Over the past few decades, the gaming industry has gone from modest bar entertainment in the form of Pong, Pac-Man, and Company to a global enterprise worth billions of dollars. Today, video games like Grand Theft Auto, World of Warcraft, and Fortnite are the most valuable entertainment products, far surpassing movies, music, and television.
But in recent years, with the continued flood of new games, player preferences have changed, especially when it comes to revenue-generating opportunities. Games like World of Warcraft, Counterstrike GO, and the FIFA series have introduced the concept of owning digital in-game assets and trading them for real money, but most publishers still try to prohibit the latter situation. .
The introduction of blockchain technology into gaming has changed the narrative, as Web3-based games allow trading of in-game assets by default. It is therefore no surprise that blockchain gaming has reached a significant milestone of recording 4.2 million daily active users (DAU) in August 2024, according to DappRadar. Let’s take a closer look at this interesting and rapidly growing field.
Telegram gaming’s next big thing?
If you’ve been at all active in the cryptocurrency space lately, you’ve probably noticed the recent Telegram buzz. This is mainly due to the rise of Telegram’s blockchain, The Open Network (TON). In fact, the TON ecosystem is expected to have 1.8 billion accounts by the end of 2024, which will make it one of the top three most popular blockchain infrastructures after Bitcoin and Ethereum.
After NOTCOIN led the way, many games debuted on the TON blockchain. These games have proven that making money through blockchain games is as easy as opening the messenger app Telegram.
One project that TON-focused gamers may find interesting is Panda Roll, a revolutionary Telegram and TON-based “AFK-to-Earn” game. This allows players to start an exciting journey to earn points and unlock rare “emblems”. Not actively playing.
This model originated from Web2 gaming chatrooms such as Discord and has seen great success in the cryptocurrency space in recent years. In fact, Panda Roll attracted more than 1.5 million users within just two months of its release. The mechanism is simple. Pandaroll players simply click on the autoroll, close the application, and come back 3 hours later to see the rewards they earned.
Another gaming project on the TON blockchain is PinEye. It is an innovative ecosystem that brings together social networking, gaming, education, philanthropy, and staking within a single platform.
Recent achievements include a partnership with KuCoin to enhance the trading experience, a listing on CoinGecko for market performance tracking, and the upcoming launch of social trading.
Other Ton-based games that have caught the attention of the gaming community include Tapswap, Blum, Tomarket, X-Empire, and Dogiators.
Blockchain gaming as a source of income
As already mentioned, in traditional games, in-game assets acquired or purchased by players, such as skins, characters, and weapons, are generally regulated. Players may invest hours to acquire them, but they have no real custody.
Publishers are free to remove or modify these assets and are often prohibited from trading them outside of highly regulated in-game platforms. Furthermore, if a server ceases to operate or a player is banned from accessing the service, all assets will be forfeited, regardless of whether an actual monetary investment was made to acquire the assets. .
Blockchain technology gives players direct authority over digital assets as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs represent clear and verifiable ownership of digital assets on the blockchain, allowing players to trade, sell, and transfer these assets between different games and platforms.
There are a ton of games within the blockchain ecosystem. Especially in 2024, there was a mix of caution and optimism in the Web3 and blockchain gaming investment industry. Q2 2024 was very successful, with one of the best performances since Q3 2022, with total investments of $1.1 billion, up 314% QoQ and 17% vs Q2 2023 Increased.
For example, SpaceCatch has emerged as a notable Web3 GameFi project of 2024, created by acclaimed game studio Pixelfield. This advanced augmented reality and Web3 game emulates PokemonGo’s successful model while integrating move-and-earn elements, establishing itself as the future “PokemonGo killer.”
Amazingly, despite the challenges of being hacked a few months ago, the game has regained its fame and bounced back even stronger.
Additionally, Engines of Fury is a free-to-play, post-apocalyptic top-down extraction shooter game that uniquely integrates traditional gaming and blockchain technology, leveraging a single deflationary token, $FURY, and NFTs . The project is distinguished by an excellent development team comprised of talent from major Web3 initiatives and AAA studios, with support from major industry players such as Maven Capital and Double Peek Group.
The game offers an immersive experience, allowing players to engage in intense extraction-based gameplay within a dynamic economic ecosystem powered by the integration of $FURY tokens and NFTs.
In reality, the purpose of decentralization is to give players full rights and control over in-game assets, making it impossible to modify items without the player’s consent.
