What Is an NFT Game?
NFT Games Meaning
How to make an NFT profitable? To answer this question, it is necessary to find the answer to the question, what is an NFT game?
NFT crypto games are virtual games in which game objects, rewards for winning are tied to cryptocurrency tokens, which can be sold on the market. NFT technologies make it possible to create unique information objects, which significantly increases their value.
During the game, players acquire unique game artifacts that may be of interest to other players and collectors. And if in ordinary games objects can be sold only on the internal platform or unofficial exchange platforms, then NFT game objects can be sold through NFT marketplaces, on any cryptocurrency platform thanks to the tied token.
The essence of NFT gaming is the following: depending on the level passed, achievements, game results, the user is offered to receive unique digital objects and then, if desired, sell them on the cryptocurrency market, earning a certain income. The amount of income depends on the current interest in the token. And also on the willingness and ability of the player to invest money and time in the game.
NFT means games where the user can create his own object, which may be of interest to other users and those who wish to purchase it. Therefore, in best NFT games, the player is interested not only in the game itself, but also in the game objects obtained in the process. Game creators receive their income from user contributions for the purchase of any objects, individual characteristics, simplification of operations, as well as for servicing transactions in the ecosystem of a certain token, etc.
It should be noted that NFT play-to-earn games are a relatively new phenomenon and users prefer simple games with a minimum of tasks and text. At first, the CryptoKitties game was very popular, where it was easy to create crypto kitties and sell rare, interesting specimens.
What Is Blockchain Role in Online Games?
Blockchain acts as a smart database that stores information. NFT games themselves may not differ from the classic ones, but blockchain technologies make it possible to fix the inalienable belonging of virtual objects to a specific player. Ownership in the digital space is an extremely relevant topic at the time of the birth of the metaverses. Also, game developers use the blockchain to issue their own tokens for games – an in-game currency. It can also be traded on the exchange, for example, Binance (BNB). Then the players, by their actions in the game, earn a currency that has value in the real world. Players can receive such items in the game or buy them from marketplaces. The most striking example of such an NFT game crypto was Axie Infinity. And then resell if they don't need them. Most of these games use Ethereum or similar blockchains.
How Do Gamers Take Ownership of Virtual Items?
Blockchain technology allows you to assign an item to a specific player. Even the creator of the game can't take it away or change it. This right of ownership is inalienable. And since the item “exists” in the blockchain, and not in a specific game, it can even be transferred to other games if the blockchain technologies “intersect”. As a result, the blockchain allows you to “take out” in-game items outside the game itself – resell, convert into cryptocurrency or take it to another game. In classic games, this is hard to imagine. Here you can draw an analogy with an amusement park: you play different games and receive prizes for winnings, which from that moment belong to you. At the same time, you don’t have to pay for participation in some blockchain games, and prizes can be taken to other games.
Do Games Follow Market Laws?
The value of NFT crypto games’ items is determined by demand, as well as quotes of the cryptocurrency for which they are traded. For example, you have tamed a pegasus in the game and it is now yours. You can sell it to other players. Pegasus is difficult to get, so its supply is limited. And if it has a unique color, then it can be presented as an NFT token, and it will become even smaller. As a result, the price of Pegasus will rise. But take, for example, a silver shield. It is easier to find it, it is common, many have it. Accordingly, its value will be lower.
But if the game becomes more popular, then the number of players who want to quickly and easily get this shield will increase: buy it. Then the price will rise. All according to market laws. If you have some kind of rare token, then it will be limited in quantity throughout the blockchain. And in other games too, if you take it there. At the same time, in one game, your token may correspond to a spotted Pegasus, in another, a unique rifle, in a third, a rare plant. It is also worth remembering that in-game items are traded for tokens. And their price also depends on demand. The more players, the more expensive each token. Consequently, the items inside the game can rise in price in real money.
How To Invest and Earn on Virtual Assets?
