games. Through the blockchain platform, these games have changed from Pay-to-Play (P2P) to Play-to-Earn (P2E), which is every gamer’s wish.

What Are Play-to-Earn Games?

These are games that offer an immersive gaming experience while allowing players to earn crypto tokens which are valuable. Your in-game adventures and rewards can have value in the real world, which is cool.

Thanks to the growing popularity of blockchain and NFTs, P2E games are riding on that glory and making the most out of the two technologies. To put it into perspective, the play-to-earn NFT games market size is expected to hit $8.85 billion by 2028.

But how exactly do players make money playing these games:

• Tokenization and In-Game Assets: Since these games use blockchain technology, their in-game assets are transformed into non-fungible tokens or fungible tokens with a designated value. Each token has a unique digital signature and players get to own these virtual possessions which can be traded or held because of their value.
• Gameplay and Earnings: Similar to normal battle games or quest adventures, P2E games provide players with captivating storylines and they get to unlock opportunities or rewards. These incentives come in the form of invaluable in-game items, crypto, or tokens that can improve your gameplay or be exchanged in the real world.
• Marketplace and Exchanges: Besides having a gaming function only, some play-to-earn games will add an exchange to their platforms where players can list their assets for interested buyers to make a purchase. The value of each asset can go up or down depending on how rare it is and its utility. 

Top Play-to-Earn Games

1. Axie Infinity

Axie Infinity is a masterpiece by Sky Mavis and was launched in March 2018. The game had its best years in 2021 and 2022, as it was the biggest crypto gaming app on Ethereum in 2021, and had about 3 million monthly players in 2022. In May 2024, the game had about 300,000 monthly players.

If you love the Pokemon game, you’ll most likely enjoy Axie Infinity because of its cute, formidable creatures known as Axies. Players are required to breed and raise Axies, preparing them for battle. Besides collecting Axies, players can also buy virtual land minted as NFTs.

Another way to earn crypto in the game is through the game’s two unique tokens:

• Axie Infinity Shards (AXS): This is the primary token of the game and it can be bought/sold on crypto exchanges. There are about 270 million AXS tokens in circulation which can be bought using major currencies like BTC and DOGE.
• Smooth Love Potion (SLP): As you complete quests and win tight competitions, you can earn special SLP tokens which are valuable.

2. Polywin

Polywin is a play-to-earn game that runs on the Polygon blockchain with an interesting addition to its gameplay. The game combines crypto trading and gaming, to give players exhilarating 45-second rounds to determine whether the price of Bitcoin will go up or down. However, it's a PVP game where players choose a side (Up or down) and bet against the other team.

Players place their bets within 30 seconds and the remaining 15 seconds are for the reveal. The game has been tested, audited, and certified by CertiK, to ensure it’s safe for players.

3. Decentraland

Switching gears to the Metaverse, Decentraland is a virtual world where players can explore various virtual lands, interact with one another, and get different experiences. The platform uses the Ethereum blockchain and has two main tokens:

• LAND: An NFT that represents virtual real estate
• MANA: The cryptocurrency used to purchase in-game assets

One of the exciting and fun places to visit in Decentraland is the virtual casino. ICE Poker is a casino in the metaverse created by Decentral Games where players can enjoy casino games in a more interactive space. The casino was so popular that it made over $7.5 million in revenue and at some point accounted for a third of the users in Decentraland.

If you are a big fan of casino games but still need to wrap your head around cryptos, blockchain, and their value, there’s still an option—sweepstakes casinos. Online sweepstakes casinos also use virtual currencies such as Gold or Sweep coins and can potentially win you prizes with real-world value. You’ll use the game’s tokens to play games and have fun without worrying about volatile crypto values.

Gaming 2.0 Is A Win-Win

Why Pay-to-Play while you can Play-to-Earn? That’s the big question with blockchain games. They are fun, creative, interactive and will boost your wallet while at it. Next time you switch on your PC for a clash of territories, don’t forget you could be making money while at it.