Blockchain gaming adoption means more options for players

Over the past couple of years, games using blockchain technology have increased their presence in the gaming industry.

While there were early examples like CryptoKitties – launched in 2017 – the trend has really taken off, with major game studios even exploring the technology.

At the beginning of 2022, the market cap of blockchain games was around $25 billion, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to drop anytime soon, even in the depths of a bear market. According to the analysis service DappRadar, the two most stable areas this year in the cryptocurrency market are blockchain games and non-fungible tokens (NFT), which have recently become very closely intertwined, creating a new economic phenomenon.

A striking example here is the well-known game Axie Infinity, whose token price rose above $150 last fall, giving the project a capitalization of over $9 billion. During the same period, the game’s daily audience approached 2 million people.

In December 2021, when Bitcoin (BTC) began to fall from record highs, the Axie Infinity (AXS) token also began to decline, but the Axie Infinity audience grew to almost 3 million people a day, and the transaction activity in the network. increased four times.

There are objective reasons for such dynamics. First, most blockchain games use browsers and the creators use HTML5 and WebGL technologies, which have radically expanded the possibilities of developing browser games. Such games repopulated web browsers while providing the ability to connect to crypto wallets and withdraw NFTs to external marketplaces without any regulatory restrictions.

Second, blockchain games have no competition as such, as the traditional PC gaming industry still refers to blockchain as an incomprehensible or even “toxic” space. This gives small studios, which are not yet able to create big game franchises, a big head start on development. The ability to quickly launch the in-game economy allows developers to immediately fund the continued development of their game world without going into debt and without inflating their working capital.

Finally, blockchain games are mostly about income because in blockchain based games, players can earn money just by playing. For completing tasks and spending time in the game, users receive tokens that can then be invested or converted into real money.

Which genre to choose

Just like classic PC games, blockchain games suit all tastes. They have a number of common features: they work from a web browser or a mobile app, have simple controls and have a user-friendly interface that even a novice can handle.

Blockchain games relate to different genres, while they all have one thing in common: They are developed using smart contracts. That is, they provide an opportunity to receive valuable virtual assets. Therefore, all games, regardless of their visual component or story, are all games to earn (P2E) games. Genres of such games include actions, strategy, online multiplayer arenas, sandboxes and more, but it is possible to define the most popular ones.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) typically have a dynamic reward system where players earn tokens by completing in-game tasks. Tokens are used to upgrade characters to gain an advantage over opponents in the form of an enhanced arsenal or development of character abilities. The most popular games in this genre are CryptoBlades, My Crypto Heroes and, of course, Axie Infinity.

If pocket monsters and endless battles seem boring, players can pay attention to trading card games. Such games use the NFT system so that the digital cards look like real collectibles. Players must strategically outplay their opponents by building decks to counter various tactics, and cards can be bought, sold or traded – just like real cards. Some of the most popular card games are Splinterlands, Gods Unchained and Sorare.

Another interesting genre is “x-to-earn”, i.e. doing something to earn money and not necessarily just “playing” the game. The concept of “X-to-earn” was first proposed by Ben Schecter, COO of RabbitHole – a platform that rewards users for learning about crypto. In this equation, “X” can be any daily activity such as eating, exercising, sleeping, shopping, or studying. “To earn” is the financial profit received as a result of performing these specific actions.

In blockchain games, the concept of “x-to-earn” was developed primarily in the form of move-to-earn, with the example of the famous STEPN game that rewards users for playing sports or exercising. In the English learning game Let Me Speak, the main way to earn money is to buy NFT avatars and start learning English in the app. Every few minutes, players are instantly rewarded with tokens for their progress.

The most ambitious and large-scale projects are AAA games, or games developed by a large publisher, which require a lot of time, a lot of resources and a lot of money to develop. Such games are designed not only to attract players with the opportunity to earn money, but simply to enjoy the gameplay. The combination of real AAA games and amazing graphics sets them apart from the rest. The best example of a AAA game right now is Illuvium, which has been in development since 2020 and was released this year. The Illuvium “ILV” token is currently trading at around $60, according to CoinMarketCap, with a market capitalization of $560 million.

Related: Is Illuvium the first fun crypto RPG video game?

Lesley Fung, a content operations specialist from Footprint Analytics, believes that AAA games are the future of GameFi:

“Some of the AAA games combine the experienced team with delicate production. The teams behind these projects have a track record of success in both blockchain and gaming, and the resources to potentially make a AAA title work. The narrative in GameFi is that today’s games lacks quality and has unsustainable tokenomics. But when AAA games come out, they will bring GameFi to the masses after the bear market, solving many of today’s problems.”

According to Footprint Analytics, which is engaged in discovering and visualizing blockchain data, the most popular blockchain game genre in the first nine months of 2022 was card games like Splinterland, leaving behind x-to-earn and AAA games.