Investing in this case means finding a game that can "shoot" in the future. When you buy or receive items like cards etc, in the game, you turn them into assets. If the popularity of the game grows, they will bring you profit after the sale. As for making money in blockchain games, the main way is to trade items and get game tokens that can be sold on the stock exchange for real money. For example, in Axie Infinite, players create Axies characters using ERC-20 SLR tokens, which can be bought on exchanges. And ready-made Axies characters can be resold. But unique NFT items are distributed randomly. They are very valuable, but games built on such a system are less suitable as a way to earn money. After all, you can find something unique only if you're lucky.
Is It Possible to Make Full Money on Blockchain Games?
Yes, but it is mostly common in underdeveloped countries like the Philippines. Jobs are often non-existent or hard, with poor working conditions and low pay. Then earning income from the game, sitting in the comfort of your home, is a great opportunity.
But not everyone manages to make money, because people in such countries often have low financial literacy: they cannot fully assess the risks, or they neglect them.
Don't NFT Games Look Like a Pyramid or a Bubble?
The marketplaces of NFT game items in classic games are arranged according to a similar principle. For example, rare colors for items in a CS:GO game can sell for tens of thousands of dollars. These are virtual items (collectibles) that are also created "out of thin air", and players can get them randomly from the "roulette wheel". It is the limited supply that increases the cost of items, the chance of which is extremely low. In the case of crypto games, the rarity is determined by the game itself, since you can set the maximum number of certain items in circulation.
Of course, if a large influx of players comes, the economy of the blockchain game will go into crisis due to the limited supply of tokens or items. At the same time, the market is evolving, and as the popularity of the game grows, developers need to think about how to ensure the sustainability of in-game economies. Moreover, earnings are one of the main factors in the growth of interest in blockchain games.
What Are the Risks for Players?
The main risk is that your items may lose value if the market decides so. At the same time, if the game is free and you received the items without buying them, then there is no direct financial loss. But not all games are like that. There is also a risk of fraud, because the technology allows you to create an item and sell it before the game is created and this item can be used. There have already been cases where the developer collected money from players in exchange for items that they can use in the future. And then he disappeared with the money he received.
Why Are NFT Game Crypto Criticized?
A lot can be said about the prospects and meaning of NFT games. Behind the talk about the so-called play-to-earn model, thanks to which players can earn on the resale of all kinds of assets, another kind of microtransactions is hidden.
All operations in games, including the mandatory commission fee, can be safely carried out without blockchain and tokenization of items. The main advantage of the technology lies precisely in its decentralized nature, while modern AAA games (even single-player, even multiplayer) are maximally centralized. Even if you have purchased a token, the servers where all the information is stored belong to the developers, who have de facto full control over the digital asset. The player gets only the illusion of control. As soon as the authors stop supporting the project (and this can always happen), gaming NFTs will instantly turn into exactly the same empty shell as regular NFTs. Tokens serve no purpose other than to create an artificial scarcity designed to motivate players to spend as much time as possible playing the game.
Sooner or later, such leisure runs the risk of turning from pleasure into work. The creators of projects originally built on the basis of the blockchain are even proud of this fact, but the mainstream gaming industry is unlikely to face a dystopia. At least not in the near future. Before the play-to-earn model becomes the norm, publishers will have to do a lot of legal and mental gymnastics. If even the innocent mechanics of loot boxes to some extent fall under the definition of a game of chance, then NFTs will certainly not hide from market regulators with their strict rules.
Thus, it means that NFT games’ objects still do not have material value and their value is formed due to the interest of other users, emotional components. And this means there are risks to invest funds and not receive further income due to the loss of public interest in the object. NFT games are still a kind of pyramid scheme that exists at the expense of investing by others.
Full-fledged earnings on blockchain games today are common mainly in underdeveloped countries. The volatility of tokens and NFTs, the element of randomness in games, the underdevelopment of this sector of the economy and the risks of fraud make many people wary of blockchain games. Especially if the game requires mandatory financial investments. Blockchain games are currently an experiment. Virtual ownership is an interesting, promising, but still developing concept. NFT games have yet to test whether their economies can sustain millions of active players over the years.
