Crypto gaming uses blockchain technology to enable ownership of in-game assets. There is already a large industry for in-game items like skins and in-game currencies. However, blockchain-based assets enable true ownership since players can store their in-game assets via a crypto wallet.
Play-to-Earn (P2E) gaming is one major innovation birthed from crypto gaming, allowing players to earn an income by earning blockchain assets that players can exchange for real currency.
With the introduction of in-game asset trading, tradable game tokens, and the prospect of earning cryptocurrencies while playing, crypto gaming not only lays the basis for play-to-earn for players but also modifies the pay-to-play dynamic for gamers. For example, some games require users to buy NFT characters to play, while others let players get started with a free character until they earn enough crypto to buy an NFT character.
Crypto gaming allows for transparent, virtual markets in the gaming industry, where players may buy, sell, and trade in-game items without giving up any ownership rights to such items. The fact that these resources are preserved in the form of gaming NFTs speaks to their special nature.
Blockchain gaming enables a wide variety of interoperability across gaming ecosystems thanks to integrating in-game assets (i.e., NFTs) across different platforms. However, the degree of interoperability possible when creating a gaming environment depends on the kind of blockchain platform used.
Because of the unparalleled security and confidence surrounding blockchain technology, ownership of in-game assets are easier to verify, and that leads us to NFTs and how they benefit blockchain gaming.
The Benefit of NFTs in Gaming
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) also play a part in blockchain gaming. NFTs are unique blockchain-based assets that can be used to verify ownership of linked assets. Unlike digital currencies, they are utilized for unique assets to provide a shared sense of ownership. This is what differentiates them from digital currencies.
Before the advent of blockchain technology, malicious individuals could save and distribute an infinite number of copies of most digital items and re-sell them. While people can still save and copy files (for example, the "right click, save" movement seen with NFT art pieces), the copied files have no value if they aren't the original.
Blockchain technology links an NFT to a file or digital item, allowing anyone to verify its authenticity, so making copies of a file or asset does not affect the value of the original. As a result, blockchain technology enables the creation of truly unique in-game assets, and players can easily verify the authenticity of the assets.
In turn, NFTs within the gaming industry can bring many benefits, including a larger creator economy due to the inherent value of NFT gaming assets. Additional benefits include easier and safer in-game item trading between players and additional revenue streams for developers in the form of sales royalties for every NFT item sold.
In Closing
Blockchain technology has brought a new dimension to the gaming industry, especially by introducing the Play-to-Earn system and true ownership of in-game items.