What Is Blockchain Gaming? A Detailed Explainer

Blockchain technology is making inroads into multiple sectors like finance, healthcare, governance, etc. However, the most prominent among them all is blockchain gaming.

A couple of years ago, blockchain technology had a negligible market size, fast-forward to 2021, and the blockchain gaming industry grew to 3 billion dollars.

Several market and consumer data companies project that the valuation of the blockchain gaming industry will rise to reach an estimated mark of 39.7 billion dollars by 2025.

So, what are the reasons for such a high valued projection for blockchain gaming? First, it can be accredited to the trending technologies and related concepts, such as Non-Fungible Tokens, abbreviated as NFTs, Free-to-Play, and Play-to-Earn. Second, fuelled by these, the blockchain gaming industry has been able to attract over 1.5 million gamers from across the globe with diverse interests.

While people have begun to form clearer ideas about blockchain technology and how it works, their understanding of the implications and working of gaming blockchains is still vague.

Blockchains for gaming enable players to have real ownership of in-game assets easily, with the economic and trust benefits.

In addition, the technology offers a vast range of other possibilities in the gaming industry. Hence, gamers and investors worldwide are curious to learn how to invest in blockchain gaming.

What Is Blockchain Gaming?

The games that are built on blockchain frameworks or the games that use blockchain technology to enable NFT creation, trading, and ownership are referred to as Blockchain Gaming.

The confluence of blockchain technology with the gaming world has created new opportunities for both fields, giving rise to new blockchain gaming companies and projects.

Blockchain games are decentralized instead of traditional, highly centralized games in which the game developers control all assets and currency. Alternatively, blockchains for gaming aim to give their players ownership of in-game purchases that have value outside of the games.

Cryptocurrencies and NFTs are used in blockchain games to purchase in-game assets. The players can then exchange these assets for cryptocurrencies or fiat money. As a result, once a gamer earns an NFT reward, they are entitled to own their purchases which can be exchanged within or outside of the blockchain gaming platform.

What Is Blockchain Gaming Ecosystem?

The blockchain gaming ecosystem could be defined as the group of all the components that function together for the existence of the blockchain gaming industry. It would include everything from the blockchain developers, game designers, and NFT creators to the features and services offered by the blockchain gaming companies.

A well-established and fair blockchain gaming ecosystem would enable video games to become a source of income. This would be facilitated by two distinct features of gaming blockchains, which are as follows:

1. Play-To-Earn Model That Rewards Gamers

With the advent of top blockchain gaming platforms, players have had the opportunity to monetize their time, skill, and effort on gaming blockchains.

Several blockchain games reward players with digital assets such as cryptocurrency, weapons, avatars, skins, coins, tokens, etc. The players enjoy complete ownership of these assets.

Interestingly, because of blockchain technology, the in-game assets that players earn have value outside of the scope of blockchain gaming too.

Therefore, players can trade those assets in exchange for money or cryptocurrency. They may also offer their blockchain gaming skills as services for the play-to-earn income model.

2. Prospects To Generate NFTs In Gaming 

The provision to generate NFTs and cryptos in blockchain games has captivated millions of gamers worldwide. Moreover, because these NFTs are not limited to the blockchain gaming platforms, they can represent digital and real-world assets.

Furthermore, the cross-platform and diverse applicability of NFTs earned or curated on the best blockchain gaming projects makes them appealing to gamers.

Therefore, video gamers are motivated to win or create NFTs, exchange them with other players, and even transfer them to other supported best blockchain gaming platforms using blockchain technology.

Curating NFTs and crypto tokens or crypto coins extend the potential of the blockchain gaming industry. It enables them to create blockchain gaming economies.

The distinct, trustless, interoperable, and secure environment offered entices many developers and businesses to curate blockchain gaming platform and enter the blockchain gaming industry.

The Future Of Gaming Is Blockchain!? The Why and How

Technologists and experts believe that the future of gaming is blockchain. Why? It is because of the way blockchain technology and blockchain gaming are progressing. Realizing the potential that the combination of blockchain and gaming possesses, blockchain gaming companies are coming to the forefront with innovative blockchain games.

The growth of the global gaming market has been valued to increase by $125.65 billion. The CAGR or Compound Annual Growth Rate for the same is estimated to be 12.40% from 2020 to 2025. Experts suggest such high statistical data for the global gaming market can be accredited to integrating blockchain technology in gaming apps developed by blockchain gaming companies.

The number of blockchain gaming platforms in the blockchain gaming industry is surging. Several game studios and developers are collaborating with the best gaming blockchain companies. The valuation of many blockchain gaming platforms is reaching billions of dollars.

Simultaneously, tech organizations invest heavily to support the blockchain gaming ecosystem. For instance, Microsoft signed the deal to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, which is expected to be closed in the US Fiscal Year 2023.

