An NFT game combines conventional gaming designs with unconventional game mechanisms to let users have more control over in-game assets like skins, characters, weapons, virtual lands and much more. This is made possible by launching games on blockchains and anchoring them with digital asset-powered economies. These digital assets are often NFTs so that they are distinguishable and tamper-proof. The adoption of NFT token standards also allows developers to preserve the rarity and uniqueness of some of these in-game items. This is why some blockchain game assets are considered more expensive than others.
With this system in place, the players can claim ownership of game assets through 3 main strategies. They could create or breed new characters, purchase digital items on native or third-party marketplaces, or unlock and earn new items. Whichever way you choose to access these game assets, you have exclusive ownership rights over them. In essence, you can distribute or sell them and pocket all the money made from such trades. This is why this gaming model is called play-to-earn.
How Does the Play-to-Earn Model Benefit Gamers?
Virtual economies existing in gaming universes are not unheard of — popular massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) like RuneScape and World of Warcraft have players in the millions. Furthermore, many games claiming to be free-to-play are running on a ‘freemium’ model; gamers have to splash certain amount of money, on top of time and effort, to accelerate their rise through the ranks or obtain rare in-game items. While these in-game items may be worth a tidy sum, the true ownership does not lie with the gamer, but with the game developers.
While gaming companies should be rightly compensated for developing entertaining titles, gamers also bring value by spending time and actively participating in the in-game economy. The play-to-earn model could be seen as a way to synergize both parties so that all are rewarded for the value they bring. On one hand, gaming companies can develop a more vibrant in-game economy. On the other hand, gamers get to own their in-game assets and be rewarded for their time spent.
Can You Make Money Playing NFT Games?
Yes — while you’ve probably heard of the news of people in Philippines earning a reasonable wage playing Axie Infinity, the cost to start playing the most popular play-to-earn game — Axie Infinity — has reached at least a few hundreds dollars. As of Oct. 27, 2021, the cost of the cheapest Axie you can find on the marketplace is $93; users need three Axies to start playing. To start earning, you would have to recover your upfront cost, which could take anywhere from 50 to 80 days, before earning between $8 to $40 depending on their Axies.
Are There Free NFT Games?
While some of the games mentioned below — such as Gods Unchained and Splinterlands — are free-to-play, most require you to spend a certain amount to purchase a starter pack or progress further. Those not willing to fork out the upfront capital will be glad to know that there are initiatives such as Axie scholarships: sponsors loan three Axies to “scholars” and engage in a profit sharing scheme, which could see players earning around 50%-70% of the total profits.
What Are the Top NFT Games?
Like all emerging and established sectors, certain platforms have positioned themselves as the main highlight of the NFT gaming world. These games are at the forefront of the current NFT craze because they have successfully integrated NFTs with popular game themes. As such, players get to play some of their favorite game genres and at the same time engage with a profitable NFT market. Without further ado, here are some of the games that fall within this category.
Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity borrows heavily from the Pokemon game series and adds its own blockchain twist to give the finished product an even more exciting feel. In this Ethereum-based game, players breed and collect NFT-based digital pets called Axies for the core purpose of battling other players. Each individual Axies has its own genetic imprint. Therefore, the weaknesses and strengths of Axies are passed down to their offspring.As expected, these digital pets are tradeable on Ethereum NFT marketplaces, and the price of each depends on their rareness and unique traits. To start playing the game, you have to purchase 3 Axies. For each quest, player-versus-player (PVP) battle, and adventure mode you scale, you receive Smooth Love Potion (SLP) – the platform’s native ERC-20 utility token – as a reward. Axie Infinity has been extremely popular in developing countries like the Philippines, where players can earn a substantial income playing the game. Players from the Philippines can check the price of 1 SLP to PHP directly on CoinMarketCap.” and link “1 SLP to PHP. For every attempt to breed a new Axie, you must pay a specific amount of SLPs, which you can also purchase at exchanges. Another ERC20 token native to Axie Infinity is Axis Infinity Shard (AXS), which functions as the platform’s governance token. It will also anchor the game’s staking service scheduled to go live at some point in 2021.Learn more in our deep dive on Axie Infinity.
Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained is a free-to-play game designed to infuse elements of NFT into a familiar card trading gaming genre. Players accumulate cards by purchasing them from other players or winning PVP matchups where the quality of cards and the gaming skill of players often determine the winner. Notably, more emphasis is being placed on skills and strategy. This is because the game utilizes a ranked game mode where players with the same ratings are matched.