Comparison of revenue models and incentives
Traditional gaming revenue models rely primarily on in-app purchases, subscriptions, and advertising. Players invest funds to acquire items or accelerate their progress. However, the bulk of the financial benefit accrues primarily to the developer. Not only that, but once a player acquires an item through purchase, they are prohibited from selling or trading it, resulting in an economic stagnation where spending becomes irreversible.
Web3 Games, on the other hand, allows players to play blockchain games, including allowing users to create and sell content such as skins and levels, as well as receive token rewards (such as Web3 in-game currency). Our focus is on making money by doing things. ). This allows players to create and participate in player-driven economies.
Decentraland and The Sandbox are two examples of Web3 games that allow players to create, sell, and trade digital assets.
Decentraland is an older platform that functions as a DAO and has institutional support from prominent entities such as Samsung, the Korean government, and Polygon. Players can buy, build, and sell LANDs, creating a thriving market for digital real estate. Decentraland has a native cryptocurrency called MANA, which is used for intra-world transactions and governance. Investing in virtual real estate is one of the most profitable options for players to consider in Decentraland.
The Sandbox, on the other hand, utilizes a rewards model where players can earn SAND by playing the game, completing quests, and participating in events. SAND allows users to acquire ASSETs and LANDs, enjoy premium features, participate in governance decisions, stake rewards, and participate in gaming activities.
Web3 game publishers typically earn revenue through fees for player asset transfers and through native tokens, of which publishers typically retain a significant amount.
game transparency
Most people believe that fairness and transparency are essential principles in any competitive gaming situation. After all, players need a certain confidence that the game mechanics are fair and the results will not be changed, considering that digital slot machines where the house makes the winning chances even smaller than they should be .
Clearly a fair mechanism represents a solution, and blockchain makes this possible. On-chain contracts or trust agreements between players and game developers ensure that all game results are fully transparent and verifiable on the blockchain.
Many blockchain-based games have already implemented the concept of provably fair mechanisms. Chainlink VRF (Verifiable Random Function) serves as a solution for developers to guarantee randomness in blockchain-based games. It provides immutable randomness that allows participants to authenticate on the blockchain.
Satoshi Dice is another example of a proven fair game running on the Bitcoin Cash blockchain. The results of each roll are recorded on the blockchain, and the hash of the private key is made public, allowing users to authenticate the fairness of each result.
Make Money with Crypto Games – Step-by-Step Guide
If you are ready to start earning money while playing games, be sure to follow all the steps below.
Set up a crypto wallet
Before we talk about playing blockchain games, we recommend that you create a secure digital wallet. Examples include MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Phantom, Tonkeeper, and Telegram Wallet. One of the important lessons for beginners to learn is to keep their wallet phase secure to ensure the safety of their funds. Please do not share with friends or family for any reason. Please keep it safe.
Some games require no initial investment, while others require an initial investment. Therefore, players should consider adding cryptocurrencies (usually TON, ETH, or a specific blockchain’s native token) to cover the initial transaction or gas fees if necessary.
Investigate profitable games
Finding profitable blockchain games can seem easy but can be difficult. Here’s why: The excitement and urge to earn based on the hype can make even experienced players jump into the game. While there are good developers and founders in the ecosystem, there are also bad developers and founders.
For example, $SQUID was being sold on social media as a play-to-earn cryptocurrency to be used in a future Squid Game-inspired video game. Due to the great attention it received, the price exceeded expectations. However, the developer ended up walking away with a whopping $3.38 million, and the price plummeted to virtually nothing.
Some of the important factors you should always consider before getting into the blockchain game or investing in its tokens: revenue model, initial investment requirements (if any), time commitment required, user reviews and community. Feedback, partnerships, roadmaps, tokenomics, and track record team members.
Learn best practices
The possibilities to earn money while playing blockchain games are endless. There are proven strategies to maximize your profits.
Most experts recommend focusing on daily quests and rewards. Popular platforms include Galxe, Zealy, and the Telegram Community mini app. In some cases, you will also be asked to participate in special events on social media that will reward you with game tokens.
Additionally, it’s also wise to strategically reinvest your earnings to purchase in-game assets. You’ll have more fun and earn more money. The combination of fun and challenge is really great for players.
Perhaps most importantly, be sure to look for game-specific strategies on platforms like YouTube and Reddit. Experienced and skilled players usually share their best practices, so you can use their learning to get better at the game quickly.
