What are NFT Games: NFT Gaming Explained
NFT games are a significant trend that will be hard for developers and publishers to ignore. Several NFT games have become famous for income generation in the gaming fantasy world. Moreover, they come with a play-to-earn model that allows players to earn money while playing. Keep reading to learn how to monetize your hobby and find answers about NFT games.
Table of Contents
What are NFT Games?
NFT games are games that incorporate NFTs. These games aren’t just about holding crypto-collectibles in your wallet; they come with player interactions, weapons, and purchases of avatars and, through the play-to-earn model, allow gamers to generate income from NFT games.
The appeal of NFT games is that they create unique and limited tokens that can be exchanged with each non-fungible token in a decentralized digital ledger based on blockchain technology. It gives gamers actual ownership with options to create, swap, and implement NFTs within a game.
Examples of NFT games:
How do NFT Games Work?
NFT games differ from virtual collectibles that can be held in your wallet. An NFT game will use NFTs in the rules, mechanisms, and player interactions. For example, a unique character or avatar within a game could be an NFT. Virtual items like the weapons you find while playing the game can also be NFTs.
Players can trade and swap the NFTs with other players for profit. The new play-to-earn model offers you a way to earn from NFT games. The NFT game is created by implementing rules and conditions in smart contracts. These smart contracts are self-executing pieces of code stored on a blockchain.
What are In-game NFTs?
In-game NFTs provide another way to generate income from NFT games. Instead of earning a fungible ERC-20 token like SLP in Axie Infinity or SKILLS in CryptoBlades, you earn NFTs representing collectible items. This approach is the traditional way of generating income with NFT games. Based on their cosmetics, rarity, or utility, there will be a considerable variation in the value of such an item.
As an example, the in-game NFTs can serve the CryptoKitties game. This game relies only on the collectibility of in-game NFTs. It’s impossible to keep playing and earn a steady income without the element of chance. The latest NFT game offers a mixture of both play-to-earn models and in-game NFTs.
What are Play-to-earn NFT Games?
Play-to-earn NFT games offer users the possibility of earning income by just playing the game. Usually, the player is rewarded with tokens and occasionally NFTs, earning more by playing longer. The tokens that you collect by playing the game are frequently required as part of the crafting process of the game.
The token method is the more stable of the two, as tokens can be constantly earned through play, while NFT drops can be more chance-based. This play-to-earn phenomenon has been popular with users in low-income countries as a way to supplement or supplement their fixed incomes or security benefits.
Axie Infinity is the best-known play-to-earn game. The users need to make an initial investment to purchase three Axies, or they can get a free scholarship from another player to start playing the game.
Axies can range in price, but sometimes they cost upwards of $200. Once users find a Starter Team and complete tasks and challenges, they can earn Smooth Love Potion (SLP), an ERC-20 token that can be traded on exchanges.
Can You Lose Money Playing NFT Games?
Playing NFT games can lead to loss of money. The amount of money depends on the type of game you are playing, its mechanics, and the value of the NFTs you handle. A loss of money doesn’t mean that you are being scammed. Since NFTs are speculative instruments, and their value depends on what people place on them, your losses also depend on market forces. Make sure you only spend what you can afford to lose if you invest in NFTs.
Can You Lose Your NFTs?
Some NFTs are worth so much that it’s a common fear to lose them while playing a game or interacting with the blockchain. That’s why you must ensure that you keep your NFTs secure, whether you have bought or earned them in-game. You can lose your NFTs if you aren’t careful and if you don’t take the proper precautions. However, it is doubtful that you will lose them if you follow the best practices we will outline later.
Here are a few possible ways you might lose your NFT:
- You are attempting to transfer your token from your wallet to another that doesn’t support your NFT’s token standard.
- You are a victim of fraud or scam, and you send your NFT to a scammer.
- You gave a malicious smart contract permission to access your wallet, and it took your NFT.
- You lose your NFT as a part of the rules of a game.
