The next big thing in gaming: Meet blockchain gaming and its game developers

The gaming industry has been around a long time. Humans have always found ways to play games, whether it be rolling dice hundreds of years ago to old time arcade machines and these days with kids glued to their Xbox and PlayStation. The industry used to be a lot smaller than it is today, however.

With the introduction of sophisticated gaming consoles and mobile phones, the gaming industry has boomed. In this new era of gaming, gaming technology is now advancing so fast that game publishers are having to learn new and exciting ways of making and hosting their game and any game assets.

The development of blockchain gaming on blockchain gaming platforms is what is driving this new era of games and virtual assets. With a new avatar system, crypto related gameplay, play to earn, and ye’ old non fungible token system, there are new challenges and endless possibilities for the gaming industry.

What is Blockchain technology?

First of all, we should probably understand what is sitting behind this era of new gaming. So, real quick, let’s answer the question – what is Blockchain technology and the blockchain network? Well, blockchains are a digital database used as storage for real data in a digital environment. It’s an online platform that is extremely secure and that has the capabilities for new technologies like games to be built off of it.

Primarily, this means that where games used to run on their own with the capability of being connected to the internet, new games are being built on the internet and so many barriers are being knocked down.

For example, in game assets (like a set of armour or a weapon) are no longer restricted to within a game. Users are able to take these ‘out of game’ and own them, rather than the game simply hosting them. It offers an excellent opportunity to promote virtual technologies, industrialization and a digital economy in gaming.

The opportunities of the blockchain gaming platform

Blockchain gaming is quickly becoming an e-commerce platform where gamers have much more control over the gaming experience including their avatars and digital assets. As mentioned, earlier games operated in the form of markets for buying or transferring goods that were used by the game. These might include the avatar, a weapon, equipment, rewards, etc. However, it was painful in that players didn’t always take full control of these assets when they acquired them in game. Despite a player paying for a subscription, paying in game fees or working really really REALLY hard to unlock an item, they never really owned them outside of the game.

Blockchain gaming is commonly called ‘crypto games’ due to its association and popularity with cryptocurrency. All new gamers should have their crypto wallets linked in all blockchain games. This link between gaming platforms and blockchain technology means these new games feature play-to-pay components that allow players to convert in-game effort, activity or goods into cryptocurrencies.

This is an exciting new aspect of blockchain gaming and a strong incentive for players to jump in on the action. In the last three years there has been a 65% rise in players getting on to a blockchain gaming platform. Blockchain gaming companies now face the challenge of coming up with more and more exciting digital assets for players to collect in game.

Growth of the Metaverse and crypto gaming

Many games being built off the blockchain gaming platform are centred around some kind of metaverse experience. Game developers understand that when a gamer acquires digital assets in game, they may not want to sell them or simply look at them in their crypto wallet. They may want to wear them.

Now, we know what you’re thinking, we’re not at the stage of turning digital assets into physical possessions (though 3D printing will likely make that a reality). It’s through their metaverse avatars that players are able to show off, wear and use their digital gaming assets. The virtual reality of the metaverse world provides a place for players to make active use of these while also being a place to trade and sell them or spend crypto.

The big players

There are a number of game developers who build the technology of games, apps, services and the marketplace of the blockchain gaming platform. The number of blockchain gaming companies are only increasing and some of the older big players are the ones being left in the dust. So, who are the new ‘big dogs’ driving the future of the gaming industry?

Animoca brands

Animoca Brands is arguably one of the top-tier brands in the globe that is involved in the creation and distribution of the NFT gaming hits Sandbox and Crazy Defense Heroes, along with many other NFT-based games. They also have several titles in the pipeline for their name already, including working on huge IPs like Marvel Power Rangers and Formula 1.

A number of crypto game developers work for the group, including DapperLabs, OpenSEA and Sky Mavis. They’ve completed several very successful funding rounds and streamlined a lot of upcoming gaming and blockchain technology into a single business brand name.

Mythical games

Mythical Games is another big blockchain games developer, and the creator of the Blankos Block Party game. Mythical Games believes that a new era of blockchain games will rise out of verifiable scarcity, true ownership of digital assets, and an integrated secondary marketplace. They have a focus on bringing the gaming community closer to games that they will love which are based on digital ownership economies.

They are made up of a team of developers with immense experience in crypto games and blockchain gaming platform design. They have brought and continue to contribute to the market with innovative concepts. They have a big investment in driving players adoption of distributed ledger technology through world-class games.

Sky Mavis

Sky Mavis is one of the most influential blockchain gaming companies in the world. Not only do they have a very good reputation, but they are also a company that have seen large consistent growth in their numbers of players throughout their existence. They create a large range of decentralized services and apps, not just games.

