As Bequant’s Martha Reyes explains, NFTs enable gamers to discover new ways to play and earn.
NFT gaming is rapidly expanding, but more significantly, NFT players are finding meaning in their activity. According to DappRadar, sales of NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, have increased from less than $100 million in 2020 to $25 billion in 2021. The passing trend is here to stay, and NFT games are one area that digital artists and animators should pay attention to as titles like The Sandbox gain popularity.
If you’re not sure what non-fungible tokens are, our guide on what are NFTs is a must-read. NFTs may be used for almost anything, but we explain how developers are responding to the boom of NFT gaming and provide a selection of the top NFT games to play right now.
According to Martha Reyes, director of research at Bequant, a digital asset exchange and prime brokerage platform, NFTs will witness a boom in demand in 2022 and beyond. “Emergen Research expects that the worldwide NFT market will increase at a compound annual rate of 10.7 percent over the next four years,” she adds. NFTs will become increasingly ubiquitous in our lives as we march toward a new virtual economy “driven by the epidemic.”
Despite these figures, there are still concerns about the utility and future of NFTs. “After all,” Reyes asks, “what’s the sense of spending hundreds, if not millions, of dollars for a digital picture of a monkey or pixelated figure that can be simply replicated online?”
The solution lies in recognizing that NFTs are “permanent, digital representations of ownership of an object, whether virtual or real,” and that they are non-fungible — unique and verifiable, an NFT’s ownership can be tracked and is visible on the blockchain.
More importantly, the future of NFTs is dependent on their having a use – you’ll hear NFT advocates use the word ‘utility’ a lot. This is because ownership of this sort of NFT may offer access, rights, and advantages from incentive programmes, early releases, live events, and more. As a result, NFT games are a wonderful match, so let’s take a closer look as Reyes shares a professional perspective on how NFT gaming is finding a purpose.
Fun serves a role for NFT players
01. Purchase your character
Players may now construct and customize their in-game personas in an increasing number of titles. NFT players are taking it a step farther and embracing their character. You may create the hero you want for your game and even export it to other games in the ecosystem or sell it on an NFT marketplace.
“NFT purchases enable the gamer to acquire their own character, which is either exclusive to them or widely accessible to the larger ecosystem,” Reyes explains. “This allows users to play as anyone they choose rather of being dictated to the creators, allowing them greater choice in the gaming worlds.”
Of course, we can accomplish this today on the surface. The Elden Ring hero of one player will be different from the hero of another. In an NFT game, however, the gamer’s character is registered on a blockchain and owned by them, not the game’s publisher. Perhaps a character will be created in such unique and unusual ways that he or she will become very valuable…
02. Rather than buying, train and upgrade.
A response to the preceding statement about owning a character and cultivating a rare hero is that unique or strong characters in games may be costly. As a result, new or younger players may find NFT games unavailable or inaccessible.
“However,” Reyes points out, “with games like Blockchain Cuties, players may train and develop their current characters, making them more strong in the game and valuable on the market.”
“This implies that the training process may really add value to the player’s NFT, giving them more money when they sell it on,” she argues. This also implies that the wealthiest players cannot just buy their way to success, while less experienced players must earn their way up the gaming ladder.”
03. Make your character unique.
Customization is essential in gaming. Modern games are based on the idea that players like putting themselves in the shoes of their heroes. Grand Theft Auto Online, Fortnite, and FIFA’s boot shop are all examples of this.
So, how can NFTs profit from this? “By purchasing a playable NFT item of apparel,” Reyes explains. Buying and possessing unusual and unique goods, such as a coat, shorts, or cap, allows the player’s character to follow the player’s fashion. NFT games like as Forest Knight provide true rare things, with as few as ten items in existence.
Again, although a player may possess an object in a game, they are restricted in what they can do with it; in an NFT game, that item may be resold, put on an NFT marketplace, or provide greater usefulness — for example, a Nike shoe might provide entrance to a real-world event. NFT game creators may use NFT drops to establish a community around their releases and generate enthusiasm.