Apart from the last, it’s possible to avoid the above situation with improved knowledge of NFTs, blockchain technology, and NFT scams. In the same way, you wouldn’t use PayPal or internet banking without understanding how to use it correctly; the same goes for NFTs.
You should take the following steps to ensure you don’t lose your NFTs:
- Ensure you are not sending your NFT to another wallet to avoid falling for a scam.
- Understand what types of tokens and blockchains your wallet supports. The most common NFT token protocols for Ethereum are ERC-721 and ERC-1155. For BNB Smart Chain (BSC), the most common are BEP-721 and BEP-1155. Ensure you send them to the correct address and don’t assume their compatibility.
- Interact only with smart contracts from reputable projects that you can trust. If you allow a smart contract to interact with your wallet, be aware of the possibility that you could lose your funds.
- Before playing, check the rules of the game. Some NFT games allow you to trade with other players or use NFT consumables. Such consumables could be items, potions, etc. Make sure you learn the game’s basics to avoid unwanted surprises.
What Popular NFT Games are There?
Listed below are some of the most popular NFT games available on the market.
Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is one of the most popular and well-known non-fungible token-based Pokémon-style video games developed on the Ethereum Blockchain. This game allows players to collect and mint NFTs that represent monster-like digital pets called Axies, which can be battled and bred with each other within the game. Players can also buy virtual land and other in-game assets as NFTs.
Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained is a free-to-play trading card NFT game where each card has unique powers and is categorized based on its rarity, mana cost, god, and set. Players collect cards by buying them from other players or winning PVP games, then compete against each other in epic duels. Gods Unchained has its token called GODS. The game is based on the Ethereum Blockchain and uses an Immutable X Layer 2, which provides gasless transaction fees on the card market.
Splinterlands
Having been released in 1976, adventure video games continue to give players opportunities to experience things that may never be possible to experience in real life. They involve exploration, investigation, dangerous situations, problems, quests, and various logic puzzles that must be solved through deductive reasoning skills.
Although puzzles are essential parts of this genre, it must be noted that single-player experiences and storytelling are its main elements. The strong and unraveling storylines and significant dialogues make it more compelling than any other video game genre.
Now, let’s examine the sub-genres of adventure.
Alien Worlds
Alien Worlds is a metaverse built on the WAX blockchain where players can earn cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens. This game features a universe with six worlds, and each world has 500 land plots. These plots are owned by players and are represented by an NFT. Alien Worlds encourages players to compete in in-game quests and engage in battles to acquire Trillium.
Sorare
Sorare is an NFT-based fantasy football game where players can purchase NTF trading cards representing football players. Players can create teams with five players by buying tokenized cards or free cards. They can also win and earn rare cards and Ethereum by playing the game.
Star Atlas
Star Atlas is among the most talked-about play-to-earn metaverse games built on the Solana blockchain. The metaverse is set in 2630, where players time travel to explore the cosmos with virtual experiences and engage in battles to acquire resources and gain territorial dominance. NFTs are represented as in-game items such as ships, structures like power plants, space stations, and collectibles that include humans, posters, pets, charms, etc.
How to Create Your Own NFT Games?
The number of gamers is projected to reach 3 billion by 2024, and gamers will play an increasingly important role in defining the economics of the digital future. In 2020, the revenue of the gaming industry was $155 billion. By 2025, according to analysts, the industry’s revenue will exceed $260 billion. This is coupled with the rise in popularity of NFT collectibles, and NFT gaming businesses are looking to create their metaverse or NFT games to help them chart new frontiers in their business models, including:
The number of gamers is projected to reach 3 billion by 2024, and gamers will play an increasingly important role in defining the economics of the digital future. In 2020, the revenue of the gaming industry was $155 billion. By 2025, according to analysts, the industry’s revenue will exceed $260 billion. This is coupled with the rise in popularity of NFT collectibles, and NFT gaming businesses are looking to create their metaverse or NFT games to help them chart new frontiers in their business models, including:
- Gain more visibility and reach
NFTs are the craze for the digital economy, and they have a following among Millennials. If you invest in NFTs and NFT games, you can engage the interests of tech-savvy consumers. They can be used in order to increase brand awareness as well as generate new interest and adoption.
