Blockchain games are changing the traditional mobile phone gaming practice with play-to-earn (P2E) non-fungible tokens (NFT) games gaining popularity. There is a huge potential for NFT games in the future ahead with demand already picking up pace globally. Axie Infinity, CryptoKitties, Decentraland, and the Sandbox among others are some of the most successful P2E NFT games. India is seen as a huge market for this blockchain gaming industry.
In the Web3 game, NFT marketplaces provide liquidity to the users as they are rewarded for their gameplay. Apart from this, the NFT games are equipped with transparency and are not constrained to a single game (interoperatbility).
Ramkumar Subramaniam, CEO & Co-founder, GuardianLink explains that the integration of games, NFTs, and finance has ushered in the entry of Play-to-Earn (P2E) games. As the name implies, users can earn for playing the game. Effectively monetizing the time and effort spent on the game. Right now, the focus is on building economically sustainable games without compromising on the quotient of empathy. It is quite likely that people are more prepared to play a game that they understand rather than a game whose concept they are completely alien. This is the reason why a P2E NFT game like cricket is more likely to find success in an emotionally driven market like India.
In Subramaniam's view, the entry of NFTs in the world of gaming is not just about earning to play games but also about the in-game assets and their value that is immune to the game itself! Since the in-game assets can be made into NFTs, people who buy these assets can easily sell them on NFT marketplaces. This is a revolutionary concept considering the fact that the in-game assets were only considered to be expenses in the long-term given that most games were relatively short-lived.
"Game-Fi represents a completely new era in the world of games, finance, and even the outlook of an economically sustainable profession. It would not be surprising to see in the near future, a person who claims that their full-time profession is to play P2E games!" Subramaniam added.
Explaining why NFT games have brought a massive change in the gaming industry, Toshendra Sharma, Founder & CEO, NFTICALLY said it has given the power to its players/users by offering advantages that were previously impossible to get from games. Features like ownership - highly valued among gamers who tend to incline towards rarity and authenticity-, the Interoperable nature of NFTs that allows the transfer of an asset between multiple games, and the potential of turning in-game rewards into actual cash are some major draws.
Even though P2E games are still at the nascent stage in the gaming industry, however, NFTs have been around for quite some time now.
Sharma said that NFT games are much more than just garnering crypto-collectibles in a wallet.
According to Sharma, as blockchain-based gaming projects continue rising in demand, it is fair to expect an increase in revenue flow from NFT games in the next three to four years. In India there are about 50 million people who play games, signaling the huge market potential of play to earn NFT games. The future of NFTs in the gaming industry is expected to be highly promising because it provides opportunities for gamers to earn liquid income by playing the game as well as has the ability to attract VC interest for the emerging brands.
Meanwhile, Amanjot Malhotra, Country Head - India, Bitay stated that with growing interest in crypto, blockchain and NFT-based gaming is slowly becoming the next trend where the whole crypto ecosystem is headed. But even as gaming studios are looking at leveraging blockchain using the play-to-earn(P2E) model, there are risks associated with crypto to be considered.
The traditional Gaming industry is valued at 100 Billion Dollars and there is a transition to Web3 Gaming happening where new entrants like Axie Infinity, Crypto Kitties have already set success stories in the market. Several Traditional gaming companies like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Spic Games have already started to make moves in the sector, Malhotra added.
In web3 gaming, Axie Infinity is the prime example of a success story. Since its inception, Axie Infinity now sits on a valuation of $4 billion with close to 2.5 Million Daily active users. The most expensive Axie that was sold in the form of NFT was valued at 1.2 Million dollars.
It needs to be noted that NFTs are created within a game with the help of smart contracts where self-executing lines of code are stored on a blockchain—that make up the rules for the NFTs used. Blockchain games allow players to track and analyse every move they and other players have made in the history of the game. This brings a lot of transparency to the ecosystem of gamers. There is a lot of transparency in these games. This probably is one of the biggest selling point of Blockchain games.
Siddharth Jaiswal, Founder, Sportzchain said, "at Sportzchain, we are working on few creative concepts that will assist us in onboarding more Web2 users to the Web3 world. The objective is to bring fans closer to their favourite teams and athletes by utilising digital assets to get access to money-can't-buy events. As India is likely to become one of Asia's fastest-growing markets, behind only Vietnam and Indonesia, Web3 gaming's future in India is far better than it appears, especially given its steady growth over the previous five years. We have a large user base for this, but the projects would need to be appealing and enjoyable for the players, as well as give ways for them to convert their wins. Sports will be a significant area in driving the widespread acceptance of P2E games and solutions.
As per Bitay expert, there is a huge potential for the Indian gaming studios to launch their games on blockchain and take the advantage of the current market scenario. To launch their games on the blockchain they need to Select the blockchain, publish the game and raise funds via game NFTs, partner with game launchpads and distribution platforms, and Market their game to the right audience.
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