Crypto games run on a cryptocurrency network including total or partial distributed ledger architecture. Players have verifiable ownership over the various virtual products present in the game. Like other industries, the gaming industry is leveraging great benefits from the crypto platform.
Players can use cryptos to buy and trade various in-game products, unlock characters, cosmetics, etc. The crypto gaming industry has brought a true convergence of the real and the virtual world. The best thing, the future of this gaming industry looks bright in the coming years.
Vital Statistics of the Crypto and Blockchain Gaming Industr
The evolution of video games in the past few decades is noteworthy. In 2020, the global gaming market had a valuation of USD 155.89 billion. There is an estimate that by 2026, this industry will reach a figure of almost USD 314.40 billion. Between 2021 and 2026, the percentage of CAGR will be around 9.64.
COVID-19 pandemic created havoc on almost all industries globally during 2020-2021. The gaming industry was an exception. All the prominent gaming studios in the world earned huge volumes of revenue during this period. Along with earning revenue from sales, there was a huge surge in the active user base of various games.
Evolution of Crypto Gaming
It is quite surprising to see that the gaming industry is showing increasing interest in cryptos. Traditional market games are taking a backseat as crypto gaming lets players earn while playing a game.
As per a new study, game developers and gamers are looking for a free market virtual item economy. Almost 86% of game developers opine that tradeable virtual items will play an important role in the future gaming industry.
The majority of online gamers are looking to exchange their virtual assets for a currency, which has its use across multiple platforms. The popularity of crypto gaming is highly attributed to the fact players can collect and trade virtual assets and can exchange and trade them anywhere in the world. The process of crypto transactions is seamless and hassle-free too.
NFT Gaming – The New Revolution in Crypto Gaming
Along with the crypto gaming market, there has been a steady rise in the NFT gaming sector as well. NFT gaming is actually an upgrade to the next level of crypto gaming. This upgrade took place in the initial quarter of 2021, making a transition from play-to-earn games to various collectable games based on the principle of pay to earn.
Implementing NFTs in the gaming industry has created a new revolution in the crypto gaming industry. NFT is now a billion-dollar market and its main concentration is in the gaming industry. NFT comes with a huge potential for offering gamers unique options of in-game item collection.
Generally, we tend to use the terms NFT gaming and crypto gaming interchangeably. But, there are certain differences between the two. In crypto gaming, players use crypto coins for transacting with other players. However, in NFT gaming, players use native tokens for gathering or generating NFTs.
NFT gaming platforms provide access to NFT markets to gamers for purchasing and selling NFTs. One of the best examples in this regard is Axie Infinity. This NFT-based online game is probably the most popular game now. The game has the most expensive NFTs collection lately. In June 2021, the game had more than USD 42 million in sales.
There is another kind of blockchain gaming, which is gaining traction. This gaming combines decentralised finance features (DeFi) and is popularly known as GameFi. There is one game called MOBOX, which is a BSC-based game that combines NFT collectables with other DeFi services.
We expect to see different supporting products around GameFi and crypto games will definitely see new dimensions with these. For instance, players will be able to collateralise their gaming assets for taking loans. They can also borrow some assets for in-game activity yielding more assets from the same. Players have to learn various creative ways to earn from this platform.
Leading Trends in the Coming Future of Blockchain Gaming
Here are some trends which are worth highlighting keeping in consideration the recent activities on Near Blockchain.
- Meeting of the gaming industry with social media
Games on Near act as hybrid social media platforms. Near Lands is a land-based open-world game. In this pixelated game, players can participate just for gameplay as well as a sense of community. The game’s open-world has many adventures and players can build items and characters.
Another instance in this regard is Reality Chain. The game has an almost similar concept to social gaming and the multi-chain multiverse. Players can level up their gaming and social lives via the game by combining non-immersive, multiplayer 3D and 2D experiences.
- Play-to-earn gaming
There are many games like OP Games, which have altered the ways in which users purchase, own and trade various kinds of in-game assets. OP Games are transforming the assets into collectable non-fungible tokens, also known as NFTs. Players can use these NFTs outside the OP Games platform too.
The concept of fractionalised NFTs is also brought to the gaming arcade by OP Games. Here players can co-own projects that they like. When the game gains popularity and becomes long-lasting, players can learn about the evolution of the game through the decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) of the game.
Game developers and players are expecting that by the end of 2022, OP Games will offer almost 500 play-to-earn games on its arcade. This trend is surely going to revolutionise the gaming industry in the coming future.
Another example in this regard is Vorto Network, which is another Near app. This app also has a similar approach to OP Games in the online marketplace. Players will use a crypto wallet here for purchasing digital assets or in-game items.
Hash Rush is Vorto Network’s real-time strategy game. Players enjoy an immersive experience when they get into Hermeian Galaxy. There they can build, compete and exchange different kinds of goods through the various levels of the game. This game is one of the finest examples of a play-to-earn model.
This trend is gaining immense prominence on Web 3. To be precise, it is making a digital goods economy for players.
Conclusion
The concept of crypto gaming or blockchain gaming is not very old. It is taking time for everyone to understand the concept and the platform. Gamers and game developers who have already adopted crypto and blockchain gaming are extremely excited about the development. Time is not far when the whole world will look toward the mass adoption of crypto and blockchain gaming.
Also Read: Top Cryptocurrencies To Look Out For In 2022
