The global online gaming market has been on the rise for the past few years accounting for the largest stake in the consistently growing global digital media market revenues. From the global pandemic situation impelling an online revolution to the ever-rising mobile and internet penetration, more population ever is spending more time online.
Alongside the growing digital media market, the rise of NFT-powered blockchain games has transformed the online gaming market by making the players the primary financial possessor and decision-makers in the ecosystem. People with an inclination towards the crypto market as well as gaming are seemingly setting foot into the Blockchain gaming vibe.
Not only do these Blockchain-based play-to-earn games offer an equal playing field for everyone involved, giving players ownership; but also are becoming a good source of income and investment for players.
As play-to-earn (P2E) blockchain-based gaming is set to be one of the key drivers for mainstream crypto adoption over the coming years, we have compiled a list of the most anticipated titles that are taking the gaming industry by storm.
1. Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is the most popular blockchain game to date that has propelled the P2E model into the spotlight of the gaming space this year. Its growing popularity has seen a million gamers come onboard to play the game daily. The gaming platform has reached a market valuation of a gigantic $3 billion in recent times. And the native Ethereum blockchain-based crypto token of Axie Infinity game dubbed AXS reached an all-time high of over $155 recently.
Well, Axie Infinity is actually a Pokémon-inspired universe where you can earn tokens through skilled gameplay and contributions to the ecosystem. You can battle, collect, raise, and build a land-based kingdom for your pets. The Ethereum-based game offers two modes for users 1. A player vs environment (PvE) mode 2. A player vs player (PvP) mode. In PvE mode, as the name suggests, the player competes against a built-in environment or monsters in the game, while in PvP mode the player gets to compete with other players in a metaverse-type scenario.
You will need to purchase at least 3 “Axies” (out of approximately 140,000) that come in the form of fantasy creatures designed for battle with hordes of other small round monsters, from the official Axie Infinity marketplace. Since the model of the game is such that each creature and every other piece of ecosystem used in the battle comes in the form of an NFT, the winners of the skirmishes get the spoils of the battle in the form of cryptocurrencies dubbed Smooth Love Potions (SLPs).
You can make earnings in the form of SLP tokens that can be traded for fiat currencies, or sell your Axies once the value of those Axies appreciates due to won battles. Interestingly, an Axie was sold for 300 ETH (worth over $1.2M) last year November.
2. Gods Unchained
Launched in September 2020, Gods Unchained is a free-to-play card game that brings NFT components to traditional card trading games and hence gives players true ownership of their in-game items. In this game, you must strategically outsmart your opponents by building decks that are able to combat a wide variety of tactics. Players can trade high-quality cards for cryptocurrencies on the platform's marketplace.
To start new players off, they are given a free collection of 70 individual cards that are sorted into six decks. Players can opt from a few game modes. Solo Mode sets a player against a computer opponent, which is a perfect place to learn how to play at your own pace and try out a few decks. In Constructed mode, players face other opponents online. Here you can gain experience points that will help you level up and unlock card packs.
3. Sorare
Sorare is another leading blockchain-based fantasy game that utilizes NFTs to create an amazing global fantasy experience. The game represents players via digital cards built on the Ethereum blockchain. You can earn either in cash or in Ether crypto by creating a team using football player cards and participating in competitions.
The game is based on a virtual tournament that tracks the real performance of players on the field. Players need to create the best team of five Collectibles representing professional football players. The best Team of each Tournament is the one that finishes the Tournament with the most points. Each player's points are rewarded based on the players' actual performance during the Tournament and according to a scale specified.
4. F1 Delta Time
F1 Delta Time is an Ethereum blockchain-based car racing game where players need to collect cars, drivers, components, and trinkets as NFTs. Official Formula 1 non-fungible collectible tokens allow players to participate in a play-to-earn gaming ecosystem, where skills are rewarded with real value rewards. The gameplay component in F1 Delta Time can be wholly-owned, traded, and sold by players and also used to play the game itself.
5. Evolution Land
Evolution Land is a virtual management game based on blockchain. It is a virtual simulation game that supports cross-chain interactions. The game development team has planned to have 26 continents, each of which is deployed on a different public chain. Two continents Atlantis Continent, and Byzantine have been built so far that have been deployed on Ethereum and Tron respectively. The governance parameters, like the trade tax rate, are set by players.
EvolutionLand is also a decentralized autonomous community(DAO) that allows users to create, experience content and applications, and earn profits.
6. Alien Worlds
Alien Worlds, which lives on the Ethereum, WAX, and Binance Smart Chain blockchains is the fastest growing game in blockchain with around 11M daily transactions by more than 700,000 Monthly Active Users, according to on-chain smart contract activity tracked by DappRadar. The community of players has grown to almost 3.6 million.
In Alien Worlds, users quickly discover the appeal of a P2E game that they build and govern for themselves while exploring seven planets across the metaverse.
The gameplay is an NFT Metaverse where players can play with unique digital items (NFTs), stake Trillium tokens to planets, vote in elections, and run for planetary council. Metaverse planets are decentralized autonomous organizations that receive daily Trillium from the central metaverse smart contracts. Users engage by mining by acquiring and renting land and voting for Planetary governance to impact Trillium payouts.
7. Splinterlands
Splinterlands, a blockchain-based trading card game, has also has become one of the most popular blockchain games in the market. The game has
now over 420,000 active users. The ability to collect cards and put them to use to make more money while having fun is the reason behind such prominent momentum. As the playes exchange the cards on the game, they earn the game's native currency Dark Energy Crystals.
8. Farmers World
Farmers World is the first farming game to function on the NFTs platform. The game allows you to collect suitable tools, exploit various resources, buy land to build enormous farms, and enjoy the fascinating experiences of a farmer working in Farmers World’s Ecosystem. Additionally, while other farmers wait for their harvesting period, you may launch an assault on them.
You can play Farmers World with a membership pack(ranging from $322 to $514) only. Membership allows you to play and earn NFTs among other in-game tokens.
9. CryptoBlades
CryptoBlades, a new role play P2E blockchain game, has been launched on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). The game lets players earn SKILL tokens by defeating enemies, raiding with friends, and staking gains. You will need to buy a character before you can play the game. Here, a small fee in the form of BNB is required to participate in battles. The battle fees are returned to victor as SKILL tokens immediately.
10. Plant vs Undead
As the tower defense games often have tremendous replay value, the
Plant vs Undead aims to explore the same in a play2earn model. In a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombie attackers, you have to strategically arrange the plants to prepare for an invasion from a colony of zombies. The game already has gained a lot of traction in Brazil. The game comes with a free-to-play option as well for newcomers. You can acquire seeds to begin playing to earn a profit, which can be purchased on the platform’s marketplace with the game’s native token PVU.
The P2E blockchain-based gaming sector is expected to grow exponentially along with the crypto and traditional gaming and e-gaming markets. Not only players can make money in transparent and fair virtual economies, they also have real ownership of game components. Players now also have the option to effectively become a stakeholder by contributing to a community-driven ecosystem (DAO) and having their voice heard on game-related decisions.