How are NFTs Used in Gaming?

Web3 games are already changing our conception of gaming. Asset ownership is no longer the sole right of game developers. Today, game players can own in-game assets in the form of NFTs. Thus, this has created an entire economy around gaming known as play-to-earn where players can buy and sell in-game assets on dedicated marketplaces.

TL;DR

• In-game assets are no longer solely owned by gaming companies. Gamers can now own and trade assets as their own
• The ability to trade in-game assets as NFTs has led to the emergence of the play-to-earn economy
• As a result, NFT brings inclusivity to traditional gaming, helping players become owners.

Traditional Gaming Ecosystem

Gaming is a global activity and people of different age grades play it. Nevertheless, its wide acceptance has mostly been to the benefit of game development companies. These companies design usually have sole control over a game’s ecosystem. They own all assets and often require players to pay a certain amount to unlock specific perks, characters, tools, or weapons.

In this manner, the relationship that exists between game companies and game players is that of a business-consumer interaction. However, this is without saying that game development companies spend huge amounts on building games and maintaining gaming ecosystems.

Web3 and Play-to-Earn

The central tenet of web3 is decentralization. This decentralization has now been transferred into gaming ecosystems. The emergence of non-fungible tokens has also further accelerated decentralization in gaming ecosystems.

In-game assets can now be owned by game players through different means. They could earn them through game progression or buy them in dedicated marketplaces. In-game assets can now be exchanged in the form of NFTs, while asset transfers are conducted and recorded on the blockchain.

The ability to make money through play-to-earn has ushered in a renewed desire among players who now see P2E as a way to make passive income. In some parts of Asia and other developing countries, NFT gaming has created a major source of income. In these places, entities called game guilds have emerged where players can get trained in specific games. They are then lent game assets to compete for rewards (this could be tokens or NFTs). The rewards are subsequently shared between asset owners, players, and the guild platform.

NFT and Decentralization

There would never have been a play-to-earn gaming model without NFTs. NFTs make it possible for in-game assets to become tradable commodities. Thus, it brings inclusivity to traditional gaming, turning players into owners. This is an upgrade from the mere status of a consumer that they used to occupy.

Conclusion

NFTs are integral to the decentralization of gaming. They will continue to be relevant as web3 sees more adoption and more game players embrace the concept of play-to-earn.