Play To Earn (with GameFi), is considered to be the most favorable source for news & information for blockchain gaming and NFT crypto gaming via Play To Earn rewards. DeFi, decentralized finance, is more than just a generic term for blockchain-based financial products and services. This re-aims to eradicate unclear, densely imperturbable legacy economic systems being held together by decades-old foundations and procedures. According to DeFi Pulse, the comprehensive value locked in DeFi (decentralized finance) has surely increased more than 8-times since July 2020. In contrast, the gaming industry is more distinguished than the others (movie and music industries).
Based on a report by Investopedia, the industry is to be expected to generate a revenue of $260 billion by 2025. So what situation takes place when you club these two wildly successful industries? GameFi is the result of a collaborative effort by a global community of gamers and blockchain enthusiasts.
GameFi is a portmanteau of “gaming” and “finance” and refers to video games developed using blockchain technology. In addition to being an umbrella term for blockchain games, GameFi is a rapidly growing movement. Crypto research firm DappRadar reported over 800,000 unique active wallets per day across the GameFi market in August 2022. The industry’s market capitalization is estimated at around $8 billion, a relatively tiny number compared to publicly traded video game companies. Activision Blizzard is among the most famous video game companies and has more than $56 billion in market capitalization. As per a 2022 analysis, GameFi’s market cap could reach $74.2 billion by 2031.
What is GameFi?
Traditionally, the video game industry has consisted of play-to-win games. Gamers have historically been players and payers, sticking quarters into their consoles at arcades or buying console games in stores. In recent years, some video game developers have added paid walls within their games, requiring gamers to spend additional money to unlock certain features in their pre-purchased games. In contrast, GameFi games are played to earn, where players can earn cryptocurrency by playing games. While decentralized games incorporate DeFi elements and provide financial opportunities for gamers, DeFi and Play To Earn platforms use board game/video game elements such as point scoring, leaderboards, and competitions to offer financial opportunities.
It is gamified to make the service more fun and engaging. Rewards, badges, avatars, and real-time feedback. When it comes to DeFi-integrated games, this segment offers a range of options, from simple lottery-based games to massively multiplayer online role-playing games. Accomplish tasks and progress through different game levels. Rewards come primarily from cryptocurrencies and NFTs, which players can spend outside the game and trade on cryptocurrency exchanges and NFT marketplaces. This game and decentralized finance marriage have one obvious advantage. It is about attracting young, tech-savvy, fun-loving users immersed in video games and social media.
Axie Infinity can best illustrate our understanding of GameFi as a decentralized game with DeFi capabilities. In this play-to-win game, players can earn real money by earning tokens and trading them in NFTs. On the other hand, DeFi ecosystems like MOBOX present the concept of GameFi as gamified DeFi. For those who need to learn what MOBOX is, it is a DeFi platform that follows the Play to Earn model and has staking schemes, liquidity pools, yield farming tools, NFT environments, and more.
Given the early stages of adopting this concept, there has yet to be a consensus on which solutions and protocols should be classified as GameFi. Still, we currently know two main symptoms of GameFi. However, since there are more DeFi-integrated decentralized games than gamified DeFi and Play To Earn platforms, the following section will focus on the former.
How does GameFi work?
A “play characterizes GameFi to earn” business model primarily refers to blockchain-based games offering players financial incentives. By playing and leveling up these games, the players obtain rewards financially. The stimuli received mainly include NFTs, in-game tokens, and cryptocurrencies. As players earn in-game tokens, they can be converted into other more popular cryptos, such as Ethereum and Bitcoin, and exchanged for fiat currency. We should note that “play to win” is not unique. Still, there is a lot of talk about GameFi applications based on the Play to Earn model due to their innovative technology.
Many things make these games different and better options, from blockchain technology and smart contracts to in-game tokens. Most GameFi projects contain NFTs in land, outfit, weapon, and skin plots. These NFTs can be bought and sold in-game and used in DeFi and Play To Earn platforms for yield farming and as collateral. There are many games in the GameFi space, each with its mechanics and requirements. One such condition is for players to have a crypto wallet to store their in-game tokens. However, for the wallet to work, it must be preloaded with cryptocurrencies. Many games also require players to purchase a starter character to begin playing.
