NFT games are those that incorporate non-fungible tokens (NFT) as a way to drive growth. In essence, NFT games enable developers to monetize their creations while giving users the ability to earn cryptocurrency just by playing the game, what’s known as the play-to-earn business model.
Understanding NFT Gaming
NFT games use blockchain technology to authenticate unique, in-game collectibles such as characters, avatars, and other items players can collect to assist in their gameplay. Each collectible is an NFT, with smart contracts determining how each function within the game itself. Like all NFTs, the value of a collectible depends on its use or rarity and each can be traded with others in a designated marketplace.
The play-to-earn model is a business model allowing gamers to farm or collect cryptocurrency and NFTs that can be sold on the market. This model has become a standard already in the “crypto gaming industry,” where the blockchain-based games enable token economics to kick in as an incentives mechanism at scale for users to play and be engaged.
For the user, NFT games are play-to-earn. This means they are rewarded with more tokens or NFTs the longer they play the game. This model has found particular success with users in developing nations as a viable alternative to a fixed income or social security payment.
With the above in mind, we’ll devote the rest of this article to discussing some of the most popular NFT games available today.
CryptoKitties
One of the first NFT games to achieve mainstream success was CryptoKitties. Launched on the Ethereum blockchain in 2017, CryptoKitties players collect, breed, and trade digital cats.
Each cat is a unique NFT with smart contracts defining its characteristics, rarity, and ultimate value in the NFT marketplace.
Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is an NFT-based online video game developed by Sky Mavis, a Vietnamese game studio founded by Trung Nguyen in 2018. Nguyen combined his interest in blockchain accountability and the CryptoKitties craze to launch the game in August 2018. Sky Mavis generates the bulk of its revenue via the 4.25% fee it charges on all in-game purchases. This includes land purchases, monster NFT trading, and monster breeding. Axie Infinity requires that all new players purchase three monsters to get started. Since the cost can run into hundreds of dollars, Sky Mavis will lend players the monsters and collect a 30% interest fee once the player starts earning currency.
Axie Infinity is an NFT game based on the metaverse, where players can collect, raise, and battle with NFT creatures known as Axies. Some consider the game to be the NFT equivalent of Pokémon.
Axie Infinity requires that new users purchase three Axies in the marketplace before they can participate in the game. With the cost of NFT monsters climbing in recent times, users have created an informal market where “managers” rent out their monsters to “scholars” and take a cut of any subsequent rewards.
The metaverse governance token AXS is used to breed Axies and had a market capitalization of approximately $7 billion at the time of writing.
Splinterlands
Launched in 2018, Splinterlands is a card-based strategy game operating on the Hive blockchain. With approximately 520,000 active users, Splinterlands is the most popular NFT game on the market.
Splinterlands is a collectible trading-card-based game. Each card represents a monster with various unique stats and abilities, with users able to battle others and win rewards. The game recently released the Splintershards (SPS) cryptocurrency governance token to provide an increased level of decision-making ability and control for the user base and asset owners.
Alien Worlds
Alien Worlds is a more recent NFT game having only been launched in December 2020. It is another metaverse game in which players stake the Trilium (TLM) game token to lease spacecraft, travel on missions, vote in elections, and run for planetary council.
Players may select NFT game cards for their strategy on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and WAX carbon-neutral blockchain, with these cards able to be used for mining and fighting, among other things.
CryptoMines
CryptoMines is a science fiction NFT game released in September 2021. Like Alien Worlds, it is based on the Binance Smart Chain, and users are required to travel through space in search of rewards that help them extend the lives of their characters and make a profit from playing.
Workers and spaceships are NFTs minted in the ERC-721 standard for representing ownership of non-fungible tokens. Players can also stake the reward token ETERNAL in a liquidity pool with the potential to increase the value of their holdings.
Key takeaways:
NFT games are those that incorporate non-fungible tokens (NFT) as a way to drive growth. In essence, these games enable developers to monetize their creations while giving users the ability to earn cryptocurrency just by playing the game.
CryptoKitties was one of the first NFT games to achieve relative success. Today, Splinterlands is the largest NFT game which over half a million active users.
Alien Worlds and CryptoMines are NFT games based on the Binance Smart Chain, requiring users to travel through space in search of rewards. Metaverse game Axie Infinity requires users to collect and battle monsters in a way similar to Pokemon.
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Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
