The gaming industry has grown rapidly over the years, and modern business models are being created quickly. Especially, Play-to-earn (P2E) games offer rewards for players’ time and effort. Play-to-earn gaming’s spectacular ascent to fame can be credited to cryptocurrencies and blockchains. Tokens, NFTs, and blockchain have changed the game industry.
Play-to-earn crypto games are web3’s fastest-growing industry. DappRadar finds that play-to-earn gaming’s popularity is expanding despite the crypto winter when cryptocurrency prices plummeted, and numerous crypto businesses went bankrupt.
1. Pay-to-play
Pay-to-play games must be bought before downloading and playing. The latest pay-to-play business model is membership packages, such as Apple Arcade, UPlay+, Xbox Game Pass, PS Now, EA Origin Access, and others which require a monthly subscription payment to play a selection of games. The developers’ part of membership payments depends on how popular their game is.
2. Free-to-play
Players of “free-to-play” games don’t pay for the game’s content. Games can be downloaded and played for free, but some in-game content or products may require a purchase or membership price. Developers may also use in-game advertising to commercialize their goods. Free-to-play games account for the majority of the gaming industry’s revenue.
Most mobile games are free-to-play, and console games, as well as PC are following suit. Apex Legends, Fortnite, Valorant, PubG, and many others have adopted a free-to-play business model.
3. Play-to-earn
Play-to-earn games allow players to earn real-world currency (such as tradable tokens, fiat, or cryptocurrency) by playing or engaging in-game. In the mainstream gaming market, play-to-earn games like Decentraland, Axie Infinity, Gods Unchained, Sandbox, etc., are growing rapidly. You can find many more of these iOS crypto games listed on sites like chainplay.gg.
4. Play-and-earn
“Play-and-earn” games are similar to “play-to-earn” games in that players are encouraged to “grind” in-game currency while having fun. Fair in-game economies and blockchain technology make “play and earn” games pleasant and profitable.
Essential Game Metrics
1. Retention. After installing and creating an account, retention is how long players play.
2. Engagement. Time spent actively playing a game determines a gamer’s daily session count and average session length.
3. Conversion rate. Quantity of users who have spent real money on virtual goods.
4. Regular users. Standardized daily active user count of the game.
5. Daily active user revenue average. Daily Active User (DAU) Count Ratio is the ratio of a game’s DAUs to its daily income.
6. Long-term player worth. The typical lifetime contribution of a single gamer to the game’s bottom line.
Model of P2E cryptocurrency gaming
Thanks to the play-to-earn business model and blockchain technology, crypto games generate their own assets, in-game economy, virtual worlds, and governance tokens. Game makers can use a basic business model to construct a blockchain-based game.
Most play-to-earn crypto games allow in-game purchases with native tokens or NFTs. Players can trade in-game tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on external exchanges and marketplaces.
In Axie Infinity, a well-known P2E game, players strive to collect the most “Axies.” Axies can be bred or used to fight other players’ axies. Smooth Love Potion or SLP tokens can be used to feed NFTs, level up powers, and trade with other players.
Earning potential in P2E cryptocurrency games: a boon to game developers and studios
Tokens and NFTs let game designers create unique games. Studios may develop a gaming ecosystem and virtual economy by releasing tokens and NFTs, which will draw initial funding from gamers rather than venture capital firms and traditional equity investors. Having digital assets boosts players’ confidence.
Open-world economies allow developers to participate and make games more engaging for players. Developers will get a lifetime fee from reselling in-game assets, creating a new cash stream.
Benefits to the players from playing P2E crypto games
Free-to-play and Pay-to-play models were more profitable for game developers and publishers, but they offered few possibilities for players to make real money in-game.
In typical gaming ecosystems, players pay to play the game, buy in-game assets, and spend hours grinding to level up and acquire assets. All of a player’s hard work is for naught if they can’t access, transfer, or sell their assets when the game is shut down.
Players and creators share value in play-to-earn games, notably crypto games. The weapons, avatars, virtual land, tokens, and other NFTs unlocked in P2E crypto games can be used or sold for real money.
Players control all of their in-game property and can freely transfer it between virtual worlds, even from other games.