How are GameFi (Play To Earn) platforms distinguishable from classic video games?
Traditional video gamers earn digital currency to collect digital assets, which they use to upgrade their characters or perform similar in-game activities. You can also run; however, these tokens and assets have no value outside the game and cannot be traded on decentralized exchanges or NFT marketplaces. These assets will not prove financially beneficial to players as players are prohibited from trading or monetizing assets in real life.
The tokens and assets earned by the players commonly include NFTs or cryptocurrencies on GameFi and Play To Earn platforms. While some blockchain games use virtual tokens instead of crypto or NFTs, players can convert their in-game assets to NFTs if desired. The Play To Earn platforms allow the players to transfer their earned rewards to their cryptocurrency wallets, converting them into Fiat money and trading over NFT Marketplaces or crypto exchanges. GameFi’s two most important benefits:
Play To Earn
The GameFi and Play To Earn platform’s play to earn business model differs from traditional pay-to-play and play-to-win models. In many of the classic games, gamers pay real money for upgrades or to acquire in-game assets (PUBG, Garena Free Fire). This will give you a better gameplay experience, but you need more than the money you make playing these games to make up for your spending. Limited. The GameFi and Play To Earn platforms are a departure from traditional gaming in that even players can play their favorite games and earn money. And this provides a proposition for financial circuits in the gaming industry.
Enigmatically, the amount of money people make playing these Play To Earn games is substantial. Take the example of the Philippines. A nationwide lockdown imposed in 2020 has left many people unemployed. With nowhere to go and no job, many unemployed people signed up for Axie Infinity. It was soon reported that Filipinos earned more than the minimum daily wage they had previously earned by playing Axie Infinity. According to coinDesk, many Filipino players have made Axie Infinity a full-time career.
Secure Ownership
The decentralized Play To Earn games can be integrated with the NFTs to enhance the monetization potential and give players actual ownership of their assets. Game developers do not own in-game items, as they can be purchased and transferred on a distributed blockchain ledger. In addition, in-game items may not be counterfeited or altered. Players can rest assured that in-game purchases are still protected in the event of a technical failure at the game studio.
Top 10 GameFi Projects You Can Earn With By Playing
Playing and earning has never been more accessible. With hundreds of games vying for market share, there are plenty of opportunities to discover. Below are the top 10 GameFi Play To Earn platforms you can play and earn money on today.
Step N
One of the hottest current possessions in blockchain gaming, Step N is an Play To Earn platform that offers people money to exercise. It would help if you had a sneaker (NFT) to start earning, and the current lowest price is 13.95 SOL ($689 at the time of writing). As such, it is a very high economic barrier to entry, especially considering that to make big bucks. Users would require to own a few pairs of sneakers to unlock higher earning potential and plans to introduce a leasing feature into the platform where players can rent sneakers from other users and share the profits.
DeFi Kingdoms
DeFi Kingdoms is a combination of an Play To Earn game and a decentralized exchange. There are no traditional gameplay elements such as battles, missions, or free play. The GameFi element is based on players collecting revenue from the vast DeFi Kingdom liquidity pool. By staking the in-game token JEWEL into the liquidity pool, users earn annual yields, sometimes exceeding 1000%. The game is brightly colored DeFi, hence the name, but that does not mean it is not a fun way to make money.
Aavegotchi
These little creatures are based on Tamagotchi and are recognizable to anyone who was a kid in the 1990s. They were tiny digital pets that hatched from eggs and needed care and attention to grow. Aavegotchi is the ghost that roams the blockchain. Barriers to entry are relatively high, with Aavegotchi currently starting at 2,090 GHST ($3,240), the game’s native token. Users can rent Aavegotchi and collect all the goodies that Gotchiverse offers. The game also has a betting option that allows users to wager GHST and earn a yield. Aavegotchi will reward avid gamers, so be prepared to invest time and effort if you want to make money through this Play To Earn platform.
