I remember back in the day when my parents were constantly telling me, " Stop playing games. You need to stop wasting time with silly games, focus on studying and get a good job to make money!"
How times have changed! While it is of utter importance to study and build a career, get a good degree and obtain a nice job, the gaming industry has evolved tremendously in the last decades. Games have moved from free-to-play to pay-to-play and ultimately to play-to-earn.
Playing games is no longer a fruitless activity that would only bring us an escape from reality and a few hours of good old fun. Nowadays, you can actually earn money and crypto rewards by playing play-to-earn crypto games.
I started playing computer games in high school. I would spend hours immersed in the fascinating worlds of Lara Croft, Dota, and Batman or get my adrenaline rush kick from high-speed races in NFS. Then, mobile games appeared, and I would play a mobile game on the bus, on my lunch break, in bed, anywhere and anytime!
I loved gaming, but I wasn't making any income from it. And then crypto gaming appeared, and I discovered the endless opportunities of crypto games, non-fungible tokens, and blockchain technology. It was a dream come true!
Blockchain games reward players for their time spent in the game and the effort they make to advance in the gameplay with cryptocurrency rewards and NFTs.
In this article, we'll talk about crypto gaming in depth. We'll see what the advantages of play-to-earn crypto games are and how you can get started with NFT games.
You can also read our previous articles if you're interested in knowing how to buy NFTs or how to value and sell non-fungible tokens.
Crypto games definition - What is crypto gaming?
Crypto gaming is the hottest trend in the gaming industry right now. Blockchain technology revolutionized games for good by introducing the play-to-earn (P2E) model, where you can earn crypto assets and NFTs just by playing your favorite game.
You can earn digital assets or the game's native token by winning battles, trying to complete quests, or finishing different challenges. Some games require an initial investment, but most P2Es allow crypto gamers to start for free.
What makes crypto gaming so unique and different from the traditional games we're used to is that NFT games allow users to own their in-game assets. Not only do you earn tokens and NFT characters, but all your in-game items are yours to keep. You can trade them, sell them, exchange them for other crypto gaming coins or sell them for fiat currency. The choice is yours!
What are the benefits of play-to-earn games?
You might be wondering why I'm so hyped about crypto games and why I swear you should be equally hyped as well. It's ok to be cautious! I actually advise you to do your own research on the subject and read as much as you can on blockchain gaming and NFTs.
Here's my list of crypto gaming benefits:
Great opportunity to earn money
Play-to-earn crypto games have opened wide the doors for in-game monetization. Anybody can earn rewards with play-to-earn games. You only need a laptop or mobile phone, good WiFi, and some time to spare. There are many easy-to-play skill-based games where you advance by defeating your opponents. You get rewarded with in-game characters, NFTs, and cryptocurrency tokens. And the beauty of it is that these in-game assets have real-world value.
You can sell them for a profit, trade them with other players or create a collection worthy of the envy of the entire gaming universe.
Transparency of the play-to-earn gaming model
Play-to-earn games are quite transparent. You'll know from the get-go how much you can earn, what you have to do in order to get the digital assets, and, most importantly, how many assets are available. Each NFT you can win is unique, featuring special rarity traits that will increase its value. The in-game currency can have ups and downs, depending on the current trends of the crypto market. Still, you will always have access to websites and crypto exchanges where you can see the market cap, current price, future projections, etc.
Fostering crypto gaming communities
Most blockchain games are multiplayer games. Players have to compete against each other in a PvP arena or in mobile eSports tournaments to win the game and take the loot. Users usually jump on the project's bandwagon early on. They follow the social media channels and join the dedicated Discord channel to stay up to date on the latest news and communicate with each other. This helps to create a unique gaming community of people with the same passions and interests.
The booming development of the NFT and DeFi sectors
Play-to-earn crypto games are exceptionally moving things forward for the NFT and DeFi sectors as they focus on both a lot. Each new emerging crypto game tries to gain a fair share of the market cap. How? By introducing NFT innovations, governance and utility tokens, and multiple ways to earn a passive income. Blockchain gaming has put non-fungible tokens under the spotlight, and boy, do they know how to shine.
How to start crypto gaming?
It's not hard to start with play-to-earn crypto games. Since this gaming model is based on blockchain technology, you're probably imagining you have to be some tech guru, or at least crypto savvy, to start playing games and earning money.
You couldn't be further from the truth! Getting started is a piece of cake. You just need to follow a few steps:
Choose a play-to-earn game ( or several)
The first thing you should do is decide what kind of game you want to play. Each play-to-earn crypto game is different and comes with different rewards. Decide if you want to guess words, crush enemy forces, shoot hoops, breed, raise and battle creatures called Axies, or capture alien species.
Some of the most popular crypto games are Axie Infinity, Alien Worlds, Pillars of Defense, Gala Games, Hoopshot, Blankos Block Party, Wordcraft, etc.
Get a crypto wallet
The next crucial step involves setting up your crypto wallet, in case you don't have one already. This will allow you to connect to the crypto game and purchase a non-fungible token, for example.
