Play-and-earn games are electronic games that allow players to earn money while playing. They are an evolution of play-to-earn, after the developers realized that the gameplay could no longer be secondary to the financial part. Thanks to this, the industry has gained a new strength by getting gamers who were previously repelled by the financial focus interested, and with that, play-and-earn games continue to conquer more space.
The idea behind these games is simple: players earn rewards in the form of tokens for performing specific tasks within the game, such as beating a difficult level or completing a mission. These tokens can be used in-game to purchase virtual items, upgrades or special abilities. Furthermore, players can also exchange the tokens for cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies on specialized exchange platforms.
This is only possible thanks to blockchain technology, which allows the creation of these tokens, also known as NFTs (non-fungible tokens). As the blockchain is a decentralized and immutable ledger, players are in full control of their items and can easily verify their authenticity.
Play-and-earn games were born as the next step from the old play-to-earn games. The foundation is still the same: the blending of gaming and finance through the blockchain. The main point of evolution was the new foundation of giving equal priority to the gameplay and the financial part. That’s because, previously, the focus seemed to be only on the second, represented in the old name “play to win”, as if the part of playing was just the way to reach profits, which would be the main objective. By evolving to “play and win”, this market began to make clear its new goal of keeping fun and profit on an equal footing.
The popularity of play-and-earn games is only increasing, especially among younger gamers between the ages of 18-34, as a Statista survey shows. This is partly due to the fact that many of these games are free to play and offer the possibility of earning money without having to invest large sums of it.
Read more about NFT games:
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- What are the so-called NFT games?
What are the top play-and-earn games?
Many players looking to join this new model may be wondering what is the best play-and-earn or play-to-earn. As they started to focus on mechanics and gameplay, we already see a much wider variety of genres being explored. With that, what we can do is recommend some of the main ones, so that the player can choose from what he is looking for.
One of the best known play-and-earn games is Axie Infinity, a turn-based strategy and creature collection game. Players collect, breed and battle their own virtual monsters called Axies. These can be traded using the game’s native cryptocurrency, Axie Infinity Shards (AXS), and then used in battles against other players. Players are rewarded with more AXS for winning battles and completing quests.
This one is an example of a game that started with the play-to-earn philosophy when it was released by the Vietnamese studio Sky Mavis in 2018, and had to evolve to play-and-earn after better understanding what players were looking for. Aleksander Leonard Larsen, co-founder of Sky Mavis, announced this change of perspective in early 2023, promising that game development would focus more on entertainment.
Another play-and-earn game that has gained attention is Splinterlands, a collectible card game. Players can collect monster cards and use them to compete in online battles. They are then rewarded with the game’s native cryptocurrency, Dark Energy Crystals (DEC), for winning battles and completing missions, which can be used to buy more cards or to exchange for other cryptocurrencies.
In the context of card games, there is also Gods Unchained, from developer Immutable. A highlight is that it was produced by Chris Clay, former director of Magic: The Gathering Arena, digital version of the biggest TCG in the world. Its tokens are called GODS.
Some play-and-earn games also offer opportunities for players to invest in their platforms. Alien Worlds, from German publisher Dacoco, allows players to purchase NFTs that represent virtual lands within the game. These lands can be used to mine the game’s native cryptocurrency, Trilium, which can be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies.
RobotEra is another one that also gives players this possibility. The game is still in the pre-sale phase of its NFTs, called TARO, and has already surpassed US$ 1 million in funding. The game will take place on the planet of the same name as the tokens, which has 7 continents for players to develop using their robots.
These are just a few examples of how play-and-earn games are changing the way we interact with video games. These games offer a unique opportunity for players to earn money while having fun, and for developers to create financially viable platforms.
With the continued growth of the play-and-earn market, it is likely that more game developers will tap into this trend and create even more interesting new games. For gamers, this is a unique opportunity to monetize their time and skills while enjoying one of the world’s most popular leisure activities.
In short, play-and-earn games are a new stage of gaming in the world of blockchain finance. They demonstrate a progression in the gaming industry’s understanding of this market, something that was still very green in its earlier stage. Thus, we can expect more and more maturing of the products resulting from this market, conquering more and more space in the gamer universe.
Translation by Laura Bonci
