Crypto is making inroads into finance, healthcare, and a host of other industries. As yet, its impact on the mainstream gaming industry remains light, but there is a growing crypto gaming community, and cryptocurrency has massive potential to disrupt this industry too. Mainstream adoption could see a change in in-game currencies but also in gaming accounts, avatars, skins, and items. It has also been adopted in eSports, with the introduction of fan tokens and NFTs.
One area of gaming that has seen considerable crypto adoption is iGaming. Online casinos, slot sites, and poker rooms have not only accepted but positively welcomed Bitcoin and other currencies. Sites like Lucky Block casino can offer faster deposits and withdrawals to clients, and because they save money themselves, the use of crypto has also led to generous sign-up bonuses and jackpots for players. Crypto has also seen a growing crypto gaming market, and it has huge potential for integration into mainstream gaming because of the benefits and features it offers.
Games Controlled By Players
In mainstream gaming, it is the game maker that retains ownership of the game, but also of player accounts, avatars, and in-game items. Even in-game currencies can only be used within the game and are technically owned by the game company. With blockchain gaming, accounts, and in-game currencies and items are owned by the players themselves. This also means that players retain more control over the games.
In the same way NFTs give people ownership of digital files like pieces of music or art, in-game assets are minted as NFTs and the player takes complete ownership of these assets. They can be given away, traded, or, potentially in the future, moved from one game to another.
In-Game Currencies
In-game currencies are commonplace in modern games. They are used in titles like Call Of Duty, Minecraft, Roblox, and many others. In some cases, they are rewarded for playing or according to a player’s performance. In other games, players buy them and use them to acquire items, pay for season passes, or take other in-game actions.
However, outside the game, these currencies hold no value and have no use, except in a few rare cases. Close your account, or stop playing a game, and your in-game currency becomes useless. Using cryptocurrency as in-game currency means players have real-world value and utility with those coins. The currency can be traded on exchanges like Coinbase and Binance or they could even be transferred from one title to another. You could use the coins you earn in Call Of Duty to buy items in Minecraft and vice versa.
Asset Ownership
Using blockchain means in-game items become realworld assets. Items can include full player accounts as well as weapons, skins, or even full houses and bases, depending on the game being played. These assets are minted as NFTs. They are recorded on the blockchain and the player is given the private keys that are required to claim and transfer ownership of the items.
Cross-Platform Assets
This asset ownership opens up whole new ways for players to benefit. As well as being able to buy and sell items on an open marketplace, it will make it possible to carry items over between games. You can take your Sniper Rifle from Halo and use it in Counter Strike.
Real World Profits
Crypto games are already becoming commonplace, with play-to-earn being one popular model. In these games, players sign up and are rewarded with in-game currency as they level up, progress through the game, or reach certain milestones.
Because the in-game currency is a legitimate cryptocurrency, it can be sold on crypto exchanges. Therefore, players can earn real-world money by playing games they already enjoy. Similarly, when items are minted as NFTs, these can be sold on NFT marketplaces.
Even player accounts can be sold, so you could earn money for the World of Warcraft account you’ve spent hundreds of hours developing. This also gives players a leg up if they aren’t among the early adopters of a game because they can buy established accounts or powerful items to help their progress.
The Current State Of Crypto In Gaming
Currently, crypto in games is reserved for crypto gaming titles: the likes of Axie Infinity. And, as yet, even these haven’t really taken advantage of cross-game or cross-platform capabilities. They do offer play-to-earn and NFT ownership, though, and they show what is possible. Crypto casinos also show the benefits that the technology holds for gamers. They offer fast, inexpensive transactions, that are also private and anonymous.
What The Future Holds
The future of crypto gaming will see companies continue to develop new and improved play-to-earn and NFT trading games. It will hopefully see mainstream gaming companies start to adopt cryptocurrency and blockchain.
There have been reports that Sony is investigating the possible implementation of a crypto wallet in its next-generation consoles, which may point to the possible use of crypto within game titles. But, for some of the greatest features, we will need to see game companies working together, which this generation of companies isn’t really known for. In order to take your Energy Sword from Halo and use it to improve your performance in Destiny 2, for example, it will require Microsoft and Bioware to work together.
Following Microsoft’s acquisition of companies like Mojang, Bethesda, and Obsidian, as well as EA’s ownership of Bioware, there is a greater chance of this collaboration than ever before, but it likely still remains some way off becoming a reality.
Conclusion
The gaming industry is constantly evolving, and looking for new ways to encourage, engage, and retain players. Incorporating cryptocurrency, NFTs, and blockchain is one way they can do this.
It has already been experienced in iGaming, and there are dedicated crypto games that are proving quite popular, but crypto in gaming has the potential to change the way we play and interact with games, if game makers can work together to make the vision a reality.