We recommend you start with Metamask, the most popular free online cryptocurrency wallet. You can download it as a mobile app or as a browser extension. What's great about this wallet is that it's allowing gamers to store any cryptocurrency on any chain they need.
You can learn how to set up Metamask and connect it to Polygon in our previous article.
Buy the in-game currency you need
Once you've set up your wallet, it's time to buy the crypto coins you need. You'll be looking for the game's native token, like AXS, the Axie Infinity token, or FTW, the Win ecosystem token.
You can buy the in-game currency from a centralized or decentralized exchange. Another thing to keep in mind is that you will most probably need another cryptocurrency to buy the game's governance token or utility token. You will have to exchange your money for Matic or ETH, for example, and then use those coins to buy FTW, AXS, or APE.
Start playing & reap your rewards
At this point, you're all ready to join in the fun! You'll complete daily quests, play games against other players, and get rewards. Choose between adventure mode and arena mode, and see which one is the best play mode for you.
If you want to make money with the rewards you earn during gameplay, selling NFTs for fiat currency will get you there.
How to make money with a play-to-earn game
There are several ways to earn money in blockchain games. Non-fungible tokens give you the power to decide what you will do with your acquired digital assets.
Earning the in-game currency
Most play-to-earn games have a currency of their own that you can swap for other currencies or cash out. In the Win ecosystem, the currency is FTW, and you can use it to participate in tournaments, stake it, trade it, or buy Win Heroes NFTs.
Axie Infinity has two currencies, AXS and SLP, or the Smooth Love Potion. SLP is both the in-game currency and a resource used to breed the Axie creatures. AXS is the governance token and can be obtained by selling the NFT creatures.
Plant vs. Undead has an in-game currency called Light Energy (LE) that can be obtained through farming, planting seeds, etc. It can be swapped for the Plant vs. Undead Token (PVU), which can be traded on several exchanges.
Breeding
In crypto gaming, breeding means minting a new token to put it into circulation in the game. You can use breeding as another way to gain a passive income.
In the play-to-earn game Axie Infinity, you can breed the Axie NFT characters, creating new NFTs that you can raise, trade, sell, or use for the battles. You start the game with an Axie team of three creatures, and you can breed more.
In Crypto Kitties, you can pair a male and female NFT cat and breed them. The new cats you create will take features and attributes from both parents, influencing the value of the new non-fungible token.
Minting new in-game items
Blockchain games also allow you to earn money by minting new in-game assets. In CryptoBlades, a crypto game released on the Binance Smart Chain, users can forge new weapons and sell them on their dedicated marketplace.
Players can create wearables and other collectibles in metaverse games like Decentraland or The Sandbox, earning income from royalties.
Scholarships
Many play-to-earn games have the option of renting characters for profit, also known as scholarships. The manager of a scholarship guild owns the NFTs that he rents out to other players to use in the game. The rewards obtained through a scholarship are split between the manager and the player using the NFT.
Axie Infinity is one of the crypto games that use scholarships and guilds.
Staking
Many of the most popular crypto games allow you to use staking as a passive income method. When you stake your tokens, you lock them for some time, earning more rewards in return.
The Win.app platform offers staking pools for its users to stake the FTW tokens and get more coins as a reward.
Trading
Crypto gamers usually trade the NFTs they collect from crypto games to get better ones or even sell them on NFT marketplaces. If you get your hands on a very rare and powerful NFT, you could profit from it.
Tournaments and events
Another way to earn more rewards is by participating in tournaments and special events. The P2E mobile eSports gaming platform, Win.app, will offer its users the opportunity to participate in multiple tournaments and PvP arenas.
CryptoBlades also features special events, known as Boss Raids, where gamers can team up to fight bosses and earn special rewards.
Virtual real estate
Some metaverse platforms, like Decentraland or The Sandbox, give users the option to buy or sell virtual plots of land. These virtual properties are NFTs that you can own, where you can build assets. The value of a piece of virtual real estate depends on its location, ownership history, parcel size, and unique features.
Gaming coins to watch
Let's refresh your memory with a short list of crypto gaming coins that are a must-have this year:
- FTW token - The native token of the Win.app p2e crypto gaming platform
- AXS and SLP - Crypto tokens used in the popular Axie Infinity game
- MANA - The cryptocurrency used in the Decentraland ecosystem
- LE and PVU - Tokens from play-to-earn game Plant vs. Undead
- SAND - Crypto coin that powers The Sandbox universe
If you want to read more about these coins and the best play-to-earn projects they belong to or learn how to buy play-to-earn gaming coins, read our article on the subject.
What's the best in-game currency?
Asking what's the best gaming coin is like asking who's the best Spice Girls member, the best James Bond actor, or the best Star Wars movie. There's no right or wrong answer. It depends on who you're asking.
Each person will prefer a different coin or be hyped about another project, so don't waste your time looking for an answer to this question. Instead, do a lot of research on each crypto gaming token you find appealing, and decide which one is the best P2E token for you!
Last thoughts
The crypto gaming industry gives anyone the possibility to make some cash doing something they love. For those of us out there that are passionate about playing games, this is simply heaven. We were going to spend our time like this anyway, but now we can actually make some income from playing our favorite game. My inner teen is doing a happy dance!
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