Exploring the Emerging Role of Blockchain in Gaming

The global video game market is projected to reach $455.27 billion by 2024, and blockchain in gaming can play a pervasive role in transforming this industry.

Updated 4 April 2024

Sitaram
Sitaram

CTO at Appventurez

The prominence of blockchain technology is constantly evolving among different verticals in the market. Especially when it comes to the gaming industry, this advanced technology has been a complete game-changer.

Today, gamers are rapidly shifting from traditional games to the ones integrated with neoteric technologies. But Why? Well, of course, due to immersive personalized experience and enhanced transparency.

That’s one of the reasons why blockchain in gaming is becoming increasingly popular, especially among the APAC and North American regions. Consequently, businesses in the gaming sector are often collaborating with a custom blockchain development company to craft intuitive blockchain-powered gaming solutions.

But do you think investing in blockchain gaming will benefit your business, as well? 

Well, in this blog, we will discuss the potential, benefits, and limitations of implementing blockchain technology in gaming. The insights will help you make an informed decision about using blockchain for your new gaming project.

What Is a Blockchain Game?

Blockchain games can be defined as games in which developers leverage blockchain technology to improve or redesign their traditional architecture. Blockchain in gaming uses non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies as a medium for potential monetization.

These games become extremely popular for their in-game customization features. Players can seamlessly earn their characters’ skins or other resources, tailor them, and even trade them with other players using in-game currency. Typically, these trades are processed with cryptocurrency, which can later be transformed and exchanged for real money.

Some of the popular blockchain gaming examples include CryptoKitties, The Sandbox, Decentraland, The Last Will, and many others. Axie Infinity is another popular example of blockchain in gaming that falls under the category of “play-to-earn” (P2E) games. These P2E games allow players to earn and trade cryptocurrencies through gameplay.

What Are the Benefits of Using Blockchain in Gaming?

The first blockchain game came into existence in 2017. That means blockchain started transforming the domain of gaming seven years back. There is no doubt that it is immensely benefiting businesses in the gaming industry as the popularity of blockchain gaming has never diminished since its inception.

Here are some popular and significant benefits of blockchain gaming that you must know as a business owner:

benefits of blockchain gaming

Immersive User Experience

Blockchain provides games with complete control over their gaming experience. The players can easily create their own character avatars and streamline the storylines. Besides, blockchain in gaming also allows gamers to download different video games along with their versions from any location. Also, this can be done without facing any interruptions in their gaming experience.

Improved Security

It is a well-known fact that blockchain ensures an additional layer of security to whatever product it is implemented with. The technology leverages two-factor authentication and encrypted messaging to secure the private data of gamers, including players’ information, in-game transactions, etc.

Secure and Transparent Transactions

Renowned for its extensive immutability and transparency, blockchain for businesses ensures that no fraudulent transactions or double-spends occur while making an in-game purchase. It makes gamers feel confident about blockchain gaming, specifically when they need to include their personal or financial information.

blockchain development services

Easy Trading of Resources

Using blockchain in gaming facilitates players to trade their acquired items for other game resources or profits. Since blockchain creates an immutable record of every trading transaction and item ownership, they no longer need to worry about their resources being lost, stolen, or replicated. Only the owners can sell, buy, or transfer their in-game assets.

Reward Programs

One of the most remarkable benefits of blockchain gaming is reward programs. Gamers can easily earn reward points in the form of tokens or cryptocurrency by completing in-game quests, challenges, and missions. These points can be redeemed for real money to purchase in-game resources or products from selected e-commerce websites.

What Are Some Popular Examples of Blockchain in Gaming?

Blockchain-based game development companies integrate cryptocurrency wallets and NFT marketplace development services to develop games that form a dynamic and connected gaming ecosystem. Below are some blockchain gaming examples that are popular among others:

blockchain gaming example

CryptoKitties

Launched in November 2017, CryptoKitties is known to be the first-ever blockchain gaming example. The primary aim of the game is to produce a new generation of kittens possessing unique attributes that maximize the overall values. Once reaching a higher value, these kittens can be traded in an open marketplace. In the current landscape, it is one of the most popular games built on Ethereum.

The Last Will

The Last Will is another popular example of blockchain in gaming that is developed on the Ethereum platform. The game enables players to inherit the digital assets of other competitive players. It also allows them to create wills, set up trusts, and allocate executors.

