Learn everything you need to know about gaming and blockchain gaming with this ultimate guide by DappRadar.
DappRadar’s Ultimate Guide to Blockchain Gaming
Blockchain technology has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for gaming. Now, instead of paying to play a game, you can play games and earn money.
Web3 gaming enables true ownership of in-game assets and gives users a voice in the governance of the games they play.
With all this new technology and different parts of the industry innovating and changing so quickly, it’s only natural that people have lots of questions. Fortunately, DappRadar has you covered.
Contents
What is blockchain gaming?
Blockchain games are video games that utilize elements of cryptographic-based technology such as NFTs and cryptocurrencies.
Other names that people use for blockchain gaming include web3 gaming, play-to-earn gaming and crypto gaming. Because the industry is so new, the community is yet to decide on which terminology to use. For the purposes of this article, we’ll be using the term blockchain gaming.
Like other industries and sectors that use blockchain technology, ownership is at the core of blockchain gaming. Players own in-game assets, in the form of NFTs, which they can sell on secondary marketplaces like OpenSea and Magic Eden. Users can also hold tokens and coins, to spend on upgrades, skins, tools, weapons, and more, within the game.
Decentralized governance systems give players more of a say in how games develop and what decisions gaming companies make. Governance tokens convey voting rights to their holders and, when a proposal is put forward by the team behind the game, the community votes on what to do.
Which blockchains are the best for gaming?
Technically speaking, games can be developed on any blockchain. But as the gaming industry has exploded over the past few years, developers have created specialized networks built to handle the amount of information that passes through them.
Sky Mavis developed the Ronin blockchain specifically for its smash hit game Axie Infinity. They did this to circumnavigate Ethereum’s high gas fees and to provide gamers with a cheaper and smoother gaming experience.
Immutable created the Immutable X blockchain as an Ethereum scaling solution that ‘enables near-instant, zero gas fee transactions.’ It supports 9,000 transactions per second and hosts games such as Gods Unchained, Guild of Guardians, Illuvium and Ember Sword.
WAX stands for Worldwide Asset eXchange and was created to trade virtual assets in games and virtual worlds. Three of the top games in DappRadar’s games rankings are on the WAX network: Alien Worlds, Splinterlands and Farmers World.
Other blockchains that gamers should check out are:
For more articles related specifically to news and updates about developments in blockchains or blockchain technology, we have stories tagged with Blockchain.
What types of blockchain games are there?
As in the physical world, and the world of web2 gaming on Playstation and Xbox, there are multiple genres of blockchain games.
There are Farming games where you work the virtual land and sell your produce for profit. There are also RPGs where you move through fantasy lands.
Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games are for people who want to engage in crazy combat with multiple enemies and Tower Defense games are for those who want to defend their base.
Trading card games take their cue from physical collectible games such as the original Pokémon cards. Similarly, sports and racing in the blockchain are similar to sports and racing games in the real world.
Alongside these more traditional video games genres, blockchain technology has enabled completely new ways for gamers to have fun. Move-to-Earn allows people to earn money by being active. DappRadar’s guide on Move-to-Earn outlines the basics and our introductory articles to STEPN and Fitfi give a bit more detail about some of the biggest names in the scene.
What is play-to-earn gaming?
You will have probably heard of the term play-to-earn gaming. It’s as simple as it sounds: gamers earn real money by playing games. It’s one of the key features of blockchain gaming and one of the main ways in which blockchain technology gives users ownership and power over their activity.
There are various ways that gamers can play-to-earn: win battles against opponents, stake land and cryptocurrency within a game, create or find assets to sell, trade in-game NFTs for profit, and plenty more.
DappRadar’s list of the Top 10 Blockchain Games to Play and Earn Crypto Tokens is a good place to start for anyone looking to get started in blockchain gaming. We update our lists regularly so keep checking in to get the best information.
Our Top 10 Best GameFi Projects to Play and Earn gives more games that people should research, enjoy and perhaps make some money playing.
Do blockchain games have their own coins?
Coins and tokens are a huge part of the blockchain ecosystem. They’re the grease that keeps the wheels moving. People earn them as rewards for completing tasks and use them as currency to trade for things.
The world of blockchain gaming is no different. You can win coins and tokens in-game for a variety of reasons. And you can buy and sell assets with them as well. Best of all, when the time comes and the prices are right, you can swap your in-game currency for real world cash. DappRadar’s Token Explorer can help you choose the best moment to turn crypto into fiat.
DappRadar has a list of the 5 Best Gaming Coins. The list is based on how many users each game currently has, and is liable to change. But knowing which gaming platforms have the biggest communities gives a good insight into which ones have high earning potential.
For an example of a game that has its own coin, read this article about Cyrptoblades Kingdoms’ native KING token. DappRadar takes an in-depth look at what it is, how its used and what the benefits are.
What are gaming guilds?
Gaming guilds are an innovative way to make blockchain gaming as open, fair and equitable as possible. They are decentralized autonomous organizations with a pool of resources which players can rent in-game assets from and use them to play games with.
Gaming guilds are great for players who are just starting out in the world of blockchain gaming and perhaps don’t have the funds to buy all of the necessary NFTs to begin. Or maybe someone just wants to dip their toe in and doesn’t want to spend lots of money only to find out they don’t like the game.
DappRadar’s list of the Top 5 Play-to-Earn Gaming Guilds gives a breakdown of the biggest guilds by market cap. And our list of the 5 Best Games with Play-to-Earn Scholarship Programs shows which specific games are the most accessible for anyone who wants to give them a try before they buy.
Are there any drawbacks to blockchain gaming?
As with all things in life, nothing is perfect. Blockchain gaming has its own drawbacks, even though people are constantly working to minimize their impact.
The main problem with blockchain gaming is that the economic model is usually based on growth. When growth stalls, so can profits. And when profits stall, existing users go elsewhere.
Some commentators have pointed out their similarity to pyramid or Ponzi schemes, where early adopters are paid with money from new users. Others have noticed that blockchain gaming is great when NFT and cryptocurrency prices go up, but can lose momentum when they drop.
Games developers are working on ways to flatten out the spikes and dips of in-game economies. Gala Games updated the rewards distribution system for Town Star as they attempt to find more sustainability in future.
What content does DappRadar have specifically about blockchain gaming?
DappRadar is the World’s Dapp Store and the leading authority on blockchain analytics. We record and analyze data from thousands of platforms and gaming is a big part of what we do.
Our rankings pages for Games show which ones are performing the best over different time periods. And our dedicated blockchain Games portal gives an overview of the entire sector to show how it’s performing as a whole.
The Games section of our blog offers insights into the latest trends affecting blockchain gaming. And we also have articles with updates on the latest news stories related to web3 games. Our authoritative Blockchain Game Alliance (BGA) Reports are used by industry experts and are regularly referenced by major media outlets.
