As the world is advancing towards the next generation of gaming that involves blockchains and metaverses, words that seem fancy to a layman, it is important to know how these games have a hand in changing the planet. Most blockchain-based games are based on the play-to-earn (P2E) principle, where gamers earn in real-time while they play. This has been revolutionary since many people from developing countries have gained from such games and fed their families.
This has gone to the event of someone claiming that playing P2E games is their only income source, which would only increase soon. As the year goes by, there are a lot of upcoming P2E NFT projects that are either coming up or updating themselves from the previous versions to attract more players. This blog is solely dedicated to the top 5 play-to-earn NFT games.
1. Axie Infinity
A pioneer in play-to-earn NFT games, Axie Infinity is a battle-based NFT game that has already made rounds in the gaming world with its unique gameplay features. The game's marketplace is one of the highest grossers since the game went popular during the NFT boom. The game is based on little monsters called “Axies,” using which one could battle with other players or computers and earn valuable boosters (such as smooth love potions) or in-game currency ($AXS).
The game also allows selling the in-game assets even on third-party NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea. The game has also introduced a scheme called “Scholarships,” where players who cannot play the game can rent out their set of Axies to new players and share the earnings in a predetermined proportion. While this has not been an approved in-game feature, this has become popular outside the game, and things might change soon.
2. JUMP.trade
As the world’s first NFT cricket game, Jump.Trade is a blockchain-based cricket game that will be officially releasing an NFT drop soon. The announcement of the upcoming NFT drop has gained massive traction among the cricket fan community.
The NFT game's launch has generated much hype amongst fans of the sport, as the game’s developers are targeting major cricket-fandom nations in South Asia. The game would also have something for seasoned NFT collectors and professional gamers. This play-to-earn NFT game is set to launch in the latter half of 2022 and ultimately aims to form the first metaverse dedicated to cricket.
3. Illuvium
Illuvium is a fantasy role-playing game developed by an autonomous DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) on the Ethereum blockchain. Like Axie Infinity, the game looks to utilize battles as its main gameplay and other features such as staking native tokens, different classes, and difficulty levels. This play-to-earn NFT game is set to launch later in 2022 fully, and a beta version is available at the time of writing.
By grazing upon the game’s details, it looks evident that the game is set to follow Axie Infinity’s footsteps and even might take it over in the future. The primary reason for such a projection is the game’s darker theme, which the current generation of gamers love, along with all the features and modes the game presents (Zero, Arena, and Overworld).
4. Faraland
Another battle-based play-to-earn NFT game, Faraland, requires players to beat the demon god Bezelbul in the player-vs-environment (PVE) feature and battle with other players in the player-vs-player (PVP) feature. In both modes, one needs to collect heroes of different races to win matches that contain different elements and body parts that determine their power.
The game also concentrates on other features such as staking, marketplace, and special features such as Summon (provides a demi hero) and Gacha (provides advanced equipment). This play-to-earn NFT game also plans more metaverse-like features such as lands, jobs, and breeding that can truly turn it into an experience to cherish.
5. Thetan Arena
In a somewhat surprising move, this game is a redeveloped version of the existing mobile game Hero Strikes, which has not received the popularity it should have. Thetan Arena is a game that exists both in the blockchain and the non-blockchain versions, although the P2E version is the former. Another battle-based play-to-earn NFT game, Thetan Arena, has its own native crypto tokens, heroes, booster items, and more.
Since the game still has not completed the roadmap, where many more advanced features are shown that would be integrated into the game environment as time goes. The game is available on all prominent platforms (Web, Android, and iOS), which dictates the nature of a player's game (whether a normal mobile game or a P2E NFT game).
Final Thoughts on Play-to-earn NFT Games
With the NFT boom providing no signs of dying down any soon, the domain of play-to-earn games is set to sweep the world like a storm. Adding to the pandemic-forced loss of people's livelihood in many developing countries, such games have already made rounds to make people earn money from them. This culture is destined to grow more as more and more games are coming up.
In summary, the above games are at the top of the most-expected games to make waves once they get officially on the blockchain world.