Key Takeaways:
- Players can earn incentives in P2E games through battling, completing tasks and levels.
- Most gaming networks will offer rewards in DeFi tokens or NFTs.
Play-to-earn games are all the rage these days, with a growing number of gamers taking to them. It looks like it is becoming the next big trend, evolving on what DeFi and NFTs have offered.
But how exactly does GameFi work? And what opportunities do cryptocurrencies and blockchain offer to gamers? That’s what we look at here, explaining how p2e mechanics work, as well as some popular games.
The Evolution of P2E Games
Before we traverse into details about the mechanics involved in P2E, let’s take a look at the evolution of GameFi, when it all started, and how far we’ve come.
The inception of GameFi dates back to 2013, when blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies were not as popular as they are today. In that era, game devs had started experimenting with the blockchain in a number of games such as Minecraft and Bombemine.
Unique active wallets connected during a 7-day period: DappRadar
Nonetheless, since then, developments in the GameFi industry have been relatively slow because it is not until 2021 when P2E hit the mainstream. This revitalized interest in GameFi is all because of the emergence of DeFi and the rise of NFTs.
There has been good progress here, with more than 1000,000 unique active wallets having connected to certain P2E games, according to a report in October 2021
Initially, P2E games were developed on Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains, but now, creators have started venturing into profitable networks with high speeds and incur low fees.
The likes of Solano, Cardano, Polkadot, and Binance Smart Chain are just a few blockchain networks offering such features. Reddit’s founder has even said that 90% of the gaming market will be play-to-earn games in the future.
The Mechanics of P2E Gaming
As mentioned earlier, players can earn incentives in P2E games through three main alternatives. These are:
- Battling other players
- Completing tasks
- Progressing through the different game levels
Since every game has different modes of play and thus earning, let’s look at the top 7 P2E games (according to their user base) and find out how players make incentives in each game.
1. Alien Worlds
Alien Worlds is a Wax blockchain-based NFT P2E network featuring six worlds with 500 plots each. The aim is to mine Trillium(TLM) — the primary utility token within Alien Worlds — from the lands.
You need proper tools to mine TLM. Hence, you need to invest some money in the network to get good tools, or else you’ll have a shovel for mining. As you explore different worlds, you will continue mining TLM.
However, you can also garner NFTs in the process. The game calculates your chance of getting an NFT every time you mine. The better the tools and land, the higher the chance of mining NFTs. Selling such NFTs to others who need them could generate more funds.
So, the game is mining. The first reward is TLM, but the bonus reward is NFTs. You can sell the NFTs on the AtomicHub marketplace or Alcor.exchange.
2. Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity uses pokemon-like characters and other in-game items like land, characters, and accessories, which are NFTs. Players earn rewards by playing and winning Arena battles (PVP) in the game.
A while ago, investors would receive SLP for completing these PVE adventures. But Axies does not offer SLP rewards for PVE anymore.
The Axie Infinity Arena Battle mode is one of the highest rewarding P2E mechanisms in the entire NFT gaming space. It involves fighting against another player.
For every Arena Match you win, you earn SLP as a reward. In some cases, it could reach about 14 SLP per win.
On top of battling, you can also breed new Axies and sell them in the marketplace. The income mechanics is PVP, and the reward token is SLP.
RELATED TOPIC: Detailed Overview of Axie Infinity Blockchain-Based Gaming
3. Splinterlands
Splinterlands has a streamlined process that makes it easy to earn income from playing games on a daily basis. There are three forms of gaming opportunities with different rewards:
- Season
- Ranked
- Daily rewards.
You get ranked rewards for winning games in the ranked play mode. For every win, you will receive DEC (Dark energy crystals), the official in-game currency.
You will earn credits if you win a match in ranked play mode while in the bronze or novice league. Moreover, you earn a bonus DEC if you are on a winning streak (win two or more consecutive games).
Daily rewards are also exciting to use. Every 23 hours, you receive a daily quest that specifies a splinter you must use to win matches. In every game you win using the splinter, the quest bar continues to fill. Normally, you must win five matches for the quest bar to be full.
But, when dealing with no-neutral quests, you need to win just three games. Once you complete the quest, a claim button appears.
When it comes to season rewards, every 15 days, gamers receive chests depending on the league. Chest rewards consist of portions, DEC, Cards, and Credits.
DEC is the main rewarding asset, and you can transfer them in and out of your account. You can use DEC to buy assets in a marketplace.
4. Bomb Crypto
This BNB Chain-based NFT gaming platform has a very good mechanism for P2E games. The entire idea behind Bomb Crypto is collecting BCOIN while avoiding barriers on your way.
