The fun side of crypto
Crypto games allow players to earn, trade, and spend cryptocurrency rewards as part of an immersive in-game experience. Players also get true ownership of in-game assets, unlike traditional gaming. This innovation could revolutionize gaming, but broader mainstream adoption still faces challenges.
Gaming on the Blockchain
Crypto games fall into seven broad categories:
Play 2 Earn - Axie Infinity, Stepn
Metaverse - Sandbox, Decentraland
Zero-Knowledge Metaverse - Dark Forest
Masked Blockchain - Sorare
Revamped Classics - briq.construction
NFT-first - Wanderers
Community-Driven - Loot
We’ll analyze examples from each category and evaluate their potential impact.
While innovative, most crypto games today appear to prioritize financial incentives over fun gameplay. For crypto gaming to go mainstream, games will need to better balance financial rewards with accessibility and pure entertainment value.
Welcome to the exciting world of crypto games, where players can earn, trade, and spend cryptocurrency as part of their in-game experience!
Play 2 Earn (P2E): the popular one
Source: https://axieinfinity.com
Play-to-earn (P2E) games allow players to earn crypto rewards through in-game activities. In Axie Infinity, players breed, train, and battle Axies to complete quests and earn tokens. Stepn pays users in crypto just for walking and tracking steps using its app, as long as they hold their “sneaker” NFTs. .
At their best, P2E systems allow players to monetize their efforts and enable new gaming architectures centered on rewarded progress. However, many current P2E games attract speculators fixated on profits over enjoyment. When rewards decline, these players leave, as seen with Axie Infinity's falling participation. Asset speculation also inflates prices, limiting access for regular players.
Verdict: The P2E model offers significant innovations but remains imbalanced. Sustainable P2E systems require fun core gameplay to complement crypto incentives. Striking this delicate balance remains an open challenge.
The Metaverse: the overhyped one
Source: https://decentraland.org
Metaverse games like Decentraland and Sandbox create expansive virtual worlds for exploration, social experiences, and virtual asset ownership. Users can buy scarce digital land, design structures, and convert gains into crypto.
However, current metaverse worlds face adoption obstacles. The value of artificial scarcity remains uncertain long-term, as easy-to-copy smart contracts (game code) and wallet-based asset ownership reduce lock-in effects. Current VR/AR limitations also constrain accessibility and immersion.
Verdict: Metaverse games offer ownership and creative freedom but still need technological and design maturation before mainstream adoption. Their decentralized nature may limit lock-in effects seen in traditional social platforms.
Dark Forest: the original one
Source: https://zkga.me
Dark Forest pioneers decentralized gaming through fog-of-war mechanics enabled by zero-knowledge proofs. Players manage space civilizations, and battle over resources with limited intel on their opponents' actions.
Dark Forest's ability to build incomplete information games on decentralized blockchains enables complex gameplay with enhanced player autonomy, freedom, and privacy compared to traditional centralized games. This pioneering approach also unlocks new potential for decentralized metaverse worlds.
However, currency Dark Forest remains complex and inaccessible to mainstream users. Improving usability would boost its innovative appeal.
Verdict: Dark Forest's novel gameplay mechanics highlight the possibilities of privacy-preserving decentralized gaming. It needs a smoother learning curve, but establishes an innovative path for blockchain games.
Hidding in plan sight: the undercover one
Source: https://sorare.com
Some crypto games like Sorare hide the blockchain backbone from users. Players collect and trade soccer player cards as unique NFTs, mostly unaware of the underlying technology complexity..
Masking the blockchain can help attract mainstream gamers by prioritizing accessible gameplay over crypto utility. This approach allows developers to focus on core mechanics while still benefiting from back-end advantages like transparency and auditability.
However, masking also fails to educate users and differentiate from non-crypto games. Without exposing unique value from blockchain integration, these games may struggle to stand out.
Verdict: Masking blockchains can prioritize gameplay, but may fails to capitalize on any unique benefits from blockchain integration.
Revamped classics: Mirror mirror on the wall
Source: https://briq.construction
Some blockchain games remix traditional gameplay by integrating blockchain advantages.For example, Briq allows players to build 3D assets like in Minecraft. But while Minecraft creations stay locked in-game, Briq assets become transferable NFTs that users truly own. Such NFTs could be used in other compatible crypto games and applications on the blockchain. This cross-game composability unlocks new creative possibilities and is a net positive for users.
Verdict: Briq perfectly illustrates how blockchain technology can improve traditional game experiences by enhancing the utility of game assets.
NFT-First: the one who may overpromise
Source: https://www.wanderers.ai
Some games like The Wanderers, a space-exploration game, pre-sell NFTs representing future playable characters to bootstrap development, decentralizing funding. This community-aligned model provides operational runways without relying on publishers. It also coordinaties early supporters, while granting upside exposure on assets.
However, NFT buyers must trust developers to deliver the game they promised. While the Wanderers team has been steadily working on game enhancements, not all teams can be relied on to fulfill their grand visions once they have been “pre-paid”.
Verdict: NFT presales provide a novel funding model while giving early adopters upside potential. But buyers speculate on execution risk and over-promotion. Thorough due diligence is essential before purchasing such NFTs.
Community-Driven: the abstract one
Source: https://www.lootproject.com/
Loot offers a blank canvas for collaborative world-building. he project started as randomly generated “loot bags”, containing fantasy item NFTs with minimal stats and lore, which were “sold” for free to players (users had to pay gas fees). The community was then encouraged to collectively interpret these NFTs to construct characters, locations, and narratives in a decentralized storyworld.
This communal experiment enabled new forms of collective creation, ownership, and governance. But Loot's abstract nature led to inflated hype and unmet expectations at launch. The minimal viable product relied heavily on the community to build out the world. Yet Loot's new framework for participatory storytelling on the blockchain inspired further decentralized gaming concepts. (e.g. HyperLoot). .
Verdict: Loot's community-based approach requires massive coordination. But it inspired new models for collaborative worldbuilding and decentralized story ownership. The real impact may be its influence on future games.
What does this foreshadow?
Crypto games offer new models for digital asset ownership, decentralized economies, and community-driven development. As the technology and design matures, crypto gaming could fundamentally reshape the industry. Some potential implications:
Increased competition as players gain new experiences unavailable in traditional gaming. Crypto games may attract players seeking true digital ownership
Decentralization enables peer-to-peer trading of in-game assets and provably scarce digital items. This disrupts the walled gardens and centralized control of traditional games.
Community-driven development, funding via NFT sales, and composable assets can enable new modes of collaborative creation
New crypto incentive structures and play-to-earn models could significantly impact game monetization. In-game activities may be designed around earning token rewards
Conclusion
Crypto-powered games introduce new models of digital asset ownership, community-driven development, and decentralized economies. Players can earn real value, trade openly, and truly own in-game assets, unlocking new creative freedoms and economic opportunities.
However, realizing this potential requires overcoming adoption hurdles. Most crypto games today cater to speculative investors over casual gamers. Mainstream success will depend on games prioritizing accessible and enjoyable core mechanics alongside crypto incentives.
While future progress depends on attracting broader audiences, crypto games' core principles of decentralization, transparency, and community-alignment are likely here to stay.