With every passing day, the popularity of crypto keeps rising. With more and more people getting in on the trend it is natural that people keep coming up with new uses both for NFTs and crypto in general.
The new union we’re seeing become popular is crypto and gaming. Games incorporating the blockchain isn’t exactly a new thing, but they have gained far more traction recently than ever before. We’ll go over how exactly games incorporate crypto and why you might want to consider giving them a spin.
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Why NFTs and crypto in gaming?
If you’ve been following the gaming industry for the past decade or so you may know that virtual items that have real-world value have been a thing for a while now. Incorporating crypto into this is not so much a new system as it is expanding on what has already been there for years.
CS:GO has had a lucrative market for weapon skins since it was introduced, and many other games, while not exactly having a marketplace, do have items that have real-world value due to the demand from players.
These games rely on the blockchain to give players the ability to sell their in-game NFTs to others. This allows players to more easily trade and sell their items than ever before. If this trend catches on to more games then the era of needing to sell your account to sell a rare item you have might be a thing of the past.
Play-to-earn games
Currently, there is quite a large number of games that are based on the blockchain which allow you to earn rewards when playing them with crypto or NFTs. Of the ones that are currently live the most popular one is Axie Infinity.
With a massive $3 billion valuation it is clear that the game has garnered a lot of support and that many users are trying to get some bread. Over 2 million users and with no signs of slowing down it’s clear that many still want to get in on it.
Is there a “but” coming up?
There is a barrier of entry with most NFT games and especially with Axie Infinity. You need at least 3 Axie Infinity characters to play and they are all NFTs. You may be thinking “Well they can’t cost that much, right?” Well, they go for about 400$ each which means a likely minimum of 1200$ to be able to play.
This goes to show the potential that people see in earning rewards and selling them in the game as even though the entry fee is so high it still has an insane number of users. After all, if you invest enough time and energy you could recoup the cost and gain profit. Those who play are mostly confident that they will be able to do so.
If you don’t wish to pay the cost of the NFTs you could get a scholarship with one of the in-game guilds. They would lend you NFTs so you can participate and in return, they would get a share of the rewards you get. This way you can possibly participate for free, albeit with reduced rewards.
Rent instead of playing
If you don’t feel like playing the games, but would still like to make some money off of them then look no further than renting NFTs to guilds.
While the concept is quite novel it is gaining a decent bit of traction. If you manage to find a guild that has incorporated this then you can simply make money by owning NFTs in the game and renting them out to the guild, similarly to how they rent out their NFTs to other players.
If you’re looking to invest in NFT gaming but don’t have the time or energy to actually play them then getting some NFTs and renting them out to guilds could prove to be a decent source of passive income. The trend may be new but it seems to be catching on pretty quickly as more guilds are considering the option.
Direct investments
While renting NFTs is certainly an option for making money off of such games, there is another option that may prove more favorable to some – investing in the games and guilds themselves.
Before a token from a certain organization actually releases, you have the ability to invest at a slightly better price, however, due to how many people can try and compete here you aren’t guaranteed allocation as there are limited amounts.
After release, you could also purchase the tokens from exchanges, or perhaps even stake your coins if it is possible with those specific tokens as it varies between each of them.
NFTs in AAA games
Another thing of note in terms of NFTs and gaming is that certain large AAA gaming companies are looking to invest in adding NFTs to their games.
While none of this is a given yet it is important to be aware of it as in the future the trend may not be NFT games but NFTs within your average regular videogames such as with CS:GO skins or DOTA items.
If you wish to invest in NFT gaming in any capacity you should definitely keep an eye out for well-established videogame companies adding crypto mechanics to their current games or perhaps new releases.
Conclusion
While NFTs and gamings are a natural pairing it is still in its early stages so there are some bumps and issues to work out. Nonetheless, the proof of concept is there and the popularity they have garnered simply cannot be ignored.
Crypto and gaming are becoming more intertwined each day and many are excited to see how the combination will progress in the coming years, whether it will bust or reach new heights that will allow not only for better integration with current systems but also the creation of new ones.