04. Accessorise, Accessorise, Accessorise
Following on from clothing, accessories are equally important. Games like Call of Duty let players to customize their firearms and armor, while Ubisoft has its own NFT called Ubisoft Quartz that allows Ghost Recon: Breakpoint gamers to own their equipment. But what if players desire to go further?
“If they wear meaningful jewelry, why shouldn’t their playable character be allowed to wear it as well?” Reyes wonders. “Once again, this gives the player additional significance, which means they become even more financially and emotionally committed in the game, raising its prestige.”
05. The Value of Smarter Contracts
The terms of an NFT are supported by smart contracts. They enable for preset requirements to be completed before a transaction can take place, such as giving artists the right to royalties in perpetuity every time the artwork is sold.
“This implies that creatives who make playable NFTs may continue to earn money from them even after they’ve been resold,” Reyes explains. “This provides a whole new second-hand market for NFTs and encourages creators to participate, making more distinctive and entertaining to play NFTs feasible for more players.”
NFT players may already design their own worlds and games using in-app development tools in titles like The Sandbox. Other games include markets where you can sell and purchase creator-owned stuff. Apeiron, a new game, will include an NFT token and a smart contract meant to foster and reward community and social gaming.
06. Gaining access to the metaverse
The metaverse, ah, the metaverse. You’ll hear a lot more about this in 2022 as more firms and artists begin to enter; what-is-the-metaverse? It’s a network of websites, content, creator-owned places, virtual worlds, and other things.
The style of gameplay being presented here will allow NFT gamers to make better use of the metaverse and introduce it to a whole new group of dedicated players. “To some, the metaverse will be the way we educate ourselves, bank, and even live in the future,” Reyes says, adding, “This may seem far-fetched to those of us who have no exposure to the metaverse yet, but as we have seen with the rise and impact of social media, gaming may be the entry point for this next shift in living.”
07. Play-and-earn
“Certainly, the thought of earning a career as a professional gamer is unfamiliar to many,” Reyes starts, adding, “but for a generation of young people and teenagers, it is a genuine possibility, with streaming and e-sports becoming a massive business.” However, for casual players, this is really a pipe dream.”
With transferable and purchase NFTs, metaverse gaming allows NFT players to profit while they play, providing a new dynamic to gaming and challenging the traditional industry. Axie Infinity, an NFT game, allows users to create, fight, and trade their Axies in the same way as Pokémon does, except they have actual money worth that fluctuates based on uniqueness and rarity.
Adding actual market forces to games may have benefits and drawbacks; when players earn and leave games, the economy can become bloated, as leading NFT game Axie Infinity found, but mixing free-to-play principles with play-to-earn might be the solution.
08. A novel method of collecting
“For years, football and baseball cards have been exchanged and acquired, but NFTs provide another chance for collectors,” explains Reyes. “Rather than merely possessing a card, owning the NFT may provide collectors with a playing aspect, bringing the two markets together.” This is a novel cooperation, but it has the potential to be a significant component of the future gaming and collectibles industry.”
Gods Unchained and other games are including the card collecting concept and the Magic: The Gathering deck collection system, but in this case, NFT players own the cards and may sell and trade them on an NFT marketplace, much like fans of classic Wizards of the Coast card games.
09. Access to many chains
Games are bringing together many tribes that run on several blockchains. “Blockchain Cuties is the only game on the market to provide its players the chance to play on several blockchains, each giving customised user experience and unique content,” explains Reyes. This implies that participants may trade on EOS, NEO, ETH, and TRON, each with its own marketplace.”
As NFT games evolve, they will become more approachable, and, as with Blockchain Cuties, NFT gamers will be able to buy and trade their custom characters on multiple blockchains, using a diverse set of NFT crypto so players can choose which to support, possibly for reasons of ecology and ease of use.