Gods Unchained

Gods Unchained is a perfect blend of blockchain and gaming that leverages the features of the Ethereum platform. It is basically a card game in which different cards reflect the digital assets of players that neither can be modified nor duplicated without the owner’s permission. Game players can also trade their cards directly without accessing the game’s marketplace.

Decentraland

Decentraland is a blockchain-based game that uses the technology to build a decentralized virtual world. Due to this, it also falls in the category of virtual and popular AR games. The game allows players to move around and explore the virtually created decentralized landscape and purchase properties of other players.

What Are the Limitations of Using Blockchain in Gaming?

Although blockchain has several benefits in the gaming industry, some challenges are still yet to be resolved. Some of them are:

blockchain in gaming

Complexity in the Gaming Process

The difficulty of playing such a game does not lie in the blockchain game design or its storyline but in the gaming process itself. Usually, the sign-up and account registration process is straightforward but setting up a crypto wallet becomes a challenging task. This is because the gaming user needs to buy a particular amount of crypto tokens which can vary based on the blockchain game.

High Competition

The gaming industry has always been a competitive domain, as new games are released almost on a daily basis. Leveraging technologies like AI in gaming has also unlocked new doors for businesses in this industry. Also, the rising popularity of blockchain game development has accelerated the number of blockchain-based games, further increasing the competition. All this makes it challenging to create a blockchain game with an edge over others.

Regulatory Issues

Many cryptocurrencies, such as Theta, MANA, etc. are still not authorized by the regulatory bodies but are used in blockchain-based games. Since these bodies are still finding a way to understand their functions to authorize them, using them for blockchain in gaming can be a risk.

What Is the Future of Blockchain in Gaming?

Looking at the expansion of the blockchain in gaming industry and the ever-rising popularity of crypto-based games, the future of blockchain gaming seems bright.

A report by Markets and Markets projected that the global blockchain gaming market was estimated at $4.6 billion in 2022. This value is further estimated to touch the $65.7 billion mark by 2027. Besides, with the latest and best blockchain development trends, this growth can substantially increase in the coming years.

blockchain gaming market

Since a massive gamer base resides in the Asia-Pacific region, this market is already a multi-billion industry in APAC. The key driver that increased the fame of blockchain gaming is its ability to allow players to own in-game digital assets. Also, the ever-rising investments in NFT trends and P2E gaming models will elevate this unprecedented growth.

How Can Appventurez Help You with Building an Intuitive Blockchain Game?

The shift from conventional gaming models to tech-intensive gaming experiences has accelerated the growth of blockchain games. With such expansion in the gaming and entertainment domain, investing in the blockchain in gaming model can be a profitable choice.

However, we all know that implementing blockchain is still an intricate process, especially for the ones who are not well-versed in this technology. From finding experienced crypto game developers to developing a strategic game development plan, the process is quite cumbersome. 

That’s why it is recommended to hire a professional company for game development services, and Appventurez can be an ideal choice for this role. Our blockchain game developers have extensive experience in utilizing the potential of this technology to create robust solutions.

Appventurez has crafted some remarkable games in the past that deliver an immersive gaming experience. By incorporating the right blockchain frameworks with a seamless cryptocurrency platform, we can take your gaming business to the next level.

blockchain gaming

FAQs

Q. What are blockchain games?

Blockchain games are the category of video games that utilize blockchain technology to provide users with play-to-earn opportunities and in-game ownership of their digital assets.

Q. What are key trends to look for in the blockchain in gaming market?

The major driving factors in the blockchain gaming market include increased funding in the blockchain games, rising popularity of P2E and NFT trends, over-utilization of crypto wallets, and the significant shift from conventional to modern games.

Q. Who are the key players in the blockchain game development industry?

The major key players in the blockchain in gaming industry include Sky Mavis, Dapper Labs, Splinterlands, Immutable, ROKO Game Studios, and Animoca Brands Corporation Limited.

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    Sitaram
    Sitaram

    CTO at Appventurez

    CTO and Co-Founder at Appventurez, Sitaram Sharma has 10+ years of experience in providing world-class digital solutions. As a CTO, he brought his expertise ranging from product enhancements to advanced technological integrations, while focusing on the consistent growth of the team.