Splinterlands
This Play To Earn game is for anyone who loves collecting and trading cards. The Hive blockchain was explicitly built for Splinterlands, so it is no surprise that the game is the most prominent dApp. Over 527,320 unique active wallets were connected in the last 30 days.
The best method to play this game is to plan. Before initiating your game, you can choose if you want to earn money, Play To Earn, play for fun, or gather resources. There are also regular in-game tournaments that you can participate in. Splinterlands’ governance token is called Splinterlands (SPS) and is free to start playing at the base level. Players are prompted to spend the $10 required to make the entire game available.
Genopets
Genopets is another Play To Earn/Move-to-Earn platform, but with a creative twist. Users earn tokens by exercising and moving around the real world to level up their in-game Genopet NFT avatars. The game recently launched Genopets Habitat, a virtual world where owners can earn rewards that they can redeem for real money. The Genopet Avatars are now available in the secondary marketplace for the lowest price of 51.5 SOL ($2,588). Genopets Habitat NFTs are available starting at 59.8 SOL ($3,000).
Axie Infinity
2022 looks mixed for Axie Infinity. Ronin, the Play To Earn platform’s proprietary blockchain, was hacked in March, causing the price of the in-game token AXS to drop from its November 2021 high. In-game NFT and item prices have also fallen since the beginning of the year, with game developers working hard to ensure the economy is sustainable in the long term. But it is not all bad news. The cheapest Axie NFT is available now for $6. Anyone can start playing the game tomorrow for less than $20. The developer behind Axie Infinity has also developed a unique Origin series that promises to obtain more rewards for success.
Benji banana
Benji Bananas was developed without blockchain functionality and was a free-to-play/Play To Earn mobile game. But Animoca Brands, the web3 venture capital firm that owns Benji Bananas, has infused the game with the ability to play and earn. The game is relatively straightforward since the players swing from vine to vine, overcome the obstacles, and aim to stay off the ground as long as possible. Winning is directly proportional to your swinging time.
Rewards are paid in PRIMATE, which users can trade for ApeCoin (APE). This is Yuga Lab’s new digital token that people can use in the virtual world on the other side. The Play To Earn game recently introduced Benji Bananas Membership Passes that allow owners to earn special rewards when playing the game.
Illuvium
Illuvium, a free-to-play/Play To Earn fantasy role-playing game developed on the Ethereum blockchain, is projected to open beta in 2022. Players analyze a 3D world and seize Illuvials, mythical creatures living in virtual worlds. Everyone can play this game for free, but it gets even better if you pay a little money and obtain a proper Illuvial avatar.
The in-game token is ILV, and like all cryptocurrencies and tokens, it has been hit by a bear market and depreciated over the past few weeks. The participants can Play To Earn and can acquire rewards by defeating their opponents in battles or gambling on the result of other users’ duels. Catching, hunting, and selling Illuvials is another viable way to make money in this game.
Mirandas
Mirandus is an Play To Earn MMORPG and one of Gala Games’ most exciting upcoming titles. The game launched Exemplar, a playable avatar, when it became available at Gala Games in December 2021. Currently, users can get the most affordable one at 0.0688 ETH and initiate playing Mirandus when it launches afterward. It is an open world with absolute freedom, and Gala Games has stated that there will be no maps or quests. Players own the story and use Materium (MTRM) tokens to own the economy. This has been a roller coaster ride ever since it was launched. It can be comparable to The Sandbox or Decentraland. However, the world is fantasy, and the avatars are humans, elves, and orcs.
Step App
Another Play To Earn platform is the Step app, which is still in its very early stages. It is similar to StepN in that exercise is rewarded when the user is equipped with the appropriate NFT. In this case, the user must run SNEAKS before Move-to-Earn. The team behind the game got together in late 2021, but the platform has yet to launch its main app. This will be in beta in the coming weeks. A staking process is underway where users can stake the in-game token FITFI to earn drop tickets. Using these, they enter raffles for a chance to win loot boxes. Every individual loot box possesses a 35% chance of succeeding in a pair of popular SNEAKS.
