Play To Earn is emerging as an up-and-coming sector in the world of blockchain. At the time of writing, Play To Earn tokens hold a market value cap of over $7.2 billion as per CoinMarketCap data. So far, you could only earn from gaming if you won in-game competitions on special occasions or participated in major eSports tournaments. However, with Play To Earn games, even casual gamers can earn cryptocurrencies without having to hone their skills to be a world-class player. In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about blockchain gaming, how it works, and take a look at the most popular Play To Earn games out there.
Play To Earn: What is it?
If we put it simply, Play To Earn is a form of gaming-business model that is based on blockchain technology. A blockchain acts like a digital ledger, which is managed and updated by millions of people around the world. All digital tokens, such as a crypto coin or an NFT, exist only on blockchains.
So, Play To Earn games are titles that allow players to earn cryptocurrencies as in-game collectibles that have real-world value. As is the case with all cryptocurrencies, Play To Earn games are decentralised, which means game developers aren’t able to control every aspect of the game from their central servers.
Play To Earn: What are collectibles?
If you aren’t an avid gamer, you may not know what collectibles are. Well, collectibles are items that you win within a game. From the golden coins in Super Mario Bros. to special gun skins in Fortnite, collectibles are used to reward players for their achievements.
In most games, collectibles only hold value within a game. For example, you can use the tokens you won to unlock power-ups and special customisations for your in-game character.
However, in Play To Earn games, collectibles that you win hold real-world value and can be traded for money or other gains.
Now, these collectibles can be in the form of game-specific tokens (such as MANA, SAND, or AXS), or they can also come in the form of NFTs.
ALSO SEE: NFT: What Is It? Should Creators Consider Selling Their Art As NFTs?
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are one-of-a-kind entities that can range from anything from exclusive artwork to video clips. If you own (or in the case of Play To Earn, win) an NFT, rest assured that no one else in the world has an NFT with the exact same attributes as the one you have.
Play To Earn: How to earn money from in-game winnings?
Play To Earn games allow players to transfer their winnings (tokens or NFTs) to real-world platforms and sell them to earn money. You can also choose to not cash in right away and hold on to unique, rare winnings only to drive their price up, and sell later. You can also choose to keep on increasing the size of your collection to get a better value.
In some games, players can also trade their winnings with other players’ items. This helps in building up a healthy economy and online community for players within a certain game.
Some titles also reward players with small amounts of cryptocurrency tokens directly. Players can choose to sell these tokens or hold on to them to sell at a later date.
Play To Earn: Are these games free to play?
Mostly, yes. However, there are some games that might charge you an upfront fee to be able to play.
Play To Earn: So, how do game developers earn money?
It might seem strange at first that developers appear to simply give away free items to players. However, there are several ways that developers can earn money via Play To Earn games.
The first — and the most basic — way that developers can earn money is by ensuring a large number of players are subscribed to the game. The more the subscribers, the more is the amount of revenue derived from advertisements. To ensure this, developers ensure that their game world is constantly updated with new challenges and exciting rewards for players.
Apart from the above, developers can also earn money from fees for transactions of collectibles. When a player chooses to trade their NFT rewards, the developer earns money each time an NFT changes hands.
Now that we have understood what Play To Earn games are, here are the top 10 Play To Earn tokens by market cap as well as a list of the most popular games out there.
Top 10 Play To Earn tokens by market cap
As per CoinMarketCap data, here are the top 10 Play To Earn tokens by market cap as of June 27. It should be noted that just like all other crypto coins, these too see a change in value regularly.
1. Decentraland (MANA) — Price: $0.9795 per token
2. The Sandbox (SAND) — Price: $1.25
3. Axie Infinity (AXS) — Price: $16.83
4. Gala (GALA) — Price: $0.06366
5. WAX (WAXP) — Price: $0.1033
6. Illuvium (ILV) — Price: $183.34
7. WEMIX (WEMIX) — Price: $2.82
8. RadioCaca (RACA) — Price: $0.0004506
9. Biswap (BSW) — Price: $0.3568
10. DEAPcoin (DEP) — Price: $0.01424
Top 10 Play To Earn games by active users
As per PlayToEarn.online, here are the top 10 Play To Earn games by active users, as of June 26.
1. Alien Worlds — 294,000 active users in the last 7 days
2. Splinterlands — 277,000 active users in the last 7 days
3. Axie Infinity — 178,000 active users in the last 7 days
4. Farmers World — 165,000 active users in the last 7 days
5. Upland — 129,000 active users in the last 7 days
6. Gameta — 66,000 active users in the last 7 days
7. Arc8 by GAMEE — 42,000 active users in the last 7 days
8. Era7: Game of Truth — 40,000 active users in the last 7 days
9. PlayMining — 36,000 active users in the last 7 days
10. SecondLive — 36,000 active users in the last 7 days
Disclaimer: Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions. Cryptocurrency is not a legal tender and is subject to market risks. Readers are advised to seek expert advice and read offer document(s) along with related important literature on the subject carefully before making any kind of investment whatsoever. Cryptocurrency market predictions are speculative and any investment made shall be at the sole cost and risk of the readers.