- Generate additional revenues
When an NFT game token transaction occurs, creators – depending on the demand for a particular NFT game or in-game NFT items can be an additional way to earn money.
- Exclusivity of ownership
NFT games allow their owners to take complete control of their assets. That’s attractive since it will enable players to earn cryptocurrencies if they sell the NFTs. Moreover, physical ownership provides more incentives to play the blockchain-based game and can be a constant source of income.
- Little or no maintenance required
NFT games require only the initial investment needed to develop and mint them. This offers creators a one-off cost and the ability to earn royalties and more for possible perpetuity.
Buying and Selling NFT Games
There are enormous benefits to buying and selling NFT games, as many have started to carve out a niche in the market and reap the benefits. You, too, can support your business model by learning to create an NFT and developing a strategy to make money with NFT. Here are some of the siginificant benefits of trading NFTs:
- Scarcity
Since only a limited number of NFTs are available in the marketplace, their scarcity could potentially create a relatively high value on the market as long as demand for NFTs continues to increase.
- Simple money-making opportunity
It’s already an established part that NFTs are highly collectible, offering a unique niche market for creators and collectors by offering earning opportunities.
- Offer utility
Some NFTs provide utility, like in-game items (avatars, trinkets, weapons) and even virtual real estate.
- Pioneering new avenues of engagement
NFTs are now a craze in the digital economy; as one of the first to adopt NFTs, you put your business ahead of the competition.
What are Gaming NFT Marketplaces?
Game NFT marketplaces are platforms built upon blockchains that allow users to engage in NFT buying, selling, and trading. NFT marketplaces are used in games in two ways. Some games collaborate with game NFT marketplaces to allow users to tokenize their in-game assets, collectibles, or purchases into NFTs and retain ownership over them. Two, there are NFT marketplace-centered games that are built on the concept of tradable collectibles.
Besides functioning as a platform for buying and selling NFTs, gaming NFT marketplaces also allow players to create or mint NFTs for different kinds of in-game assets such as costumes, weapons, virtual assets, gaming characters, warriors, and collectible cards and maintain an inventory of their tokens. They facilitate the trading process of game assets and make NFT games more fun and pleasurable.
Here are some of the best game NFT marketplaces that allow users to buy, sell, mint and trade NFT game digital assets.
AirNFTs
AirNFTs offers an easy and appealing user experience and a one-click minting process for artists and creators. It also allows users to generate additional income from royalties on secondary sales. Apart from NFT games, it’s a holistic NFT marketplace that includes artworks, photos, and more.
Axie Infinity Marketplace
Axie Infinity Marketplace allows players to exchange in-game assets and NFTs for digital currency. Since the game revolves around imaginary creatures, it’s similar to a digital pet universe. To start, each player must have at least three Axies. Unlike many NFT Marketplaces, Axie Infinity only sells characters and items from the Axie Infinity ecosystem.
Gamestarter
Gamestar – IGO supports indie games by offering tools to integrate your game with NFT game blockchains seamlessly. It has ready-to-use, verified BSH/ ETH token contracts, an easy-to-setup NFT marketplace for your game, and more.
Seascape
Seascape allows developers to create their blockchains with their own set of rules. Its user-facing game store is built with Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and NFTs in mind, incentivizing playtime and game development.
Forte
Forte is a blockchain platform for games that is secure, easy, and fully compliant. This platform helps game developers and publishers create regulated user accounts that allow players to hold stored value, buy and sell digital assets, or transfer funds.
OpenSea
OpenSea is an NFT marketplace that is built for Ethereum. It allows developers to create games and applications without learning specialized programming languages, charges no gas fees, or runs a single wide-ranging blockchain protocol.
What are In-game Items?
In-game items fall under the domain of virtual avatars, video game skins, armor, and weapons that players can buy for use within a virtual world. They can help users to improve their character or enhance the playing experience. Players can accumulate multiple items throughout the gameplay experience with a particular game and sell them for a profit.
