A lot of games offer their own in-game currency. Players can buy or earn V-Bucks in Fortnite, Minecoins in Minecraft, and FUT coins in FIFA. But, outside the games themselves, these currencies carry very little value. Similarly, in-game assets like weapons, skins, vehicles, and other items also have no value outside of games, except in rare circumstances.
Crypto gaming can change that because it uses cryptocurrency so players could buy and sell their in-game currency on exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase. And in-game assets? They are designed and distributed as NFTs, which can be minted and traded on NFT marketplaces.
Not only does this offer the potential for players to make real money from their in-game efforts but it can also enable the transfer of funds and assets from one game to another, opening up a whole universe of gaming opportunities. As yet, the industry has only scratched the surface of what is possible, but developers and publishers are looking for ways to further innovate.
Crypto In iGaming
While crypto gaming hasn’t taken mainstream video gaming or mobile gaming by storm yet, it has had a significant impact on iGaming. As well as offering anonymous, secure, private payments, it has also opened up the iGaming market. Players in jurisdictions where gambling is heavily regulated have been able to access casinos from around the world.
As well as games like roulette, slots, and live poker, players can now access more unusual games like pachinko and sic bo online. Pachinko and sic bo are popular in Asian casinos, but they are rarely seen outside the continent, except in online and crypto casinos. Crypto casinos are also able to offer substantial welcome and deposit bonuses, as well as sizeable jackpots. These benefits have seen crypto iGaming options become very popular.
Real World Currencies As In-Game Currencies
iGaming sites allow players to use existing cryptocurrencies. The most commonly used are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Litecoin, and Dogecoin. None of these were established specifically for use at online casinos, but they are some of the most popular cryptos, which has seen them picked up and used in this way.
In contrast, crypto gaming uses dedicated gaming currencies. Currently, games like Axie and Decentraland use their own specific coins, AXA and MANA respectively. These cryptos can be traded on centralized exchanges.
In the future, if a single blockchain can bring several gaming companies together, players will be able to use a single currency across all games, taking their winnings from games like Call Of Duty and using them to spend on new items in Elder Scrolls Online, for example.
NFTs As In-Game Assets
NFTs are, at their core, digital collectibles. They are similar to trading cards, but they can be much more dynamic than that. An MMORPG could use NFTs as in-game assets, such as swords, guns, vehicles, or skins. The item would belong to the player that created it. It could be exchanged for cryptocurrency, traded for other items, or given away.
Because NFTs are recorded on the blockchain, when ownership transfers to a different player, they would take full ownership of that item. Furthermore, although it would be possible, if games were created on the same blockchain, to carry NFTs over from one game to another. Players will be able to use their favorite Mario Kart in the next Drive game or use their Spartan Energy Sword in Fortnite.
Accounts On Blockchain
Players plow thousands of hours into some games. The likes of World of Warcraft and RPGs like Oblivion demand a lot of time, including hundreds of hours grinding and farming for items or experience. Losing those accounts, because of theft or hacking, can be a genuinely traumatic experience.
Blockchain accounts are more difficult to hack due to their use of advanced cryptography and their decentralized nature. Because the accounts would be funded using cryptocurrency, this also negates the need to submit bank or credit card details, and users wouldn’t even need to register personal details.
Crypto gaming is more secure. But, if players want to sell an account they’ve spent a thousand hours developing, they would be able to do that on blockchain marketplaces.
Transparency
Blockchain games are transparent. The blockchain uses private and public keys to ensure strong encryption. Users retain those private keys, but public keys mean that transactions are visible on the blockchain.
Transactions do not give any publicly identifiable information, but they do show the wallet addresses of senders and receivers as well as what was transferred. Buyers can check the provenance of goods and currencies sent.
The Play To Earn Model
Play to Earn is a type of gaming that rewards players for their in-game efforts with money or items that hold real-world value. In the case of crypto gaming, this usually means rewarding players with cryptocurrency or NFTs. Players can be rewarded for time spent in the game or for specific actions like leveling up their characters or beating certain bosses.
The Future Of Crypto Gaming
For all the benefits of crypto gaming, however, it has yet to really hit the mainstream. It remains something of a niche, as it has yet to get the backing of major game companies.
With that said, Sony recently launched its own layer 2 blockchain called Soneium, having partnered with the likes of Chainlink and Alchemy. And there are rumors that Microsoft is exploring something similar. Considering the number of game studios Microsoft has acquired in recent years, this could be a significant move within the crypto gaming sphere.