Examining The Viability of The Play-to-Earn Marketplaces

The Play-to-Earn marketplace is gaining traction. The lockdown measures implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that people have turned to gaming in droves.

But Play-to-Earn, when combined with crypto, takes on an entirely new meaning than merely ‘gaming’. Tokens earned in the cryptocurrency environment can be turned in for other tokens, which can be used to buy real things - like clothes, gift cards, flight tickets, property, etc. **

Users are highly incentivized to participate in an entirely new ecosystem with multiple benefits. And it can also be a fun experience built around social networking.

Breaking Down Play-to-Earn Games

The central concept behind Play-To-Earn gaming is that you are rewarded for your participation with tokens. But we need to explore a few other topics to really break it down, namely NFTs and the Metaverse.

Users will typically be rewarded in the form of a native token and they can trade these for NFTs - Non-Fungible Tokens. This fancy name just means that it’s a unique token. If an NFT is the same as another, it's not an NFT. An NFT denotes ownership of one single asset. Two strong use cases for NFTs right now are artistic creations and digital trophies in online gaming.

NFTs can also be used for eBooks, music, website address, property ownership, the applications are endless. This is why this concept is taking the world by storm. The Play-to-Earn ecosystem is also taking off as it is a major marketplace and environment for the earning and trading of such NFTs.

Just What is the Metaverse?

The Metaverse is not just limited to online gaming worlds such as Fortnite, World of Warcraft, Minecraft, etc. it really denotes an online virtual (non-physical) environment where two avatars can interact. If the universe is all things physical, then the Metaverse would be all things virtual, including AR, VR, social media, online gaming, cryptocurrency, etc.

Facebook is already attempting to monopolize the Metaverse, but has a very slim chance of succeeding due to the power of blockchain, where better games with intelligent token distributions are being built. The decentralized nature of blockchain means that it can't be monopolized. Blockchains are basically designed so that there is no central point of power.

Even attempts to purchase blockchain-based companies will ultimately fail due to the democratic nature and ethos of distributed ledger technology. So the Metaverse is well and truly open for business and nobody can say for certain where the Web 3.0 future is going to take us.

Play-to-Earn is Here To Stay

Many might question the viability of Play-To-Earn marketplaces as a means to earn a living. Do professional adults truly want to develop a career as a fictional character in a virtual universe?

Yet the marketplace is closer to home and more real than you might think. H3RO3S, for instance, is a real-life Play-to-Earn ecosystem that is designed to disrupt the massive gig marketplace (UBER, UpWork, Fiverr, Craigslist). Users will have their own profiles and select their own skills and hobbies. They can earn up to $1,500 in rewards a month by doing real, actual work for people who need things done in their area. It simply makes the working environment more meaningful and more playful.

Another powerful and established marketplace is Gamerse. This is one of the leading NFT projects that describes itself as a Social Gaming Economy. It works as an aggregate marketplace for the trading of NFTs collected across the Metaverse. The social aspect of gaming is massive as people can meet up due to their common interests and interactions in the metaverse. A central hub of communication and information sharing is crucial towards establishing a fair, thriving economy. Players need to know which projects are legitimate and which ones are trying to fleece their user base.

The power of Play-to-Earn and NFTs are compounded when the implications of augmented and virtual reality are considered. Pokemon Go was a precursor of what is soon to come with VR/AR. Players will interact in the Metaverse while using this technology, and this will combine physical actions in an extremely futuristic context. Companies such as AEXLAB has designed a game called VAIL that allows you to play an enhanced social experience and these technologies will, at some stage, incorporate NFT and Create-to-Earn environments seamlessly. The project itself already boasts NFTs of their in-game pets which are playable, interactable, and breedable.

Get Involved in the Play-to-Earn Marketplace

Most, but not all, Play-to-Earn games are free, as opposed to the Free-to-Play model. Some require an upfront investment. While many might balk at the idea of paying for these games, it's worth remembering that games take a long time to develop and need funding.

It’s also worth noting that it is useful to actually spend money on a product that you believe in. Using Google and Facebook is great, except that your data is sold and your messages are stored and monitored. The charges are merely undisclosed. In other words, it’s good to actively support companies that are changing things for the better.