by Jake Wengroff
NFT games take advantage of two of the hottest digital trends: crypto and gaming, with the ability for players to use NFTs as an asset for in-game purchases, rewards and even game ownership.
The NFT gaming marketplace is just developing. Not all NFT games offer “play-to-earn” experiences. Some simply offer gameplay, and not all gamers, even if given the opportunity to earn in crypto, want to earn: they just want the gaming experience. Further, NFT games are seen as a way to deliver more value to gaming developers. While earning digital assets — which can then be swapped for another currency, such as US dollars — is nothing new, NFT games provide a way for game developers to not be beholden to Apple or Google and their per-transaction commissions.
Let’s have a look at a few of the best NFT games available on the market today.
1. Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity, a RPG (role-playing game) in which players breed monsters, is considered the original NFT game and serves as a proof-point that NFT games can work, be rewarding, and be fun. The idea is simple: raise a pet Axie and breed it to create generations of creatures, each one inheriting traits from its relatives. You can collect and trade Axies on NFT marketplaces or in-game, with rare breeds earning you large sums of money.
As your Axies are registered on a blockchain, their rarity and value can earn you real money, similar to non-game NFTs. This play-to-earn model is what NFT games are known for, and it can yield profitable results when values go up and unfortunately, the opposite when values decline. To offset the market forces imposed on the game, and to still encourage players to try the game, Axie Infinity offers a free-to-play model in which players can join without needing to pay, but their Axies have limited development.
The rise of Play-to-Earn games are pointing the way ahead, notes Creative Bloq, with some players even able to earn a living from these games. With 3 million daily users, Play-to-Earn games aren’t going away.
1. The Sandbox
The Sandbox is popular perhaps because it’s less of an NFT game and more of a creator platform. The Sandbox is like an NFT-powered Minecraft or Roblox, in which players can play as well as build games and assets simultaneously. However, unlike in Minecraft or Roblox, players own their creations and can sell and trade these digital items on the internal marketplace using the SAND token.
The other side to The Sandbox is game mode, where participants can develop a world of their own, adding games and experiences and building their own unique metaverse inside The Sandbox. Participants can explore other players’ worlds, play games and export content into their universe. This is governed by the LAND token, and also enables players to vote on new features, tools and the direction of The Sandbox.
3. Gods Unchained
Led by former Magic: The Gathering Arena game director Chris Clay, Gods Unchained is a free-to-play NFT card battle game that shares much in common with Wizards of the Coasts’ tabletop card game.
Like MtG Arena, the concept is to battle other players using cards and combinations of cards, each with unique stats, strengths and weaknesses to understand and harness. Gods Unchained succeeds because it’s free, rewards skill and strategy, and uses NFTs to enhance its traditional ideas. Cards are earned from playing and earning experience points, and these can be bought and sold, earning players real money on the crypto marketplace Immutable X as well as in-game as $GODS tokens.
4. DeFi Kingdoms
Based on Harmony, a sustainable blockchain, DeFi Kingdoms is one of the first games to truly leverage the value of NFTs, uniting the underlying utility of NFTs with classic game design. Players play DeFi Kingdoms as they would a retro RPG – questing for XP and items, managing in-game resources and developing a hero. However, DeFi Kingdoms rewards players by enabling them to accumulate JEWEL tokens that can be converted to the Harmony One cryptocurrency.
The DeFi Kingdoms approach is successful because it builds a bridge between complicated NFT and decentralized crypto concepts with traditional storytelling. DeFi Kingdoms is considered a gateway to NFTs but unfortunately, there is no free entry to play as of now.
Added Protection for Your NFTs
Gaming has found a way to introduce NFTs and blockchain concepts to new audiences. However, while games can be highly engaging and fun, and players can earn and create within the game, acquired NFTs will be stored and most likely traded at some point. As such, accessing and transferring NFTs between marketplaces, exchanges, and wallets can be risky.
Security should be top-of-mind when participating in an NFT game. As a solution to keep up with the ever-complex marketplace of crypto assets, TransitNet is creating the industry’s first title registry that demonstrates proof of ownership of crypto assets, to add a layer of protection for investors in digital currencies, NFTs and other crypto assets.
Join the forefront of the new crypto infrastructure. Request an exclusive registration for TransitNet’s title registry when it launches.
Jake Wengroff writes about technology and financial services. A former technology reporter for CBS Radio, he covers such topics as security, mobility, e-commerce and the Internet of Things.
Sources
Creative Bloq – The Best NFT Games in 2022
Planet Crypto – New NFT Games: Upcoming Cryptocurrency NFT Games Launching in 2022