Play-to-Earn and its Positive Impact in the Real World: A Philippine Perspective

A couple of years ago, many of us would have laughed at the notion that it was possible to earn from playing games. Yes, you could gain money as an esports player, live a decent life, and get millions of bucks at that, but that was about it.

Today, play-to-earn (P2E) games such as Axie Infinity, Cryptoblades, Ethermon, and the like allow you to earn money just by investing in the game and playing games (and even allow you to share the spoils with your friends, family, and loved ones in some cases).

Furthermore, the mere presence of these games has allowed for a creator economy that focused on YouTube, Facebook, and blogs to exist worldwide.

Making an Impact

For instance, in the Philippines, where the highest possible minimum daily wage is P537 ($10.50), P2E games play a huge role in uplifting the lives of their players (and give gaming investors another way to diversify their investments).

Considering that the country was one of the worst-hit countries in Asia when it came to the economy and the health system, it is a given that unemployment and a lack of access to jobs have made matters worse.

Thus, everyone who could afford to invest in P2E games did so - regardless of the risks involved. One could go to Facebook, search using the keywords play to earn, and see warnings such as do your own research and invest with what you could afford to lose.

Entire gaming guilds such as Yield Guild Games have appeared to allow investors and players to solidify their respective presences across different P2E games. It also meant that in games like Axie Infinity (where the in-game scholarship system allowed sharing of accounts), more people could earn money in the process.

Impact By The Numbers

For instance, at its all-time high (ATH), SLP was worth $0.40 (P20). It meant that a player who earned 100 SLP back then (which was the minimum quota for most scholarship quotas) took home $40 (P2,000); as a scholar with a 50% share, one could earn $20 (P1,000), which is an amount that only most professionals could make in a day.

Based on the above figures, this meant that a player who owns an entire Axie account was earning almost four times the minimum wage in the Philippines; this amount was something that only company supervisors and high-level bureaucrats obtain on average in a day.

It is worth noting that a typical Axie player could earn 125-250 SLP back in the day, depending on the results in Adventure (the PVE mode) and the Arena (the PVP mode).

Obviously, as with all things crypto, everything is volatile: As of the time of writing, SLP was worth $0.07 (P3.50), which meant that one had to get 150 SLP to have decent earnings (and take note that you have to own your team to get these numbers).

If you had an unoptimized lineup of Axie NFTs or if you are a less-than-average player, you could earn as low as 100 SLP on a single day. The opposite is true for highly-skilled players who boast meta lineups (some can even reach 300 SLP, but quite a number of friends have told me that this is a rare occurrence).

Regardless of the state of the in-game economy at the moment, on average, Axie players have earned thousands of dollars worth of SLPs worldwide.

Measuring Real-Life Positive Impact

In practical terms, this meant that players could buy groceries for their families, pay the utility bills and increase their quality of life - which is a daunting task considering the numerous restrictions as well as the horrendous job prospects brought by the global pandemic.

For those who are lucky enough to hit the jackpot, P2E games have allowed people to get out of poverty, pay debts, and get out of the cycle of powerlessness that they feel due to financial insecurity.

They are able to buy a motorcycle or car, pay for a new house, and even enjoy a couple of other luxuries in life (such as being able to travel, having a new gaming rig, etc.) - in other words, P2E games have given players the chance to empower themselves financially and participate in the revival of the economy at the same time.

Looking from an overall perspective, P2E games allowed many players out there to prove that they could earn while playing games - once and for all.

In a country where phrases like "Wala kang mapapala diyan (You’ll gain nothing from it),” “Sayang lang oras mo (It’s just a waste of time),” and “Kikita ka ba sa kakakompyuter mo (Will you ever earn by playing games)” were among the usual tag lines used by parents and society to dissuade people from playing video games, P2E games allow players to show that the world of gaming is a beneficial economic enterprise.

From this simple illustration, one can witness the positive impact that P2E games play on people's lives worldwide.

This article is part of The Gaming Metaverse Writing Contest hosted by HackerNoon in partnership with The Sandbox.

Submit your #gaming-metaverse story today for your chance to win up to $2000.