You win matches when your gameplay causes your opponent’s life to drop to zero before yours. For every win, you receive experience points. As soon as the experience bar is filled up, you will move to the next rating or level and receive a new pack of cards to add to your collection.
Note that each card is backed by an ERC-721 token. Therefore, you can trade them on the platform’s native marketplace or the open market. Those opting to sell cards within the game ecosystem will receive the platform’s native token, GODS, as payment. It is worth noting that the GODS token has not been officially launched at the time of writing this guide. Be sure to confirm that the development team has released GODS tokens to the crypto market before proceeding to purchase or receive any token marketed as GODS tokens.Learn more in our deep dive on Gods Unchained.
Splinterlands
Splinterlands is a free-to-play tradable card game that lets users earn as they play, similar to Gods Unchained. You earn rewards when you win card matchups. To start playing Splinterlands, you first have to buy a starter pack of cards, register a Steem account and unveil the purchased cards on Splinterlands. In some cases, you may be lucky enough to find rare cards among your first set of purchased cards. Also, you could find multiples of the same type of card. If this is the case, you can combine identical cards to boost their power or sell one of them in return for cryptocurrencies.
Once you familiarize yourself with the cards, you can proceed to battle other players or participate in quests. The outcome of these activities would determine if you will earn more cards or not.
Learn more about Splinterlands here.
The Sandbox 3D
The Sandbox is a voxel-based gaming metaverse and one of the most active NFT gaming platforms where players can build and trade virtual assets. In this game, players can manipulate and monetize voxel assets. Think of it as the blockchain iteration of popular gaming titles like Minecraft and Roblox. The platforms offer the tools to create and animate objects and subsequently sell them on marketplaces. Additionally, users can create and play custom games on the platform. Sandbox 3D has introduced SAND, an ERC-20 token, as the native token of the metaverse. With this, players can purchase in-game items on the platform’s marketplace. There is also LAND, which are NFT tokens and by far some of the most valuable and sought after assets in the Sandbox game. A record of $8.5 million in LAND sales was concluded in April alone.
Alien Worlds
Alien Worlds is an NFT Defi metaverse that simulates economic competition and collaboration between players in a bid to explore other planets. This is achieved by incentivizing players to compete for Trilium (TLM), which is required to control competing decentralised autonomous organizations (Planet DAOs) and to gain access to additional gameplay.
In the Alien Worlds metaverse, players can acquire NFTs to mine TLM, engage in battles and complete in-game quests. Depending on their strategy, players may purchase and assemble NFTs that best suit their gameplay. Additionally, players may engage in governance by electing the Councillors of six Planet DAOs, and thereby influence the direction of the game.
Learn more about Alien Worlds here.
Battle Racers
As its name implies, Battle Racers is inspired by popular titles like Super Mario Kart and F-Zero. The whole idea is to combine different weapons and parts in order to create the most powerful cars. Players get to mix different parts and weapons that will give them some sort of advantage on the arcade-sized tracks. You can register your winning or prized cars on the blockchain as NFTs and subsequently sell them for crypto on OpenSea.
Each player looks to create the ultimate car by favoring different skills and stats. You could choose handling over speed or defense over firepower, all in the hopes of emerging victorious in tournaments. This game is currently playable on Decentraland, which in itself is a blockchain-based virtual world. More information about the game can be found here.
Sorare — Fantasy Football
Sorare is a fantasy football trading card game on the Ethereum blockchain. Players collect or buy trading cards to compete in weekly competitions, and stand a chance to unlock rare cards or win Eth. As of end-October 2021, Sorare has over 200 clubs officially licensed on their platform — including renowned names like Real Madrid, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich — with more added each week.
Cards are of four categories: commons, rare, super-rare and unique. The game is free-to-play and players are given a deck of random common cards when they complete certain onboarding tasks. However, to progress up the division leagues and win prizes, players will have to buy rare cards on the marketplace in Ether, at the very least.
From their deck of cards, players assemble a five-player team, select your captain and enter their team into weekly competitions. Based on the performances of the players in real life football matches, it will determine the number of points the team gets. Players own the NFT cards they have collected and can sell them to other players on NFT marketplaces.
Find out more about other top NFT sports platform here.