In addition, the famous French video game company Ubisoft officially announced in December 2021 that it would integrate NFTs into the game Ghost Reckon Breakpoint, thus joining the blockchain gaming ecosystem.

The next part to answer under ‘the future of gaming is blockchain’ assertation understands the ways through which it’ll happen. How? Various technologies will play their role in realizing this vision.

When combined with blockchain, advancements in immersive technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality would enhance the realism and connectivity of blockchain gaming experiences. Blockchain technology aims to enable interoperability amongst blockchain gaming platforms, adding flexibility and seamlessness to the whole experience.

Given these reasons, blockchain gaming is seen as the gaming industry’s future.

Blockchain Gaming Industry: What Are The Future Growth Prospects?

As discussed above, why and how blockchain could be the future of gaming, experts believe the growth prospects of the blockchain gaming industry could be greatly positive.

The market analysis done by leading firms suggests that the blockchain gaming industry is expanding. According to data derived by PitchBook Data, a leading SAAS company, the investment in blockchain technology saw a rise of 280% from 2017 to 2018.

In 2019, a blockchain company named TRON, founded by the TRON Foundation based in Singapore in 2017, invested 100 million dollars into their blockchain gaming fund.

Besides this, Ripple Labs, a leading American technology company, partnered with Forte, which is one of the best blockchain gaming companies, to raise funds for creating the best blockchain gaming projects.

All the data and factual information suggest how the blockchain gaming industry is gradually establishing its hold in the gaming industry and progressing substantially.

Further reports on the same project that the industry could be worth well over $256 billion by 2025. This is a propelling fact for several blockchain gaming companies guiding their business plans to excel in the blockchain gaming industry.

What Are The Challenges For Blockchain Gaming?

Although the global adoption of blockchain technology and blockchain gaming is increasing, its growth trajectory is hampered by several obstacles. These are enumerated below.

1. Lack Of Awareness On Blockchain – People regard blockchain and related technologies as mere buzzwords. Since there is a lack of awareness, people miss out on the advanced benefits that blockchain gaming offers.

2. Regulatory Framework – The next challenge is the regulatory framework relating to cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Since the legal guidelines are vague, many players and developers are discouraged from exploring the blockchain gaming industry and avoiding using even the best blockchain gaming platform.

3. Lack Of Supportive Infrastructure – Another challenge to blockchain gaming is the lack of appropriate infrastructure. Data connectivity infrastructure remains suboptimal despite widespread internet and smartphone adoption in many developing and underdeveloped countries. This invariably hinders the cross-functionality of blockchain gaming.

4. Gaming Language Barrier – Lastly, the limited availability of languages on a blockchain gaming platform also acts as a challenge to blockchain gaming. This is because the participating gamers are from different parts of the world. If they aren’t comfortable with the language on the platform, it could deter them from blockchain gaming.

How To Invest In Blockchain Gaming?

There are two ways how to invest in blockchain gaming.

• The first way to invest in blockchain gaming is by actively playing blockchain games. They could play the games, win challenges, earn rewards, curate and sell NFTs in the game, exchange the digital assets for real money or a different token, and do many other things. It will be an interesting and fun blockchain gaming investment.
• Another way to invest would be indirect. For example, one could buy the stocks of blockchain gaming companies performing well in the industry. As blockchain games are gaining popularity, the valuation of these companies is also increasing. Therefore, buying their stocks could be a great way to invest in blockchain gaming.

FAQs – Blockchain Gaming

Q.1 How To Develop A Game For Blockchain Gaming? 

The development process of a game for blockchain gaming would begin with market analysis. Then, after a topic for the game is identified based on available blockchain games, one could start the actual process.

In a nutshell, there are four options for developing a blockchain game. First, choosing a blockchain infrastructure; second, selecting a suitable SDK; third, building a game from scratch; and finally, taking the help of blockchain gaming experts.

Q.2 What Is The Best Blockchain For Gaming?

There are a number of different platforms that are deemed the best blockchain for gaming. Some of them are Dapper Labs, Sky Mavis, DreamTeam, and Mythical Games.

The Bottom Line – The Future Of Gaming Is Blockchain

Blockchain gaming is still a nascent concept fraught with ambiguity, questions, and uncertainties. However, as more game studios enter the blockchain gaming industry in the coming years, misconceptions about blockchain gaming could be dispelled, creating mass awareness.

Furthermore, the emergence of the best blockchain gaming projects and a shift in customer expectations are expected to break down barriers, driving the blockchain gaming industry to new heights.

Blockchain gaming companies can leapfrog the many challenges and create a balanced blockchain gaming ecosystem in the future by offering ownership of in-game assets, reward and income-generating opportunities, and social interactions.