Blockchain technology is among the biggest innovations of this century. Originally associated with Bitcoin, blockchain’s underlying technology is proven to be extremely valuable in other sectors, like finance, education, and manufacturing.
As one of the disruptive technologies, blockchain will be at the forefront of the rising digital economy. As things go, blockchain’s role in gaming is just getting started. Blockchain technology’s decentralized approach gives a myriad of opportunities to publishers, developers, and gamers. Through the possibilities that decentralization offers, the future of blockchain gaming has almost unlimited potential.
An overview of blockchain gaming
Blockchain gaming refers to a type of video gaming where in-game digital assets have real-life value. These digital assets can be in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The value of these NFTs appreciates over time, like stocks, which you can sell or trade online. They can also be converted into real-world money.
Blockchain games also use cryptocurrencies as a tool in-game, allowing game developers to incorporate real-world economic features into their games. Also, in-game monetary units have real, tangible value and aren’t just virtual. This trait is among the primary factors that drive blockchain gaming’s future.
What is the future of blockchain gaming?
Blockchain gaming started in 2017, but the industry has progressed significantly since then. Its market is now worth $4.6 billion and will likely continue to grow. As to the question of where the future of blockchain gaming will be, the following will most likely happen:
Rise of play-to-earn gaming
Blockchain games are still in their nascent state, but they’re already giving the public a glimpse of what the future may be. One of these is the development of play-to-earn-gaming, which appears to supplant the old “play-to-win” or the “pay-to-win” models.
The play-to-earn model lets gamers earn assets or tokens as a reward for passing a level for completing an objective. These tokens have value in the real world; they aren’t just valuable in-game. The assets can be used to pay NFTs or traded for cryptocurrencies like Ethereum or Bitcoin. An example of a blockchain game like this is the popular Axie Infinity, where gamers can breed and trade digital pets called Axies, resulting in gamers earning real-world income.
The game started as a 2D tactical game, but gamers can now enjoy it in 3D after an update. After this update, it may be necessary for the game’s players to learn about how Axie Infinity Land works, as some game mechanics may have been added or modified.
The concept of play-to-earn presents enormous possibilities for gamers and is regarded as revolutionary. Also referred to as “Gamefi,” this “revolution” includes giving players options to invest their earnings in secondary markets. With Gamefi, a new digital economy will be created, rewarding players with real-world money and making gaming a lucrative pursuit.
Giving players more power and control
Blockchain gaming gives players the power to maintain control of their assets. This power differs significantly from traditional gaming, where game developers can remove or modify a player’s items. If a game, for whatever reason, is shut down, players would still be able to keep whatever assets they earned in-game. In short, players can keep their assets. Not even the developer can take them. For example, if you’ve earned NFTs, you can keep them in a crypto wallet. You can sell or trade this asset or use it in other games. Hardware wallets are the safest ones available on the market, and least vulnerable to hacks.
In theory, assets like NFT can last beyond a game’s lifespan and retain or increase its value. The future will probably witness an influx of professional gamers outside the current massive multiplayer online games (MMO) tournaments.
Opening opportunities for developers
The future of blockchain gaming may seem like players will have more control, but the shift will also benefit developers. For example, they can set predefined settings to control in-game trading and regulate economies in their games. These controls ensure that trades are balanced and conducted fairly. Also, in-game markets will be prevented from being over-saturated.
Developers can also build any game world they want on the blockchain. The blockchain will allow them to build an ecosystem that makes it possible for players to create gaming economies. Thus, developers can generate revenue by imposing taxes or adding charges to peer-to-peer transactions.
Blockchain’s robust data encryption gives developers a secure environment to create game worlds. Cybercriminals won’t be able to bring down a decentralized network, and there’s no centralized server for them to attack. Moreover, communications between developers and players are more open in the blockchain.
Conclusion
Blockchain technology is one of the most significant innovations of the century. Its powerful data encryption and capacity to do away with centralized servers make blockchain technology extremely useful to gaming.
Blockchain gaming is one of the fastest-growing sectors. Although it has just recently started, its market value has grown by leaps and bounds. Its future is driven mainly by its decentralization technology and real-world economic features.
Thus, blockchain gaming’s future will see the further development of play-to-earn games, with players having more control of in-game assets and developers having more opportunities for game development.
