Blockchain has become popular as the technology behind digital currencies like Bitcoin. But now, it’s also making headlines in the video gaming world. However, at first glance, it’s not obvious why blockchain would be relevant to gaming. After all, blockchain networks are usually slow with very limited bandwidth, which is certainly not ideal for online gaming.
What is blockchain gaming?
To understand blockchain gaming, you need to grasp the concept of non-fungible tokens or NFTs. These are digital tokens that are made unique by blockchain technology. An NFT cannot be copied and can have only one owner at a time.
The first popular game based on NFTs was CryptoKitties. In this game, you collect and breed “kitties” that are represented with NFTs. Each kitty is unique and can be bred with another kitty to create a new, unique kitty. Certain kitties have rare and desirable breeding characteristics. But because they can’t be copied, only a few of them exist. This pushes their value through the roof, as players around the world compete for the best kitties. Now, this idea of truly player-owned game assets is opening up a whole new genre of gaming.
How can blockchain change gaming?
Players have had the ability to buy in-game assets in games before, either through points earned in a game or by simply buying the items. However, these assets were always managed by the game developer. They had full control over the distribution and supply of each skin and weapon.
The big change that blockchain brings is the ability of digital assets to exist independently from a game’s software. That is, the assets can live on the blockchain. This takes power away from the developers of the game and gives it to the players. Many traditional game companies may not think that this is a good idea. But players love it.
It means that when a player buys a unique item in a game, like CryptoKitty, it is truly theirs. The game developer cannot take it from them, suspend their account, or create new copies, making the item’s value go down. The supply and ownership of new items are determined algorithmically on the blockchain. It gives high confidence to gamers that their in-game assets will stay valuable and shoots the perceived value of these assets through the roof. Many of the most-desired gaming NFTs are valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars.
It also opens up the possibility to have items that can cross the borders of games. When an item exists on a blockchain instead of in a game’s code, the sky’s the limit. For example, a sword you bought in one game could be transferred and used in battle in a completely unrelated game. This is even possible for two games that are created by different developers. Blockchain game assets with these properties are called “multiverse assets”.
These NFT gaming features aren’t possible without blockchain technology. That’s why blockchain is such an exciting innovation for the gaming world.
Interest in blockchain from major game publishers
Naturally, this blockchain adoption in gaming technology has caught the attention of some of the major game publishers. Ubisoft has partnered with Horizon Blockchain Games to get some skin in the blockchain game. It has also joined the Blockchain Game Alliance and even created a blockchain-based demo of Minecraft. Mythical Games has recently come up with $75 million to build an NFT game platform.
Microsoft and Xbox have introduced blockchain in a more subtle way. They’re using Azure Blockchain Services (created by Microsoft) to make the royalty process faster for game developers.
There are many more game companies actively building the next generation of gaming, including OPSkins and DreamTeam.
Existing blockchain games
Alien Worlds markets itself as the “largest decentralized metaverse”. It’s a game where players compete on seven planets. Inhabitants of the planets mine the game’s cryptocurrency, Trilium, and battle for a chance to earn NFTs. It is more than just a game – it’s a place where people meet and come together.
The Sandbox is a game where people “play, create, own and govern a virtual world made by players”. Players can create various NFT game assets: from shoes and handbags to vehicles and buildings. They can use these to build their own world and even monetize it.
Blankos Block Party is a free game universe that is full of purchasable NFTs. Everything players buy is theirs to own. Players can create their own parties within the game.
Neon District is a cyberpunk role-playing game that uses blockchain technology. Players collect NFTs as they work through a sci-fi dystopian Earth of the future. They can then use the in-game cryptocurrency to buy food, accommodation and weapons.
What prevents blockchain integration into the gaming world?
There is a lot of momentum building up in blockchain gaming. But it still isn’t a mainstream success.
The first reason is a lack of interest from mainstream gamers. Many don’t yet understand or value NFTs as gaming assets. This may change in the future as blockchain becomes more widely understood and adopted.
Second, the emerging blockchain-based games simply don’t match up to the quality of other games available.
The third reason is that large game developers haven’t yet understood the blockchain-based business model. Before a large developer invests tens of millions of dollars into developing a blockchain-based game, they will want to make sure that it’s going to be profitable.
Conclusion
Blockchain is changing the gaming industry with the invention of NFTs. For the first time, players can truly own the assets they buy and collect in video games. They can take these items out of the game and trade them on the open market, without any interference from developers. This has given gamers the confidence to spend significant amounts of money on NFTs and blockchain games.
We are right at the start of a new era in online gaming. Plus, NFTs have a chance of gaining lots of value over time, just like baseball cards. So, why not jump in one of these blockchain-based games right now and start collecting?