So the gaming space is full of different blockchain games for every taste. Here we selected some unique games from each genre.

Nine chronicles

Nine Chronicles is an Idle MMORPG developed by Planetarium in collaboration with Ubisoft. The client works on the Unity engine, and the backend is completely on the blockchain.

Robert Hoogendoorn, Head of Content at DappRadar, told Cointelegraph:

“When we’re talking about gameplay, it’s hard to really single out one. But on a technological level, Nine Chronicles is very unique. While most blockchain games rely on existing blockchain ecosystems such as Ethereum, Polygon or BNB Chain, Nine Chronicles runs on its own custom blockchain.”

Furthermore, the entire set of game rules can be found on the blockchain, which makes it impossible for players to cheat. Each player can manage a node and participate in the maintenance of the network. Therefore, updating the game also requires all users to update their nodes.

The game focuses on crafting and in order to develop a character, the player must constantly loot in player-versus-environment (PvE) and craft more powerful equipment.

All matches are resolved automatically, with victory determined by the level of a player’s equipment, its element, and hit randomness. By using the same equipment, the player can both win and lose.

In March 2022, the developers made a global change to the gameplay, where equipment level restrictions were introduced.

Solitaire Blitz

In the genre of card games, the fantasy game Splinterlands is now very popular. But what if a player wants to play an old-fashioned card game on the blockchain?

One of the most played card games of all time was the classic Solitaire, a game that can be played by people everywhere and at almost any age. Perhaps that is why the developers of Solitaire Blitz took the game as a basis for their project, which now has a significant number of active players. It is the standard Solitaire card game built on the Flow blockchain. The game has seamless and quite simple gameplay which makes it attractive.

In Solitaire Blitz, a player competes with opposing players who have similar rankings. The player with the most points wins the game. With a unique algorithm, the skill-based matchmaking system ensures fair competition. Solitaire Blitz is a mobile game and can be downloaded from Google Play or the iOS App Store.

XCAD network

When you think of the x-to-earn genre, the first image that comes to mind is move-to-earn games, but this genre is not limited to moves. One of the most intuitive variants of x-to-earn is watch-to-earn, a model that allows players to earn tokens by watching videos.

Currently, the watch-to-earn industry is powered by the XCAD Network project, not a game, but a platform that allows YouTube content creators to create fan tokens and issue NFTs, thus opening up new sources of monetization and ways to attract fans at . As for the fans themselves, they earn fan tokens for viewing the content of their favorite bloggers.

XCAD Network differs from other x-to-earn projects in that the amount of reward directly correlates with user activity. The total number of subscribers for all bloggers works with XCAD Network is already more than 260 million.

Another unique feature of the project is that on the XCAD network, users do not need to see what the platform offers them. Instead, they simply install the XCAD plugin and watch the same videos as before. And since the platform is built on the Zilliqa blockchain, users don’t face any minimum withdrawal amounts.

MIR4

MIR4 is a AAA game that appeared on the crypto game market in August 2021 and became successful both on mobile platforms and Steam, the largest online store for computer games.

The main feature of the game is partial automation. Automatic battles, automatic collection of game resources and automatic completion of tasks will partially replace manual gameplay, suitable for players who do not have enough time.

The story continues The Legend of MIR3 PC game, which was closed back in February 2012. The player takes on the role of an archmage’s apprentice guarding the princess, and the main attraction of the game is to upgrade everything, extract hundreds of components and resources.

The interface of the game is quite pleasing to the eye and the game world is huge. The in-game store has a large variety of items, including leveling boosters, currency, scrolls, power-up stones and others.

As a mobile game, MIR4 is quite beautiful. Of course, for a player who is not used to such projects, it seems that the screen is too loaded with information and inscriptions, but everything is made compact. Models of characters and monsters are well detailed.

Interestingly, the developers officially allow four playable windows: one on Steam, two on the official game client, and one on a phone. It is worth noting that the Steam version, according to the terms of the platform, is not related to cryptocurrency and withdrawals.

The controls are better on the PC version, but the graphics are much nicer on mobile.

When it comes to earning real money in the game, the game is filled with “dark steel”, a resource that after level 40 can be exchanged for DRACO tokens. This metal is needed for crafting and upgrades. The rate varies, but is roughly equivalent to the value of 100 thousand dark steel for 1 DRACO. The tokens can be converted to fiat currency and transferred to a bank card.

Trading in the in-game market also starts at level 40. Goods and resources are sold for gold coins, which can later be exchanged for dark steel and converted to DRACO.

MIR4 has good graphics, animation, special effects, dynamic battles and beautiful characters. It attracts with the cross-platform, automation, branching development system and many tasks.

The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com.