How Do NFT Games Make Money?
Some people think that gaming advertisements claiming you can earn money just by playing are scams. That’s not true. Even though scams exist, NFT games can be a viable path to making money through gaming.
There are a few ways to make a profit through NFT games. You can choose play-to-earn games, some of the most popular NFT games today. In these games, you get rewards by completing challenges, defeating levels, villain characters, or playing more often. The assets you earn, including NFTs, cryptocurrency, or player skins, can be traded to unlock more rewards or sold for cryptocurrency.
Some play-to-earn games are free to start, while others require you to buy a stake in the game to begin. In addition, you can play games like CryptoKitties, where it is possible to earn in-game NFTs that have value only within the game. After, you sell the NFT cats for cryptocurrency – in the case of Ethereum, CryptoKitties, which you can trade like any other investment for USD or keep if you think it can appreciate. Like any crypto investment, investing in NFTs and converting them to crypto is highly speculative, and you can lose money as quickly as you make it.
Moreover, you can make money by creating your own NFTs and selling them in games like Cryptovoxels. You can play in the Decentraland metaverse, create items, wearables, or collectibles and earn royalties from sales.
You will also likely have an option to trade your NFTs when you play an NFT game. Since NFTs are non-fungible, meaning two NFTs do not have the same value, you may lose or gain on a trade. However, you can trade NFTs for other objects or items to help you progress in the game or earn high-value NFTs by trading them for things other players need.
To trade NFTs, it is essential to understand the value of what you hold. NFTs vary in value based on how rare they are, their specific attributes, how useful they can be in the game, and their appeal to players.
What are the Benefits of Gaming NFTs?
NFT games have benefits for both investors and players. Compared to traditional games, NFT games can offer certain advantages, such as:
- Potential to attract venture capital
At the beginning of the road, investors feel the potential of this market. That’s why game developers and owners would like to jump on the bandwagon of blockchain-based gaming solutions to attract venture capitalists.
- Income from the Play Store or App Store
Developers can earn a percentage of the download fee when many users download an NFT game from the App Store or Play Store. So, the more downloads, the higher the publishers’ revenue. Moreover, special events, festival sales, and in-app purchases are a steady revenue stream for game developers.
- Revenues from the transaction fee
Developers might charge a transaction fee when players exchange or sell an NFT. This transaction can also be a significant amount, so the profit will be proportional.
- Complete control over his earned
NFT games offer players the ability to have complete control over their assets. It is an attractive option as it allows players to earn cryptocurrencies if they sell the NFTs. Also, physical ownership provides more incentives to play a blockchain-based game and can be a regular source of income.
- Impenetrable safety shield
The NFT game provides players with a very safe environment. Blockchain technology is complex and provides a high level of security and reliability.
- Transparency
The rarer the NFT, the higher its cost. With the help of blockchain technology, it is possible to maintain the transparency of digital transactions and demonstrate the rarity of NFTs, which increases their value.
- A possible profession
Many have seen the potential of this market, so the players turned NFT trading from a hobby into a real profession.
NFTs are changing the gaming industry and further increasing the growth potential. In the past, purchasing a $15,000 non-consumable item seemed crazy. However, people are doing it nowadays because it can be resold for more money and is unique. There are no others equal. It’s bought not because you like it or not but because of the value it acquires as an NFT. Blockchain technology has already been pioneering in the video game industry and other markets. Those who have used this technology have already begun to enjoy the results.
What do Major Game Publishers say About Gaming NFTs?
Despite almost every NFT announcement’s backlash, some publishers are still willing to include NFTs in their games. As game companies express various thoughts on the future of NFTs in the gaming industry – from the enthusiasm of the early adopters of Ubisoft to the cautious skepticism of Microsoft – we have collected public statements from major game publishers and developers on this topic.
