NFTs have done it again: they have established themselves in another popular and exploited area of our society: video games.
Blockchain technology began by focusing on the financial market, but it has gradually made its way into the most important sectors of our economy. Specifically, NFTs, which you have probably heard of before. These non-fungible tokens have become popular in the fashion, art and real estate industries, and have seen a new opportunity in the video games industry.
But what do these NFTs bring to the gaming industry and how do they work in this digital environment? We tell you all about it in this post, so stay tuned.
The NFT market
NFTs or Non Fugible Tokens refer to units of value that are assigned to a business model, one of the most important for these assets being cryptocurrencies. In the crypto world, they are unique assets that cannot be modified or exchanged for another that has the same value. In other words, each asset has a unique value.
They work through blockchain technology, the same technology that is applied in the context of cryptocurrencies. But the star question is, why are people investing so much in these assets?
The answer is very simple: because of the value of NFTs. People are betting on these assets because they are aware that their value will increase over time, and therefore they will be able to sell them at a much higher price than they bought them for. Their popularity has been seen in several industries in our society:
- Fashion: ecommerce websites are increasingly adapting to the crypto world, adopting as a means of payment the Checkout with Crypto functionality , which allows customers to pay for their purchases with cryptocurrencies. Luxury fashion designers are betting on the NFT world and cryptocurrencies, offering many of their products in the form of digital assets. They not only sell NFTs, but also take advantage of blockchain technology to increase sales and improve the user experience.
- Art: the importance of NFTs in the art market comes from the unique and exclusive value of each of these assets. A work of art cannot be exchanged for another that has the same value, because they simply do not exist. Each one has a certificate of ownership and a unique value. Just as NFTs cannot be exchanged and have a unique value, many of the great works of art that we know are being transformed into collectibles in the form of NFTs that are bought and sold in digital universes.
- Real estate: the real estate sector has been particularly affected by blockchain technology. People can now bet on digital properties with a much lower initial investment rate than the traditional real estate industry. These properties, which are managed in the form of NFTs, are offered for sale in digital universes such as Decentraland, where owners can hold more than one plot of land in their own name.
Just as NFTs have been so successful in these industries, experts have set their sights on another equally attractive and popular industry: the video game industry.
The power of NFTs in the video game industry
Since their emergence, NFTs have been described as the solution to many problems present in the various industries in which we operate. Although opinions have been mixed, NFTs are still very much in the ascendancy, and many believe that they are here to stay.
There is much speculation as to what use these assets should be put to, but many have agreed that one of them may be in video games. According to experts, these NFTs can be used to determine the ownership of characters, objects, weapons and other assets that can be found in video games.
But their main use within this market has been for rewards. NFTs have become one of the main elements, along with cryptocurrencies or tokens, for which a player is rewarded in a video game. This is what is known as the "Play-to-Earn" model, or what amounts to the same thing, playing to earn money.
This gives video games a new added value: they no longer only serve as a means of escape or entertainment for players, but they can now also obtain rewards that translate into monetary assets. One of the clearest examples can be seen in the popular Axie Infinity game, characterised by the use of NFT and blockchain technology for its operation.
Axie Infinity: the game that combines NFT and blockchain
There is no better way to define what NFTs can bring to video games than by giving an example. The Axie Infinity video game is considered the most popular among investors in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. And one of the main reasons is because it uses NFTs.
Its main token is AXS, and it uses the Ethereum blockchain, although it also takes advantage of the Ronin sidechain to avoid congesting the mainnet.
In the game, users have their own NFTs in the form of pets, which they feed, raise and put into battle with other pets in the game. It is a modern version of Pokemon. Although at first glance it looks like a video game, it can also be considered a platform for trading NFTs. It has an NFT marketplace for selling creatures, and the possibility of reducing them among themselves thanks to the Small Love Potion (SLP) token.
To start playing Axie Infinity, three creatures must be purchased, so it does require an initial investment for players who want to jump into this world. To get rewards, they just have to start playing, which means that players have to raise their little pets, feed them and win battles with other characters.
Conclusions
NFTs in the video game industry not only bring benefits for the player, but also for the game developer, who can benefit from all the functionalities offered by these games, some by designing them and others by investing in them.
Betting on NFTs today is betting on the future of the gaming economy. The concept Gaming 3.0¸has been developed, which refers to a new way of managing video games in the framework of blockchain technology and NFTs.
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