The Emergence of GameFi...
The rise of NFTs [Non-fungible token] has sparked a growing trend within the gaming industry. GameFi. Crypto games run on blockchain network, providing players with verifiable ownership over virtual assets within the games. This allows users to monetize their in-game items, enabling gaming as a legit way to make a living, online today. Video games have experienced significant growth over the past few decades. The global gaming market valued at $173 in 2020 is predicted to reach $314 billion in the next 4-5 years. The onset of COVID 19 has helped boost the popularity of video games as people spent months at home due to curfews, lock-downs and travel restrictions. A large number of gaming companies reported significant growth in revenue and user base within the period. Such a growth was not limited to traditional gaming. GameFi also received significant attention and is happening to be next big thing in the market. A recent report by the Worldwide Asset exchange revels that over 75% of online games were open to exchanging their in-game assets for a currency that could be used across multiple platforms. This may help to explain the explosive growth in GameFi since it allows players to collect and trade digital assets that could be traded or sold out for real cash. Additionally it is proving to be a new way for the gaming industry to earn money.
How does GameFi work... The online or otherwise video games do not have any value beyond the game's scope which is not ideal. In this aspect GameFi stands out bold, since it allows users to add financial value to their purchases. Digital assets within the game are stored on a distributed ledger, as an NFT. As such they can be freely traded or sold. For GameFi the in-app purchase is carried out using cryptocurrencies. The significant difference between the two models is in the buying of assets which was generally procured by the developers in traditional games. The developers are the sole beneficiaries of the game's success. Another difference between the two models is that players have no control over the life cycle of traditional games, at times when servers are down and nonfunctional, players loose all access to their games account permanently. In contrast GameFi players would still retain their digital assets as NFT tokens, they are thus free to transfer it to another gaming platform to continue their experiences.
Play to earn... Since crypto games run on a blockchain network that include a completely or partially distributed ledger architecture provide players with verifiable ownership over virtual products contained in the games. Consequently players can trade these digital assets for cryptocurrencies which can be traded for fiat money. [real money: rupee dollar pound] The emergence of GameFi is changing the whole concept of old school of video games. While traditional games have fundamentally focussed on entertainment and competition, crypto games are improving up on that experience with the added option of earning real money as one plays. So far we have witnessed the emergence of games such as Axie Infinity, CropBytes and Gods Unchained, that allow players to earn money by using digital assets to achieve in-game objectives. NFTs have turned out to become a billion dollar market and it is in-games where they offer the best use cases. Assets such as an 'armor' [protective cover] & 'land utility' [accessibility level - economic level] etc., within a game can become an NFT and be freely sold on the digital marketplace. The rise of GameFi which combines decentralised finance with gaming allows for the development of crypto games those can revolutionise the existing gaming industry structure. Players can now seek new and innovative ways to contribute to an in-game economy and earn money for themselves and their families by doing so.