How Blockchain, Bitcoin, and NFTs Are Impacting Gaming?

Blockchain is changing a variety of industries – the technology is becoming even more mainstream as people wake up to the benefits and security provided by this method of data storage and transfer, making it inevitable that the revolution will continue.

It’s no exaggeration to say billions of people play games, even those who don’t consider themselves to be avid gamers – it could be a word game like Wordle, a social game, or the latest Call of Duty game. What are the uses of blockchain in the world of gaming, and are there any unusual use cases that people may not have considered?

Crypto Revolution in Gaming

Bitcoin signs on shop doors or when you do some online shopping have become mainstream – for more than a decade now, since the mysterious Bitcoin launch in 2011, crypto has been growing and becoming more mainstream in a variety of industries and use cases, including gaming.

Casino operators have been some of the first to fully embrace the technology and its benefits for their players which is why there are so many online casino Bitcoin options, allowing people to use crypto to deposit into a casino account and play a variety of different games.

Some estimates say that most Bitcoin transactions now involve casino gaming – so why is it so popular? Online gambling and crypto are a good match with plenty of people who are tech-savvy using modern payment methods. Customers are often drawn to the fact that they can use cryptocurrencies to make deposits quickly, rather than having to wait for money to clear through a bank or other middleman financial institution. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and popular cryptocurrencies have minimal fees, and can potentially be a more affordable option for transferring.

Anonymity is another reason why people may choose to use crypto, as there are often fewer details needed in order to make the payments, as crypto can be totally anonymous (banks need details to make transfers). People are often reluctant to give up their details in the modern age and it can be a security benefit to stay anonymous as much as possible when it comes to moving funds around.

Crypto casinos have led to a new resurgence in certain types of games, and this is one of the fastest-growing areas in the whole of gaming.

Game Purchases

Steam has gone back and forth on whether or not it accepts cryptocurrencies, and for a while, it accepted Bitcoin directly, before shifting to a middleman system called Bitpay. Bitpay is used by a lot of different retailers, meaning that people can buy games in the first instance using cryptocurrencies.

Additionally, some games have in-game purchases that can also use cryptocurrencies, allowing people to buy items that exist within the game using the currency.

Currencies aren’t the only use of crypto, though, and we’ve seen the other use cases of blockchain in the industry…

NFTs and “Play-to-Earn”

Snoop Dogg released them, and so did Floyd Mayweather and LeBron James, there was a time when every day you heard about a new celeb getting in on the act as NFTs made headlines all over the world. People without a technical background even struggled with the definition of the Non-Fungible Token, and didn’t understand what benefits they brought.

NFTs are blockchain-based, unique, and have an intrinsic value, and this means they can even be incorporated into the mechanics of games. For instance, a particular tool in a game may be unique, with only a certain number available, and these can be minted as NFTs.

Play-to-earn is a term used for a lot of gaming technologies too, where people may be rewarded in NFTs or other digital assets for playing within a game or performing a specific task within the game. Axie Infinity is one of the popular games people use as an example of one that has incorporated NFTs into the actual game. Axis are the characters within the game, and each of them is its own NFT, which players can train and improve, and of course, they can trade. The game also has other mechanics where blockchain and cryptocurrency can be earned, potentially giving them a chance to trade this in other aspects of life. Play-to-earn gaming is a growing industry and forms part of the “Web3” gaming scene.

The Web3 landscape looks like it could be an exciting time for gaming, and Hychain recently raised a huge sum via a node sale, showing that there is a lot of support for technology making this type of game publishing easier.

Blockchain’s Other Uses

Blockchain in gaming can assist in so many other ways, including managing the rights to the games via blockchain technology, so game makers can actually manage licenses using the technology. Developers may also choose to use blockchain for extra security, as data storage facilities may also integrate blockchain to give that extra level of security.

We existed on land, then on the internet, and now we exist on the blockchain – NFTs and the use of cryptocurrencies have already become much more widely used by early adopters and gamers, and this trend looks set to continue.

Read Also: How Does The Crypto Market Volatility Impact The Online Gaming Industry?