Cryptocurrency games have grown in popularity as more gamers collect and trade digital assets, generating reliable income for game developers and creating value for gamers. In a recently published report, Cointelegraph Research shows how Axie Infinity players in the Philippines were able to earn their regular monthly salary in 2020 simply by playing the game, at a time when measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic brought economic hardship to the country.
Axie Infinity is a play-to-earn (P2E) gaming powerhouse on the blockchain, not unlike Bitcoin’s (BTC) status as a cryptocurrency powerhouse. Like Bitcoin, it has the eyes of the general public, is a target for competitors, and is no stranger to controversy, with the Ethereum sidechain developed for the game recently hacked for 173,600 Ether (ETH) and 25.5 million USD Coin. (USDC), worth over $612 million at the time.
As bears take over the cryptocurrency market and non-fungible token (NFT) prices slide lower, game finance, or GameFi, is showing signs of resilience and maturity despite overall negative market sentiment.
Play is important for future growth
Cointelegraph Research evaluated five of the most popular P2E games – Axie Infinity, Splinterlands, Bomb Crypto, Alien Worlds, and DeFi Kingdoms – in a 30+ page report published in May titled “GameFi: Can Blockchain-Based Gaming Redefine the Industry? ?” The gameplay of each game will not blow a veteran console gamer away. They are very different experiences than, for example, Call of Duty.
Download the full report here, with graphs and infographics
Nevertheless, gamers can enjoy blockchain games a lot, as the number of users clearly shows. GameFi development is still in its infancy, and games will evolve to be more visually engaging and dynamic in the future. Like all crises, the current bear market can be a conduit for innovation and development.
GameFi is poised to take advantage of this, and recent developments show confidence in the future of blockchain gaming, with Immutable X raising $200 million for game development in a recent fundraising round. However, blockchain game developers will continue to face the challenge of adding new users. Despite Axie Infinity’s explosive 2021, the current year paints a much more modest picture, with a steady decline in new monthly accounts added.
The five titles evaluated in the GameFi report do a great job of making investing in cryptocurrencies and NFTs fun, and the Cointelegraph Research report examines their cost of entry, game modes, overall strategic difficulty, and game mechanics. to come up with a game score for each title.
Since Axie Infinity relies almost entirely on new players putting fresh money into the game, slowing new player growth could send the entire economy of the project into recession.. Keeping the focus on gameplay development will help the GameFi industry reach a wider audience.
High-quality games incorporating blockchain-powered economies
There are examples of successful non-blockchain game economies, but few of them have reached the growth and scale of Axie Infinity and Splinterlands. Before the rise of GameFi, virtual gaming assets were often seen as inherently worthless, outside of brief periods of popularity with users.. GameFi differs from non-blockchain games with one key feature: property rights.
Blockchain and its underlying technologies allow game developers to offer users a secure way to prove ownership and transact with each other. Blockchain technology also enables freedom of pricing and trade, including of in-game materials and currency.
As a last resort, great gameplay and a strong in-game economy with a high degree of economic freedom can help GameFi weather the tough market conditions of 2022 and continue to attract new users. The union between gaming and decentralized finance opens up a world of previously unseen possibilities for many players, allowing them to earn a living playing high-quality games with great fun.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not represent investment advice, investment analysis, or an invitation to buy or sell financial instruments. Specifically, the document is not a substitute for individual investment or other advice.
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