Key takeaways before developing play-to-earn NFT games

The topic of NFT games is becoming more and more popular all over the world, attracting not only professional gamers but also amateur users, and those who want to earn money while playing. But what is an NFT game? What are the benefits and how does it work? How to improve user experience and increase sales for business owners by utilizing in-game NFT? In this article, we will explain the definition of NFT games, their features, and how to start the games.

1. What is NFT games？

Firstly, NFT, an acronym for “Non-Fungible Token”, consists of crypto assets such as images, videos, and game items that can be exchanged for virtual currency online.

NFT games use a model called “Play to Earn” that allows you to earn money while playing. Players can get NFT items and virtual currency by completing in-game tasks, which can be redeemed for cash or exchanged for high value in-game. Not only players, game developers and publishers also make money by selling their items, and earn an amount of money every time an NFT digital art is traded.

As reported by DappRadar, the number of unique wallet addresses interacting with a dapp’s smart contracts (UAW) in NFT games increased from 23,100 in Q3 2020 to 1.54 million in Q3 2021, the increase rate is 6,566%.

　▼Reference： https://dappradar.com/blog/bga-blockchain-game-report-2021

Also, according to a report on NFT sales published on NonFungible.com, NFT game sales reach US$5.17 billion, merely in 2021.

　▼Reference: https://nonfungible.com/news/corporate/yearly-nft-market-report-2021

NFT games are a new type of game that has the potential to generate huge revenue by attracting users intensely. It is expected that the game will continue to develop further in the future, so we recommend you upgrade your game to NFT.

2．How does the NFT game work?

NFT is not only a digital wallet to store virtual currency, but also used in game rules, mechanisms, player participation and trading transactions.

For example, a player’s unique character or avatar can be represented as an NFT item in NFT games. Any digital items found in the game can also be NFTs, and players can profit by trading their own NFTs with other players.

To exchange, create, and implement NFTs in-game, developers made smart contracts that define the rules for the NFTs to use. A smart contract is a self-executing piece of code stored on the blockchain.

Examples of NFT game

Below are 3 NFT games that are very popular in the world.

Sorare

When playing Sorare, players can buy and sell unique digital cards of popular basketball players. Each card contains performance stats depending on the match situation. However, unlike other NFT card games like Gods Unchained, Sorare does not require you to combine two cards to create a new card.

Since its launch in 2020, the Sorare NFT soccer platform has experienced tremendous growth, growing its user base by more than 500% to nearly 150,000 users in 2021 alone, equivalent to approximately $82 million in total sales.

Axie Infinity

Axie Infinity is a Pokémon inspired game. In the game, there are creatures called Axie. Axie can be collected, traded, bred and used in 3v3 matches. All in-game Axie (items, lands, etc.) are NFT or ERC-20 tokens, meaning players have actual ownership of anything they buy or collect.

In early July 2021, Axie Infinity’ weekly sales exceeded $100 million. Daily Active Users (DAU) increased from 38,000 to 350,000 in just 3 months, making it the most used app in cryptocurrency.

CryptoKitties

CryptoKitties is an online virtual cat game where you can collect, breed and even earn and cash out. Each virtual cat has a unique ID, genome, DNA and attributes (cat attributes) that can be passed onto its offspring, and can be bred and bred. There are 12 cat attributes in total, such as pattern, mouth shape, fur, eye shape, base color, highlight color, accent color, eye color, background, decoration, etc.

As of January 2022, more than 120,000 users own CryptoKitties, indicating its high popularity. Estimated annual sales are now $780,000 per year. Some players have earned more than $60,000 by playing CryptoKitties, so there is a possibility that players can aim for a quick fortune.

3. Benefit of converting a game into an NFT game

NFT games entering the market brings various benefits to both users and owners.

For users:

Users can earn money through NFT games. In NFT games, players can collect digital items, weapons, equipment, etc. by completing quests/tasks or purchasing NFT collectibles with money.

Blockchain technology makes these items unique and indestructible. Players can trade, buy and sell NFT creations and redeem them for cash via e-wallets.

For game developers and owners:

Game developers and owners earn money from exchanges and transactions among players. In addition, sales also increased by publishing the games on platforms like App Store and Play Store. And since most NFT games require initial costs (initial investment, Ethereum gas fee, etc.), the issuer can make a profit from the cost.

Upgrading games to NFT is an opportunity to renew traditional games, in order to attract more players with new ways to play the game and attract investment from players and investors.

４．How to convert an existing game to NFT？

“I own a game, but want to increase the number of users and sales.”

“I have an idea for a game, and I want to join the NFT wave of games.”

Are you experiencing these problems?

If you are encountering the above problems, come to HBLAB JSC and get the best NFT game solutions. HBLAB has a large number of engineers and consultants with many years of experience in blockchain development, thus products developed by HBLAB perform well in rankings and sales.

　▼Here are some of the products and achievements of W3, a joint venture between HBLAB and LaunchZone: https://w3.asia/portfolio/

HBLAB’s unique strength is that we can provide consulting and support for every stage of development, from ideas discussing to actual development and marketing after release.

In addition, HBLAB is also a partner of many SI companies in Japan and around the world, especially one of the top blockchain companies in Vietnam. Therefore, we ensure the quality, quantity and diversity of human resources. At the same time, we also offer reasonable and competitive prices in the market.

In this article, we explained the definition, mechanism, merits and approach of NFT in detail. Although NFTs are booming, they are still in their early days, so it is not too late to enter the potentially huge NFT market. If you decide to enter the NFT market, HBLAB hopes to accompany you on the road full of challenges and prospects.