Play-to-earn gaming is a subdivision of gaming that allows the player to take part in an in-game economy of microtransactions to earn rewards and in-game currencies that can be exchanged for real money.
Videogame economies have typically revolved around the use of various assets and coins to facility microtransactions. You will find plenty of opinions on the value or importance of microtransaction. However, one fact of them is that they have altered the landscape of gaming.
Play-to-earn (P2E) games are poised to have a dramatic effect on gaming economies. Where in the past to take part in micro-transactions you would often deposit real money in exchange for the assets with P2E you can simply play the game and earn your way to those items.
What makes this different from earning an item or unlocking an item is that you earn the currency to purchase that item. Meaning you could choose to play game A (because it is easier for you to collect) assets, cash them out for dollars, then take those dollars and buy coins in-game B (a game you find difficult).
You could also choose to take the money out of the game and pay your rent. What this does for the savvy player is create an avenue in which they can supplement either their hobby or lifestyle. All while enjoying their time in a virtual environment.
NFTs are an important part of the P2E ecosystem. Non-Fungible means that the token has a unique digital identifier that is immutable and cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided as it is recorded on a blockchain.
The authenticity and ownership are verifiable on that blockchain. NFTs allow for these P2E games to reward the players with nonmonetary loot that they can collect or sell at will.
They also allow for unique gaming interactions such as training the one and only creature of its kind or wielding a sword with stats like no other on the planet.
When it comes to cryptocurrencies, it is one of the ways these games can pay you for your play. The various digital tokens and assets issued for actions in the game are often forms of, or exchangeable with cryptocurrencies like Ether.
This allows you to turn your time playing into cash by exchanging your spoils for real-world money or goods.
The types of play-to-earn gaming can range from massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) to one-on-one real-timed strategy games (RTS). The functionality and how you earn rewards will be different from game to game.
The only constant between each P2E game is that you can use your enjoyment of gaming to earn in each of them. I will provide some details on a few of them below, however, there are hundreds if not thousands available or in development. It is highly advised to do your own research (DYOR) with any game you choose to invest time and money into.
The Sandbox is a virtual Metaverse where players can play, build, own, and monetize their virtual experiences. This may be as close as you can get to experience Ready Player One at the moment.
ZED is a provably fair digital horse racing play-to-earn game built on blockchain technology. Create a legacy by building a star-studded stable of winning racehorses. Zedrun gives you the ability to breed, race, and trade horses.
Illuvium is an NFT collection and auto battler game built on the Ethereum network. Players can earn $Ilv and NFTs as they battle across the open-world RPG. One of the bigger P2E games Illuvium is attempting to bridge the game between play-to-earn and AAA games.
Axie Infinity is a trading and battling game that allows players to collect, breed, raise, battle, and trade creatures known as Axies, which are NFTs. New players need to purchase at least three Axies to begin earning in the Axie universe.
A game coined as the Smash Brothers of the blockchain, Galaxy Fight Club is similar in playstyle to brawl stars. A PvP fighting game where holders of different NFT collections can play to earn in battles with each other. Players can both win and earn NFTs or $Gcoin.
Town Star is a competitive farming game from the people behind Farmville. Each week, the top players on the leaderboard win prizes, and every day, players can complete challenges to unlock and collect TownCoin play to earn gaming rewards. It is similar to the Facebook games of yesteryear.
CryptoFights M.E.T.A. (Most Effective Tactics Available) include what skills path you take developing your fighter and what skills you bring into a battle along with the equipment you choose. There are counters to everything in CryptoFights so you will need to use deep strategy, critical logic, and weigh probabilities in real-time.
In the future, it's unlikely that games will ever be played the way that we know them today. With an opportunity to earn a real income and own in-game assets, gaming is getting a lot more serious, and so are the players.