This game has three modes, which offer different sorts of rewards. It has a treasure hunt, story mode, and battle mode. In a treasure hunt, you send your hero to bomb a mining region, removing barriers on the way. Once barriers are removed, you get BCOIN.
Bomb Crypto New Mode: Basic Guideline on Adventure mode
In story mode, your hero must bomb monsters and climb levels to earn BCOIN. In battle mode, the players stake tokens and fight each other. The winner gets a big percentage of the losers’ tokens.
In both modes — story mode and treasure hunt — you must mine as many coins as possible. Once you mine 40 BCOIN, you can claim them.
While playing the treasure hunt mode, you can meet a trapped hero and rescue them. If you save the hero, they add to your collection.
You can sell the NFT heroes on different marketplaces to earn rewards. So, the game is about mining BCOIN, and the reward asset is BCOIN and NFT heroes.
Other NFT Projects: How Azuki Is Transforming Into a Bluechip NFT
5. Sunflower Land
The Polygon-based NFT game deals mostly with farming. Sunflower Land can perform tasks like mining, crafting, fishing, fighting, and planting to earn rewards.
During the gameplay, you will get and collect NFTs, which you can use to expand your farm and make it “more productive.” For every mission you complete successfully, you generate rewards.
The past couple weeks Thought Farm has been growing the team and planning the future of Sunflower Land.
— Sunflower Land (@0xSunflowerLand) May 18, 2022
What started as a side project is picking up momentum 🚀
We are proud to announce our official 6 month roadmap.https://t.co/PK0IlHbydp#Polygon pic.twitter.com/304pg7wY5S
There are multiple ways to earn an income within the game. For instance, every stage offers a way to get income. When you create a new farm, you can sell it to get crypto or even USD. When playing, you also garner NFTs and sell them at the best price.
But, the primary way to earn income in the game is by winning. As you win, you reap more benefits. For instance, when you farm and enjoy a good harvest, you can redeem those crops in NFTs. You can sell all NFTs you garner on this platform for tokens.
Hence, the game is farming and completing other missions to make your farm more productive. Rewards come in NFTs, tokens, or even USD for winning.
OTHER FARM PROJECTS: Plant vs Undead Gameplay
6. Upland
Upland is one of those P2E games offering multiple channels for generating passive rewards. The game is a simulator for a real estate mogul. It deals with the different businesses the mogul completes to make money.
One way to earn with the game is through treasure hunts. Basically, in this game, the treasure is hidden in your land, and you have to find it by following the arrow guide given. This treasure can come in the form of UPX currency or Spark (a very important commodity) in Upland.
The mogul can also purchase property with UPX, sell properties at a profit on secondary marketplaces, and gain other currencies. Moreover, moguls can earn more income from investing in property collections.
For instance, owning three buildings on the same street earns 1.3x your income.
Moguls can also deal with high traffic properties. Since high-traffic properties are used daily, you get UPX every time a player uses your property. Finally, you can buy Ingame NFTs using UPX and sell them at a profit.
The game is a real estate simulator. Your role is to act as a real estate investor and earn UPX profits from sales. Hunting for treasures also earns you UPX rewards.
7. DeFi Kingdoms
DeFi Kingdoms is a Harmony-based DEX, offering play-to-earn options using NFT characters called heroes. This browser-based game has very few requirements, including a good browser with a MetaMask extension.
Like in Splinterlands, DeFi Kingdom also offers quests to gamers for earning. Currently, there are professions from which a user can earn: fishing, foraging, gardening, and mining. The main source of income in DeFi Kingdoms is quest missions. These quests give gamers a chance to win DFKTEARS.
DFKTEARS are DeFi Kingdom currencies used to summon heroes. You can exchange these DFKTEARS for JEWEL or other assets.
Heroes should be winning combats and other PvP matches to earn rewards. You use JEWEL to buy the Hero NFTs and play. Moreover, you can invest your LP tokens in a garden and receive JEWEL as a reward.
Renting out your in-game assets is another way to earn in DeFi Kingdoms. Essentially, many gamers want to rent heroes to do summons. Summons need two Heroes. Hence, you can rent out your dormant heroes and earn rent in JEWEL.
The game is about trading and combat. The rewards are DFKTEARS and JEWEL tokens.
Other NFT Projects:
Will P2E Games Shake Up the Gaming Industry?
This guide has explored the idea of P2E gaming and the various mechanisms involved in a few of the most well-known P2E games. Some of the popular mechanics include PvP and PvE. However, these mechanics differ based on the platform under consideration.
Interestingly, most gaming networks will offer rewards in DeFi tokens or NFTs. However, others instill other forms of incentives like credits. These mechanics and rewarding systems help encourage more gamers to join P2E games, resulting in growth.
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