Play-to-earn crypto games are gaining popularity among developers, with nearly 60% surveyed saying they are utilizing blockchain in game design | Currency News | Financial and Business News
Axie Infinity
- Nearly 60% of American and UK-based video game developers are starting to use blockchain technology, according to a study released Wednesday.
- About half are incorporating NFTs into their games, respondents said in a study from Stratis.
- Game developers were most interested in DeFi or GameFi in terms of blockchain capabilities.
Blockchain technology is accelerating as a go-to foundation for video game developers, with the play-to-earn model growing in popularity, according to a survey released Wednesday.
58% of 197 video-game developers surveyed in the US and UK were beginning to use blockchain technology, and 47% have started to incorporate non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, in their games, said blockchain platform Stratis in a study it commissioned and that was carried out by market research firm Opinium. NFTs are digital representations of artworks and collectibles that exist on a blockchain ledger, similar to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Game developers, at a rate of 57%, were most interested in decentralized finance, or DeFi, or GameFi in terms of blockchain capabilities. GameFi, a combination of DeFi and NFTs, offers financial incentives for people to play video games and is attracting mass attention from the crypto community.
Axie Infinity is currently the most popular play-to-earn game, with the model allowing users to make real money by earning tokens, creating NFTs, and selling them. The Sandbox is another one, allowing gamers to create virtual worlds in an ethereum-based metaverse and monetize digital assets.
Axie Infinity has drawn in more than $3 billion in trading volume since its launch in March 2018. It’s gained in popularity particularly in developing countries hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
54% of the Stratis survey respondents said they see rewarding players with real-world value as a key use case for blockchain in games. Innovation and “more interesting game play” were the reasons behind 61% of respondents saying they see blockchain as valuable for the videogame industry.
“We commissioned this research to solidify what we already assumed – that blockchain and NFTs are the future of video games,” said Statis CEO Chris Trew in a statement.
