That game you paid 70 euros for? It’s not yours. That digital library you’ve built up over years of purchases? It’s just a long-term rental. We own a user license, a revocable permit that ties us to a platform’s decisions. If the store shuts down, if the publisher decides to pull a title, our investment vanishes into thin air. And this is where the technology that many associate with complex financial speculation comes into play, but which is actually the key to true digital ownership: the blockchain. The Current Model: A “Walled Garden” for Players and Developers To understand the scale of this revolution, we must first face the golden bars of our current prison. The digital distribution model, despite its undeniable conveniences, is a “walled garden.” It’s beautiful, but the rules are set by the owner of the garden, not by those who live inside it. What does it mean to “buy a game” today? It means accepting a contract (the infamous EULA) that grants us the right to play, not the right to own. This translates into frustrating and anachronistic limitations: Inability to resell: That game you’ve finished and will never touch again lies unused in your digital library, a dead asset.
Inability to lend: The simple and social act of lending a game to a friend has become technically impossible.
Loss of control: We have no guarantee of perpetual access. Our game collection is inextricably linked to the platform that sold it to us. Inability to resell: That game you’ve finished and will never touch again lies unused in your digital library, a dead asset. Inability to lend: The simple and social act of lending a game to a friend has become technically impossible. Loss of control: We have no guarantee of perpetual access. Our game collection is inextricably linked to the platform that sold it to us. This system has created a clear symptom of its own inefficiency: the grey market. An underground and risky market where players desperately try to recover value, and from which developers, the true creators, don’t see a single cent. The Blockchain Solution: NFTs as Definitive Certificates of Ownership Now, forget the complexity for a moment. Think of the blockchain not as a string of code, but as a global ledger, a public record that is impossible to forge or control by any single entity. It is the ultimate technology of trust, because trust isn’t required: it’s guaranteed by mathematics. And NFTs? Forget the pictures of monkeys sold for crazy prices. That was prehistory. An NFT, at its core, is the simplest and most powerful thing imaginable: a digital deed of ownership. It is a unique certificate, verifiable by anyone at any time, that tells the entire world: “This digital asset belongs to this person.” It’s not an opinion; it’s a fact recorded on this immutable ledger. Applying this concept to a game license isn’t an idea; it’s a natural evolution. Transforming Licenses into Valuable Assets How does it work? When a player buys a game through a platform that integrates our system, they don’t just get a download link. A unique NFT representing that specific license is “minted” in their personal digital wallet. From that moment on, the player has full and total control over it. The advantages for the player are revolutionary: True Ownership: The game is yours, period. Like a book on your shelf. You can keep it, admire it, and know that no one can ever take it away from you.
Legitimate Secondary Market: Finished playing? You can sell your license-NFT on a secure and transparent marketplace, recovering part of your expense or, why not, making a profit if the game has become a cult classic. The value is put back into circulation.
Collectible Potential: Imagine owning license #001 of a game that will become a legend. Or a “Founder’s Edition” copy that confers status and, one day, real economic value. True Ownership: The game is yours, period. Like a book on your shelf. You can keep it, admire it, and know that no one can ever take it away from you. Legitimate Secondary Market: Finished playing? You can sell your license-NFT on a secure and transparent marketplace, recovering part of your expense or, why not, making a profit if the game has become a cult classic. The value is put back into circulation. Collectible Potential: Imagine owning license #001 of a game that will become a legend. Or a “Founder’s Edition” copy that confers status and, one day, real economic value. And for the developers? Herein lies the entrepreneurial masterstroke: New Revenue Streams: The NFT’s smart contract can be programmed to automatically pay a royalty (e.g., 10%) to the developer on every single future transaction. The game generates profits not just on day one, but throughout its entire lifecycle, every time it changes hands. It’s a passive and perpetual revenue stream.


Drying up the Grey Market: Why take risks on shady sites when there’s an official, secure market that rewards creators? The grey market is made obsolete.


Community Building: Launch limited editions, “beta” versions as NFTs, and create an even stronger bond with the most loyal fans, turning them into true partners. New Revenue Streams: The NFT’s smart contract can be programmed to automatically pay a royalty (e.g., 10%) to the developer on every single future transaction. The game generates profits not just on day one, but throughout its entire lifecycle, every time it changes hands. It’s a passive and perpetual revenue stream. New Revenue Streams: The NFT’s smart contract can be programmed to automatically pay a royalty (e.g., 10%) to the developer on every single future transaction. The game generates profits not just on day one, but throughout its entire lifecycle, every time it changes hands. It’s a passive and perpetual revenue stream. Drying up the Grey Market: Why take risks on shady sites when there’s an official, secure market that rewards creators? The grey market is made obsolete. Drying up the Grey Market: Why take risks on shady sites when there’s an official, secure market that rewards creators? The grey market is made obsolete. Community Building: Launch limited editions, “beta” versions as NFTs, and create an even stronger bond with the most loyal fans, turning them into true partners. Community Building: Launch limited editions, “beta” versions as NFTs, and create an even stronger bond with the most loyal fans, turning them into true partners. Future Vision: Beyond the License, Towards an Interoperable Gaming Ecosystem But turning licenses into NFTs is just the first step. What we are building is the foundation for the “Holy Grail” of gaming: interoperability. Imagine a future where not only the games but also the items you work hard to earn inside them (that legendary sword, that ultra-rare skin) are NFTs in your wallet. This means that a weapon unlocked in a fantasy game could give you a bonus in a sequel, or even transform into a skin for your car in a racing game from the same publisher. It means having a single inventory that truly belongs to you, spanning across game worlds, no longer countless little treasures locked inside separate digital prisons. In this scenario, the player evolves from a simple consumer into an investor. Those who first believe in an independent game, by purchasing its license-NFTs, could see the value of their assets grow exponentially with the title’s success. It is the ultimate democratization of financing and profit in the world of gaming. We’re Not Playing, We’re Building the Future Looking back at business history, the real turning points have always been when power was returned to the hands of the user. The shift from a user license to digital ownership is inevitable. It is the biggest paradigm shift the gaming industry has ever seen, and it is happening now. The future of gaming isn’t just about playing; it’s about owning. The question we leave you with is: are you ready to become the true owners of your digital worlds? Text article was translated from my Italian text, using ChatGPT 5 Pro model (sorry my English is bad so i need tools to translate it better) Text article was translated from my Italian text, using ChatGPT 5 Pro model (sorry my English is bad so i need tools to translate it better)

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

The Gaming Industry’s Biggest Lie: Why Your Digital Library Is Worthless

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