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What Are Play-to-Earn Games and Why Play Them?

Writer: Sky ExplorerSky Explorer

Updated: Feb 9, 2024


What Are Play-to-Earn Games and Why Play Them?

The blockchain technology's gaming component, where users may earn money just for having fun. While play-to-earn gaming doesn't alter games per se, it does alter the video game industry's revenue model. We will focus on play-to-earn in this post, but we will also discuss play-to-own and play-to-airdrop. In essence, there aren't many differences between these various models because all of them allow players to get game assets simply by participating in the game.


What is play-to-earn gaming?

During the COVID-19 epidemic in 2021, Axie Infinity spearheaded the advancement of play-to-earn gaming, enabling thousands of players in underdeveloped nations to generate revenue. Even after two or three years, play-to-earn remains an unsatisfactory business strategy.

Play-to-earn (P2E) games are video games that use blockchain technology to enable players to gain virtual currency or in-game stuff. Gamers can exchange these items since they are available on the blockchain as NFTs or cryptocurrencies. Ownership is the key component of P2E gaming.


How does it differ from traditional gaming?

In conventional gaming, users must pay to participate in a game. P2E games allow users to profit financially from their wins. Users of P2E gaming can also manage their in-game belongings. You may own your skins, weapons, avatars, things, and anything else you pay for via blockchain and NFT technology.


Quality is the other notable distinction. Conventional video games are frequently supported by sizable, highly funded creative studios. The term AAA gaming, which denotes high quality visuals, narratives, and gameplay, is frequently brought up. 


Very few P2E games currently exist that come close to matching the sophistication of traditional games. 

It seemed like a matter of time before blockchain game developers catch up to their traditional counterparts, given the rapid growth that P2E gaming has achieved.


Play-to-earn games you can play now

A top-notch game can easily take three or four years to develop. It's difficult to draw in a large audience when you factor in the difficulty of scaling blockchain technology and the marketing push to persuade the general public that NFTs aren't the devil.


  • Axie Infinity Classic and Origins

One of the most popular play-to-earn games on Web3 is still the one that ignited a revolution. While Axie Origins has been available for a while, Axie Infinity re-released its Classic game mode in late 2023. These two Axie games allow users to gain SLP tokens by playing them. Furthermore, awards are frequently awarded in AXS, the Axie ecosystem's governance token, through tournaments and leaderboards.


  • Parallel

In 2023, the card game Parallel was one of the most well-known titles on Web3. The Parallel game universe has been enhanced with additional lore, characters, and powers with the release of the Planetfall expansion. In competitive bouts, players can acquire PRIME tokens by using their NFT cards, which they can also sell.


  • Nine Chronicles

Noob role-playing game Nine Chronicles is intriguing since it gives different ecosystem participants the opportunity to earn NCG tokens. In addition to competing with other players, players can sell or level up their equipment, acquire game stuff, and level up their hero. Through Nine Chronicles, all players can obtain NCG. In addition, Nine Chronicles network node hosts have the opportunity to earn additional tokens.


Play-to-earn? Play-to-own? Play-to-airdrop?

The idea that all gamers can become wealthy has tarnished the word "play-to-earn" since the craze surrounding Axie Infinity in 2021. Similar to the initial iteration of Axie Infinity, these game economies were unable to support the influx of new players who would then withdraw. Developers have been pushing for new terms through marketing campaigns; some of them include play-to-own, play-and-earn, and, more recently, play-to-airdrop.


I would contend that play-to-own, play-and-earn, and play-to-earn are all essentially the same. By taking part in the game economy, players have the opportunity to earn and acquire in-game assets. Again, this is a fundamental shift in how players engage with game economies, not a guarantee of financial reward.

However, from a developer perspective there can be a difference between these different models:


Play-to-airdrop

More gaming firms are choosing to reward their most devoted community members in a more active fashion, rather than rewarding people based on their past behaviour in the Web3 ecosystem. Playing early access games is a requirement for gamers to be eligible for NFT or cryptocurrency airdrops. To introduce their new cryptocurrency tokens, for instance, Kuroro Beasts, Pixels, and Nifty Island have begun or announced play-to-airdrop campaigns.


Play-to-earn

This business strategy appears to fit better with games where users may earn cryptocurrency. For instance, you can get BERRY by playing Pixels and PRIME by playing Parallel. In essence, the play-to-earn approach involves rewarding in-game activities with bitcoin.


Play-to-own

And thirdly, players can acquire in-game items through the play-to-own business model. For instance, players can win limited edition cosmetics or other game assets by taking part in seasonal events for a particular game. More emphasis is placed on asset ownership in the play-to-own concept.


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