It is quite hard to believe it, but it finally happened, gaming has been accepted as a mainstream way to earn some money, and all kinds of companies and businesses have been embracing it. While esports has been on the rise for years, what pushed the general idea of people playing games to earn money is the recent appearance of play-to-earn crypto games.
In the past, people would only make money from games if they created some kind of content around it, like making videos, streaming their gameplay, or creating art from games. Of course, professional gamers have been a thing for quite a while, but not everyone has the skills to pull that off. Now finally, play-to-earn crypto games are allowing a casual gamer to earn some money while playing video games.
How do play-to-earn crypto games work?
Because it sounds very unbelievable to some, it is necessary to explain how play-to-earn games works. For years, developers have been creating games, and they monetized them in a way that no matter how much a player plays, they would be the ones making all the profit, but play to earn games have decided to change that concept.
Play to earn games rely on blockchain technology, where players can earn items while playing games in the form of crypto tokens, also known as NFTs which stands for non-fungible tokens. However, there is a bit more to it, as to start playing play to earn games, one would first have to partake in something called staking, which is essentially using your already own cryptocurrency and putting it to work, or in other words, investing into the game before it pays for itself and earns you money later on.
What are the best play-to-earn games?
The best way to explain how play-to-earn games work and what they are all about is to go through a couple of examples, in this case, the best play-to-earn games that you can find in the world of crypto gaming and the NFT market.
Axie Infinity
© Axie Infinity
Card games have been around for a long time, and if you have been interested in card games, you would know just how much certain cards from Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Pokemon are worth. While the principle with Axie Infinity is not the same, as everything is digital and the three mentioned ones are physical releases, the idea is more or less the same.
To participate in this popular play to earn game, you will have to create some kind of crypto wallet that is compatible with the game, and also the games we are going to mention later on. MetaMask is one of the best crypto wallets for gaming for example, and you can deposit some of your ETH there before transferring the currency to the game’s Ronin wallet.
Now, this is where the crypto staking part of the story is. Before you can play the game, you will have to purchase three Axies (which are monsters/cards in the game) in order to create a team. You can browse and scout the in-game market for available options, and it is best to do some kind of research as each Axie has its own abilities and stats, so you do not want to buy something useless.
Upon making a team, and staking your ETH into the game’s system by getting the Axies, you are finally able to play the game. To earn from the game, all you have to do is play it. There is an adventure mode, but where the play-to-earn crypto game aspect really lies is the arena mode where you battle other players. You can find more about this in our Axie infinity review.
Gods Unchained
© Gods Unchained
Another card game that is getting quite popular is Gods Unchained. In order to start playing, once again, you will have to unlock some cards by staking some of your cryptocurrency into the game. As you play the game, there are various ways that you can earn in-game items and then sell them for cryptocurrency, or even fiat currency directly.
The best way to earn in-game items is to simply play the game, and every few levels that you gain within the game, you will be awarded some packs. The packs are quite random, so you may be extremely lucky and get an NFT that is worth a lot, or you may earn some plain cards which you will then have to combine in a forge.
Mines of Dalarnia
© Mines of Dalarnia
If you are looking for a more action-based game, then Mines of Dalarnia is a much better option than the previous two mentions. In this game, there are two factions that you can play, the miners and landowners. Miners are players who battle monsters, destroy blocks, and find various items, while the landowners are the ones who provide the land and those items.
Players have the option to complete quests and defeat stronger monsters together in order to unlock in-game rewards. It is a very interesting game, and it kind of has an old-school feel to it. The first thing that might come to mind to a lot of players is that it is similar to Terraria, and it kind of is, except you, can earn money by playing this one.
My Neighbour Alice
© My Neighbor Alice
While a lot of people kind of get confused and turned off from the game when they read its name, it is actually one of the best play-to-earn crypto games out there. It has more or less something for everyone. You can earn NFTs by farming, upgrading your animals, trading resources, designing unique items, completing jobs posted by other players, and so on.
It is all about the community
When it comes to play-to-earn crypto games before you decide which one you are going to invest your time in, make sure you do a little bit of scouting and check out what kind of community is behind it. It is way more fun to play a play-to-earn crypto game with people who are sharing your mindset than to end up playing and grinding all by yourself.
