A survey by the software company – Stratis – found that 58% of US and UK video game developers have incorporated blockchain technology into their efforts. 47% have integrated non-fungible tokens in their games.
Blockchain is the future of video games
The survey interviewed 197 video game developers in the United States and the United Kingdom. Apart from those who already use blockchain and NFT technologies, the rest of the participants are also optimistic since 72% said they would consider employing them to develop new games. 56% intend to do so next year.
Asked whether they believe blockchain technology will become prevalent in video gaming within the following 24 months, 64% of the participants answered with “yes.”
According to 61% of developers, blockchain allows for innovative and more interesting gameplay. 55% said it secures value for players by keeping money in the game, while rewarding gamers with real-word value collected 54% of the vote.
It should be noted that 46% of developer interest in blockchain is focused on the trendy Play-to-Earn business model. On that note, Jean-Philippe Vergne, Associate Professor at UCL School of Management – commented:
“Blockchain is quickly becoming a staple for online gaming. What blockchain enables is incredibly compelling — players can now earn cryptocurrency while playing and trade digital goods both within and across games.”
Continuing on the same topic, Chris Trew – CEO of Stratis – predicted that most of the game’s initial growth to win will come from emerging economies, “where making a few dollars a day from gambling can send it to the middle class.” At a later stage, this wealth transfer could transform the global economy, he concluded.
What is playing to win?
Play-to-Earn is a business model where users can play a game and earn by enjoying game assets while doing so.
The key component in this model is to give gamers ownership over those assets and enable them to increase their value by playing the game actively. Usually in the crypto world, the definition of ownership is possible through the use of non-fungible tokens (NFT).
The main idea of Play-to-Earn is to reward players for putting their time and effort into the game. By participating in a specific game, players create value for other players in the ecosystem and for developers. In turn – they receive a reward in the form of potentially appreciating in-game assets, which can be a certain type of cryptocurrency.
Some of the most famous examples of such games include Axie Infinity, Decentraland, and The Sandbox.
