Let’s explore the impact of NFT gaming and find out why it’s gaining so much popularity.
How Have NFTs Changed Traditional Gaming?
The global gaming industry has seen steady growth across all markets in the last few years. However, it’s structured in a way that drives a one-directional flow of value, benefiting game developers and creators while players need to spend money to access gameplay experiences.
But NFT gaming is slowly balancing the scales and driving the industry toward a more equitable value model. It allows players to leverage the utility and value of in-game purchases and assets through NFTs, which essentially facilitates player ownership.
How Do NFT Games Work?
NFT games are powered by blockchain technology, and most of them are based on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and Ethereum (ETH).
This type of game incorporates tokens in pretty much every aspect of the gaming journey —from the rules and mechanisms to in-game collectibles and player interactions. And while some NFT games offer a traditional gaming experience, most of them are primarily focused on collecting tokens.
Within an NFT game, players can trade and swap their in-game items with others. Collectible in-game items have different values depending on their rarity and utility within the game, so players might make a profit by trading their items. This brings down the one-directional flow of value model by allowing users to earn a profit while playing and having fun.
Play-To-Earn NFT Games
Now that NFT games are gaining quite a lot of traction, a new model is emerging: play-to-earn NFT games.
Simply put, this type of game allows users to generate income while they play: the longer and better they play, the more utility-based tokens and NFTs they will get.
Axie Infinity is one of the most popular play-to-earn NFT games. Users need to purchase three “Axies” as an initial investment to start playing the game. Then, when users start to complete tasks and challenges in the game, they can earn SLP, an ERC-20 token that can be traded on exchanges.
Need a Side Hustle?
NFT gaming offers a huge opportunity for gamers: it allows them to reclaim the gaming experience and actually get value while they play —beyond entertainment and thrill. In fact, many have adopted this practice as a fun side hustle to bring in some extra cash.
Play-to-earn and NFT games are not only bringing balance to the industry but also driving mainstream adoption of both NFTs and cryptocurrency. So, we’ll probably see a lot more NFT games coming our way in the next few years.