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Video gaming has come a long way, evolving from 2D arcades to real-life simulators, now to Play and Earn games that reward users. The latest gaming industry stats indicate that __[over 214 million](https://dataprot.net/statistics/gamer-demographics/#:\~:text=More%20than%20214%20million%20Americans%20play%20video%20games.&text=Out%20of%20214.4%20million%20gamers,while%20163.3%20million%20are%20adults.)__ Americans play video games, with the average player being 35 years old. In Europe, over 50% of the population is actively involved with immersive video games, with genres such as free-to-play team-based games on the rise.

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Immersive gaming is a catch-all term that includes VR and AR experiences. However, the next level of virtual game experiences is more than that. It’s a culmination of Web3 technologies democratizing how people play and interact. 

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Here are three significant innovations defining the future of immersive gaming.

## **Enhanced Player Ownership and Portability**

Non-fungible tokens, popularly known as NFTs, disrupt the standards of how users control their profiles and in-game content. NFTs have been incorporated in the best Play and Earn crypto games in many ways, particularly for token and NFT rewards.

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QORPO Game Studio, a Web3 game development company backed by teams from Electronic Arts, Gameloft, Ubisoft, and Riot Games, experienced first-hand the problems around player ownership.

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“Let’s take Diablo Immortal as an example. The price of maxing your character’s attributes and inventory __[reached over $100,000](https://nypost.com/2022/08/02/gamer-spends-140000-on-diablo-immortal-can-no-longer-battle-other-players/)__. That’s insane for game content, but do you want to know what’s even more insane? The fact that you can’t manipulate the in-game content. There’s no way for users to sell these assets for real money, in fact, users are basically funding a black hole. That’s an abuse of the free-to-play system by the developer,” says Rastislav Bakala, CEO of QORPO Game Studio.

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Bakala emphasizes how every game studio should “provide ownership of these assets to their holders”. That’s why QORPO Game Studio’s Free to Play shooter game, __[Citizen Conflict](https://citizenconflict.com/campaign)__, is leveraging NFTs to power up the player-centric gaming experience. Players acquire characters, masks, and weapons, which are all individual NFTs, as they compete in the dystopian metaverse.

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Other blockchain-based games such as MetaOps, VulcanVerse, and Gunfire Hero are popular titles that utilize NFTs.

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 ![Citizen Conflict players own their characters, profiles, masks, and weapons as NFTs (source: citizenconflict.com)](https://cdn.hackernoon.com/images/zlu5ELfMLhUkrNZRrfVQY1hswBw1-j093ugk.png)

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With NFTs in play, players can truly own the digital items in question. However, it doesn’t stop there. The expansive value of NFTs depends on how well they can be used across multiple game ecosystems.

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For example, a weapon from a shooter game can be used in another similar game that supports the same NFT standards. This encourages gamers to acquire valuable items, customize them, and make them even more valuable in other compatible games.

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While NFT portability is said to be a game-changer, __[seamless interoperability between different gaming ecosystems is still in the nascent stages](https://hackernoon.com/approaches-to-video-game-asset-interoperability)__. The Sandbox and Otherside are __[metaverse-centric platforms building NFT interoperability](https://hackernoon.com/approaches-to-video-game-asset-interoperability)__.

## **NFT Marketplaces and Monetization**

The fun in gaming goes beyond just owning an arsenal of in-game assets. Having assets is part of every gamer’s unique identity. It’s a way to “flex” among the gamer circle.

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Secondary markets for in-game content, especially weapon skins, have immensely grown in popularity even before the introduction of NFT technology. An AK-47 gun skin in CS:GO __[sold for $150,000](https://clutchpoints.com/csgos-most-expensive-ak-47-skin-will-sell-for-over-400000-and-heres-why?ref=hackernoon.com)__. If that’s not enough, a CS:GO knife sold for __[more than $1.5 million](https://clutchpoints.com/csgos-most-expensive-ak-47-skin-will-sell-for-over-400000-and-heres-why)__.

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With NFT assets, new revenue models for both the player and game developer are possible. Players who actually control their assets now have a greater sense of ownership within the game. They can buy or sell assets peer-to-peer on NFT marketplaces, creating a whole new ocean of secondary trading.

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But what makes NFT trading platforms different from traditional marketplaces? Players can list items at will and trade them using non-custodial wallets so that no one, including the game developer, can take away the player’s assets without permission.

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Another feature to note is royalty commissions. Instead of earning a flat fee on one-time sales, players can choose to set recurring royalty fees. Every time an item is bought and sold, the original seller can earn trailing commissions. Game developers can get a commission too, depending on the parameters governed by trustless smart contracts that make NFT marketplaces possible.

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The potential is already gaining traction – almost __[$2 billion worth of NFT royalties](https://hackernoon.com/what-does-the-future-look-like-for-nft-royalties)__ have already been paid out on the Ethereum network alone.

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 ![NFT Marketplaces are becoming the de-facto secondary trading platforms for players to trade peer-to-peer (source: qorpo.market)](https://cdn.hackernoon.com/images/zlu5ELfMLhUkrNZRrfVQY1hswBw1-pf93usc.png)

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Another rising trend in this area is NFT renting. Instead of selling NFTs to a new user, players can rent them out and earn interest. Hardcore fans with a large inventory of game items may be more interested in temporarily lending them out rather than permanently selling their prized collections.

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NFT renting is useful for gamers who go on an extended trips away from the computer, wherein the idle assets can be lent out to others who use the items in lieu of the original owner. This means passive income for the lender, more choices for the borrower, and greater cash flow for the game developer.

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These trends will likely drive new business models and high volumes of microtransactions, which is especially useful for games with various items.

## **DAOs for Gaming Communities**

Play and Earn games and NFTs are not the only game-changers. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are also another component making an impact in the gaming sphere. DAO contribution systems may take center stage in __[determining how gaming ecosystems make community decisions](https://hackernoon.com/how-daos-are-defining-the-next-generation-of-gaming)__.

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“DAO puts a vote on whether members want this update added to the game, and members vote. Once the guild voting ends, there is a verdict. Whether the vote passes or not, the decision was made by anonymous users, fully transparent, written on the blockchain, and managed by a smart contract. That is the cleanest and most honest statistic that the developer can get from the gamers – pure feedback regarding their product from the perspective of gamers and their opinion,” says Bakala.

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 ![Players use Citizen ID to vote on community decisions such as game upgrades and roadmap plans (source: citizenconflict.com)](https://cdn.hackernoon.com/images/zlu5ELfMLhUkrNZRrfVQY1hswBw1-hvb3ucu.png)

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DAOs influence the center stage in determining how gaming ecosystems introduce proposals and pass community votes. It ultimately creates a transparent system for players to voice their opinions without revealing private information. They are making the social aspect of video games more immersive, thanks to its transformative approach that can be described broadly as the ”new internet democracy”.

## **A Major Evolution for Gaming and Beyond**

As long as games deliver on the golden rule of “fun first”, the gaming ecosystem will find its way to innovation. However, the immersive gaming space still has much more to explore and prove. Now it’s up to the players and game developers how it will evolve.

[https://youtu.be/uDqhq8o8C7A?embedable=true](https://youtu.be/uDqhq8o8C7A?embedable=true)

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This story contains new, firsthand information uncovered by the writer.

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