Ubisoft
Ubisoft is the only major publisher to include NFTs in one of its games: 2019 live-service shooter Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint. In December, the French publisher launched the Ubisoft Quartz initiative, which it says is “for players, and only for players.” Only buyers who own Ghost Recon Breakpoint can earn, buy, and resell Digits at Objkt.com or Rarible.com, Ubisoft’s two officially approved resellers.
The complete list of requirements states that players must play the game on Ubisoft Connect on PC, reach XP level 5, activate two-factor authentication on Ubisoft Connect, be at least 18 years old, and be in one of the eligible territories. As a result, very few people interacted with Ubisoft’s NFTs, and total sales on Objkt.com, for example, were less than $1000 (256.49 Tezos) as of February 4.
Despite the low sales and highly negative response, Ubisoft doubled on NFTs. CEO Yves Guillemot reiterated his commitment to bringing the technology in December. In late January, Nicolas Pouard, VP of Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovations Lab, and Didier Genevois, the company’s blockchain technical director, discussed fan response in an interview with Finder. Pouard accused players of not understanding the appeal of the NFT.
In its current form, Ubisoft is arguably the biggest booster of NFTs in the industry. While some well known companies have stated their plans to get involved, expressed interest, or revoked after a backlash, Ubisoft created and sold NFTs, despite protests, remains committed to continuing to sell NFTs.
Square Enix
Square Enix follows the announcement of NFT projects after partnering up with Enjin, a blockchain software that will store Square Enix’s tokens on its Enfinity Blockchain. The initial announcement was made in conjunction with Square Enix’s plans to release physical action figurines that come with the digital NFT code.
It will have physical trading cards with a digital NFT component. Enjin has announced that Square Enix’s IP Final Fantasy VII’s merchandise will receive their own NFTs, purchasable through action figurines and trading cards that can be pre-ordered from the Square Enix Store.
Square Enix has acknowledged that by the time these figures are released, the entire ecosystem may be a bust or non-existent. Therefore, the company added a “Caution before Purchasing” section as a disclaimer on the action figure page of the website.
Nintendo
Nintendo expressed interest in the Metaverse and NFTs during a Q&A session following the release of the latest financial results. According to analyst David Gibson, the company said they are interested in that area, but they wonder what joy they can provide in that area, and it’s difficult to define right now. Later Gibson clarified that Nintendo primarily discussed its stance toward the metaverse.
He added that he might be able to consider if he can find a way to implement the” Nintendo approach” in an easy-to-understand manner. However, Gibson believed that this wasn’t the case at this time.
Konami
Konami was one of the studious behind popular games like Castlevania and Silent Hill, and it has recently lost its traction. However, it has entered the NFT space by announcing the “Art preservation” news, which according to Konami’s financial report, was an “effort to preserve content that our customers loved as commemorative art.”
As part of the 35th anniversary of Castlevania, Konami first announced the release of Castlevania NFTs. It was announced in January that it made over $160 thousand, according to TheGamer.
According to its financial reports, Konami is still holding its own as it has announced that it will continue to release NFTs. This made it clear that Castlevania won’t be the only IP to get the NFT treatment.
However, that’s all Konami has revealed about its NFT venture, and there’s no news on what form these NFTs would take.
Team 17
On January 31, Team 17, the developer of the Worms series and publisher of Overcooked, announced a partnership with Reality Gaming Group on a “generative NFT art project” called MetaWorms. They featured a 3D image of a shiny worm holding a Holy Hand Grenade.
The inclusion of NFTs in future Worms games wasn’t planned, and they were to be sold separately, unlike Ubisoft’s Digits, which were implemented into and required users to own Ghost Recon Breakpoint.
Team 17’s announcement was met with intense backlash from fans and developers who have previously worked with the publisher.
Final Thoughts
NFT games involve digital collectibles and create rules for users to interact with each other’s NFTs. While some players value NFTs for their collectibility, others want them for their utility. Nowadays, Game-fi has created a new gaming economy that has changed how people can earn with NFTs. Thus, making money is no longer just luck and collecting, but it is also about playing too.