However, they are a well-known blockchain games developer amongst the blockchain gaming community for their game Axie Infinity. Axie Infinity is an NFT based game that allows players to participate in the collection and minting of NFTs which represent digital pets. These pets are known as Axie’s. As they play, they can breed and battle their pets in the digital world. Users can collect the pets and once collected, they can form parts of significant and valuable collections. These can be traded with the community in and out of playing on the platform.

This is common in the blockchain gaming community. NFTs are earned through gaming and frequently traded, bought and sold over the blockchain with other players. Users on games like Axie Infinity can make a fair bit of cash on the platform.

OpenSea

Although OpenSea is not a gaming company as much as they are a blockchain based developer of NFT applications, they are a fundamental element of blockchain gaming today. OpenSea is an NFT exchange-trader. The company offers a range of trading and play to earn options to the crypto gaming community.

As mentioned, although they do not yet have an official game, OpenSea provides valuable trading tools for blockchain gamers in general so that users in blockchain games can play for NFTs like in Axie Infinity. The platform also allows users to trade other NFT types on the blockchain such as collectible arts content. Play to earn would be impossible, or at least not anywhere near as operational as it is today without OpenSea.

Blockchain Gaming Alliance (BGA)

This non-profit organization promotes blockchain games by raising awareness and promoting them in the world gaming market. The company aims to raise the awareness about blockchains and encourage them to be adopted by showing how they can contribute toward developing new ways for developing and building a solid community around games.

The BGA offers public forums where individuals, businesses, companies, enterprise and their users can discuss blockchain related information and work together on common standards and best practices.

Sorare

Sorare is the largest platform for sport gaming. Sorare is a football fantasy game where gamers can buy or sell a real football team, then playing against others in the community. The project was created by Nicolas Julia and Adrien Montfort in 2017 and operates using Ethereum Blockchain technologies. Players can manage their team activity with a focus on creating strong teams that can move into community competition. They can gain Ethereum by winning against other users, so the play to earn aspect is definitely alive and well in Sorare.

Enjin

Ethereum blockchain platform Enjin was created in 2009 and has recently received positive recommendations from Nasdaq. Enjin provides a unique platform for potential developers who have the ideas but lack the know-how.

It allows users to easily develop NFT games from the ground up without coding skills, something that prevents emerging NFT game concepts from kicking off unless they are developed by well-established and equipped companies. The Enjin platform has a unique and easily accessible entry point into the rapidly growing blockchain gaming industry that is typically dominated by large companies.

Dapper Labs

In 2017 CryptoKitties was released by company Dapper Labs. At the time, it was the most popular play to earn title that featured a combination of NFT and blockchain gameplay. Despite the game’s popularity now waning, Dapper Labs is continuing with development of a series of new games that includes Cheeze Wizards. This new blockchain game from Dapper Labs looks to be a promising addition to the blockchain gaming community with every chance for success.

Using blockchain games to make money in 2022

Most blockchain games are often created with non-fungible tokens or some play to earn component. Character cards and other objects used in blockchain games are now regularly NFTs and can be bought or earned by following the rules of the game, competing to win. Once obtained, they belong to one person at once and can easily be transferred within the game and outside of it.

Many players now have a focus on making a living off of these games by acquiring and trading digital assets, but also by creating their own worlds or assets. One example is Somnium Space, a virtual reality (VR) world hosting service that allows users to create independent worlds for VR gameplay. Users can create new and exciting worlds or assets to trade on the blockchain.

There are countless ways to monetise your gaming experience on a modern gaming platform like we’ve never seen before, as blockchain game companies drive their economies to grow and grow. No longer do we need to be a developer ourselves, sitting in some development studio in Silicon Valley San Francisco, to make serious money off of gaming.

In-game utility

In a game system, cryptocurrencies can be used for other purposes. Axes Infinity also has a network-based token that allows users to vote on network policies. Using these tokens, Axie’s holders get a say in where funds will go to develop the gaming experience.

This enables community involvement and democracy to grow. In addition to earning money during a game, tokens are also able to have an influence over future project plans, which is incredibly beneficial feedback for developers.

Institutional funding

Crypto gaming platforms are attracting huge institutional funding and investment because of their increasing popularity. PWC and Samsung are among some of the most prominent investors who are excited by the idea of breaking the rules of traditional games to offer users new and exciting experiences. Banks are also investing massive amounts of money into e-commerce as it is increasingly dominated by the hype surrounding gaming, crypto and NFTs.

Get playing!

It seems to be undeniable; the future of gaming has arrived. Blockchain gaming is now taking the world by storm and with it comes boundless opportunities for companies and individuals to make money and enjoy new and interesting experiences. So, what are you waiting for? Jump in!