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Crypto Gamification: How NFTs Disrupt The Gaming Industry

2021-11-21

Key Takeaways

  • NFTs have revolutionized many industries, notably the gaming space, where players enjoy crypto gamification and financial rewards.

  • NFTs successfully offer an array of benefits traditional gaming doesn’t, such as the play-to-earn model, interoperability of game assets and more. 

  • The popularity of NFT games has created a community of gamers, crypto investors and NFT fanatics. 

  • To get started with NFT gaming, take part in IGO launches by Binance NFT to collect core in-game assets from various projects.

As NFTs revolutionize the world with their innovative technology, many industries have seen themselves changing rapidly. Some of the biggest growth has been in the gaming space. An increasing number of gamers and crypto investors are finally getting their teeth sunk into NFT gaming. 

With decentralized games such as Axie Infinity and My Neighbor Alice becoming coupled with the metaverse, NFTs have disrupted the industry with their unique benefits. Their blockchain characteristics and vast utility allow players to use them as characters, commodities, special abilities and other tradable objects in games. Perhaps most importantly to some, they allow players to generate additional income in-game.

The most basic use case for NFTs in-game is representing characters and special items that give power-ups or other abilities. These NFTs t may accrue value over time or as the game gains popularity. More importantly, players can issue NFTs themselves in some games, adding new content to the in-game world.

In this article, we’ll primarily explore four ways NFT gamification is disrupting the traditional gaming space. We’ll also dive into how users can get started with NFT gaming via Binance NFT’s newest gaming initiative - Initial Game Offerings (IGO).  

What is NFT Gamification & How Does it Work?

NFT gamification takes typical gaming elements like point scoring, competition and rules of play and applies blockchain technology. This combination has led to the emergence of GameFi, where users trade and swap game assets for financial rewards.

NFT gaming actually works in a relatively simple way. The assets used within the game world are programed as NFTs, which have value among players and collectors and can also be sold. For instance, in the Axie Infinity game, each creature – an Axie – is minted as an NFT. Players can battle with their NFTs in return for crypto rewards. 

Other examples include the upcoming My Neighbor Alice, where players build and create their own virtual lands. Users will also interact with their neighbors, perform activities and earn rewards for their achievements. Most in-game assets and rewards will be NFTS that range in their degree of rarity.

How is NFT Gamification Changing The Gaming Industry?

NFT gamification can work in many ways. Let’s explore the most notable and common ways NFT games have disrupted traditional gaming. 

1. A source of income via lay-to-Earn games

Gaming has traditionally been play-to-win, where users buy items and upgrades that help them with no real economic return. The new Play-to-Earn model acts instead as a source of income for players who gain financial rewards for their activities in a game.

There are generally two ways to earn play-to-earn games - trading NFTs or earning in-game rewards and cryptocurrencies. To start, players typically invest in an NFT character or other starter team. The NFTs can then be sold to other players on a market such as the Binance NFT Marketplace or used to farm crypto and new NFTs. Both of these create an economy within the game largely independent of developer interference.

To learn more about the mechanisms of Play-to-Earn games, read How to Use Play to Earn Games to Get Crypto and NFTs.

2. The rise of Play-to-Earn Guilds

The popularity of decentralized games has created Play-to-Earn Guilds that help new players get started. Guild members can “rent” in-game assets and avoid paying the sometimes costly fee to buy them, thus lowering the barrier of entry to NFT games. The lender will then receive a percentage of the player’s earnings while the player gets what they need to start gaming.

 

Play-to-earn guilds are new phenomena that rely on the success of the NFT gaming space and its demand. It’s a win-win situation for both sides in the relationship. Guilds earn more with an increase of new players, and new players can start earning themselves. One example of a guild is YGG.

3. Interoperability of game assets

One of the greatest aspects of NFT games is the element of interoperability. Traditional console and PC games have their own ecosystems which aren’t compatible with one another. Players’ assets and characters will always be limited to that specific game with total control by the developers.

On the other hand, blockchain-based games boast interoperability – the ability to use individual game assets in multiple games if permitted. NFT games can exist on the same or interoperable blockchains where game assets are exchangeable on marketplaces. Loot is a great example of an NFT project with NFTs that anyone can use to make a game with. If your NFT is an ERC-721 or BEP-721 token, then it can theoretically easily be used in other games that accept that token type. This does, of course, depend on the developers’ support.

4. NFT Staking

NFT staking is another popular and interesting development. Some NFT games allow users to lock up NFTs or cryptocurrencies in smart contracts, which, in turn, generate rewards. For example, staking MBOX tokens rewards users with MOMO NFT Mystery Boxes. Each one contains a random rarity NFT which can then be sold on the secondary market. However, to earn large staking rewards, players will need a substantial initial deposit. NFT staking is another option, which can be explored here.

How To Get Started in NFT Gaming?

Players can begin by collecting or purchasing in-game assets for their favorite blockchain games. To help players find new opportunities to collect NFT items and characters, Binance NFT has launched a new gaming initiative – the Initial Game Offering, or IGO, with a goal of powering the gaming metaverse future. 

IGO collections will be launched on the Binance NFT Marketplace weekly. They will feature exclusive in-game NFT collections from gaming projects, ranging from early access passes to in-game assets such as weapons, items, exclusive Binance cosmetics, skins and much more. Upon successful purchase, users can withdraw the NFTs and use them on the relevant gaming platform. 

Seasoned gamers looking to trade their in-game NFTs can easily do so on the Binance NFT Marketplace. In fact, it has one of the lowest trading fees out there at only 1%. To learn how to deposit your NFTs, refer to our step-by-step guide. After, you can also choose to list and sell your NFTs in an auction or fixed-price format. Refer to the quick guide here for more information.  

Follow Binance NFT on Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date with the latest on NFT gaming. Make sure also to visit the Marketplace to purchase your gaming NFTs, or list them on Binance NFT and enjoy just 1% trading fees.

Read the following helpful articles for more information:

DISCLAIMER: NFTs are an emerging asset class that is still evolving. The information in this article should not be construed as investment or financial advice. Always do your own research before making any decision to buy, sell or trade NFTs.