How Does Crypto Gaming Work?
The so-called play-to-earn model is gaining popularity, as it allows people to earn cryptocurrency while playing video games. They are getting a lot of attention from the press, and we constantly hear about kids who made a fortune playing blockchain games. But are they really an easy way to big money? Let's find out.
What Is Crypto Gaming?
Think of the Monopoly money irony, implying that these funds are worthless anywhere but Monopoly. Well, that's the difference between regular and crypto games. Items from the latter option are unique and cannot be duplicated, thanks to blockchain technology. Since they are limited, they have value in the real world and can be bought and sold for fiat money.
Another way to earn in those games is by doing certain actions for a reward in coins. For example, in Axie Infinity, players can buy and level up creatures, Axies, and compete with other players' Axies. The winner gets a reward of SLP or AXS coins.
The Most Popular Crypto Games
The list of blockchain games with the highest number of daily users is constantly changing, much like everything in the crypto world. At the time of writing, the top 10 crypto games by popularity looked like this:
- Splinterlands
- Galaxy Blocks
- Arc8
- X World Games
- Jelly Squish
- Crazy Defense Heroes
- Color Craze
- Brave Frontier Heroes
- Planet IX
- Squid NFT World
The first in the list has over 300,000 daily users and generates slightly above one million US dollars in transactions in one day. In general, gaming projects are the second largest segment in all NFT transactions. They generated 2.1 billion US dollars in sales volume in 2021.
Can I Earn Without Investing?
The answer is no rather than yes. Crypto games are built in a way that you upgrade or compete using certain game attributes, let it be fantasy beasts or football players like in the Sorare fantasy football game. Though you receive some items as a welcome bonus to practice, it is not enough to start earning money. So, you'll have to invest first. The initial investment amount depends on the game and your desired income.
On the other hand, if you are good at designing, you can make money by minting and selling NFTs in a game. Some games, such as Ember Swords, may select your creation and sell it in their in-game store, paying you royalties on each sale.
How to Choose a Crypto Game
Considering you'll need to spend a lot of time in such a game to earn money, it is better to pick those that fit your preferences with their settings and mechanics. There are quite a number of ways to earn in crypto games, which include:
- breeding and selling
- earning in-game currency
- minting items
- staking tokens
- trading NFTs
Another important matter is an initial investment. Different games require a different amount to start playing. For example, you first need to have three Axies in your account to play Axies Infinity. The cheapest Axies cost $100, so you need at least $300 to start playing.
