While there has been a bit of controversy in online gaming communities, it now seems that all systems go when it comes to the use of blockchain in the online gaming world. While this is likely to take many forms over the coming years, we’re going to focus on what seems to be happening right now in the online gaming world.
While many of the larger developers have yet to embrace blockchain, although Square Enix did attempt it, it’ll only be a matter of time before we see it integrated into every game imaginable. This is particularly true now that cryptocurrency regulation in places like India is starting to gather pace, with others soon to follow too.
Let’s review how blockchain is helping to power the next generation of online gaming.
Better ownership of in-game assets
You may sometimes see ownership of in-game assets referred to as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Microtransactions are currently all the rage; however, a big problem people have with them is that you can buy things in game but you don’t really own them. You don’t have the right to pass them on to anybody. However, this may change as blockchain starts to get more involved in the online games that we play.
NFTs will allow for true digital ownership of an asset. This will allow you to make a microtransaction in a game, such as purchasing a loot box, open it and have that asset digitally assigned to you. You are legally the only person that owns that copy of the asset.
If this is implemented properly in the games that we play, then we’ll be able to sell these assets to another player. This could allow players to make a decent sum of cash. For example, there are assets in games like CS:GO that are selling for thousands of dollars.
In theory, the company that created those assets would be able to take a small slice of the pie when these assets are sold. This is something that many of the larger game companies are looking to experiment with in the near future. We expect it to appear in a variety of EA games, particularly their sports games that rely heavily on the value of digital assets.
Play-to-earn opportunities
There aren’t many games going down this route right now, with Axie Infinity being one well-known exception. However, we are likely to see more games that provide ‘play to earn’ opportunities, such as games that allow you to earn cryptocurrencies that can be spent elsewhere.
We doubt that this will end up becoming a massive thing outside of the biggest games in the world, mostly because the cryptocurrency needs to have some sort of value in order to be worth playing the game for. However, if this is something that does take off, chances are that we’ll start to see more engagement with these particular games. This is essential for online games, as more engagement leads to more players, which leads to more people spending money on those games.
Moveable assets between games
One thing that is being pushed by many larger game publishers is the idea that you can move owned assets between games. For example, if you have earned a sword in your favorite online RPG then you will be able to take this very sword, and play with it in your favorite online battle royale game. We know that this is a rather simple example, but if blockchain technology is utilized properly, then this is how everything could end up working.
It doesn’t even have to be between different genres of game. Some people believe that blockchain technology can be used to move assets between games in the same series. We’re sure that there are a lot of people who have spent tons of cash in a game, only for that game to become de-populated or shutdown pretty soon after. For example, EA’ s sports games get a new update every single year. This means that people need to start from square one with their microtransactions. What if people could move their purchases from one game to another? Or even one format of the game to another? People would be far more inclined to spend cash because they really feel as if they own their in-game assets.
This is where we expect to see most companies experiment with the blockchain, since not only will it end up benefiting the gamer, but it will end up benefiting the game’s publisher too, since they will end up making a whole lot more cash. This is why industries such as online casinos are starting to take notice too.
Blockchain-focused payment methods
Blockchain-focused payment methods will likely become the norm in games and in certain industries, such as online casinos. In fact, many online games are already starting to benefit from blockchain-focused payment methods. For example, you can now play with TRON at various online casinos, and we wouldn’t be surprised if other online games started to build blockchain transactions directly into them. This will cut down on the transaction fees that many game publishers will need to pay, and many of them like to save money.
The elimination of cheating
If blockchain technology is implemented properly in games, then it could help to make games a lot fairer. Every action that a player takes in the game and every trade they make will be recorded on the blockchain and checked for fairness. It will require a huge amount of processing power for this to happen, but there is a good chance that if everything is implemented properly, we could be bidding farewell to cheating in online games.
Since one of the main issues people have with online games is cheating, it would be wonderful to see a world where this no longer happens. Game publishers would have no issues keeping people playing their games and players would likely have more fun too.
Some online games have actually started to use blockchain to try and cut down on cheating and make games fairer. For example, we’re currently seeing lots of this in the online casino game world. However, the tech is still fairly rudimentary and it may take a while before it can be applied to some of the bigger games out there due to the number of actions each player needs to take. It could be a very real possibility in the future though.
The future of blockchain in online gaming – How we see things
As you can see, there a variety of ways that blockchain can be incorporated into online gaming. In fact, we believe that the blockchain could be used to power the next generation of online gaming, and we’re already seeing it happen. It has not yet managed to be included in some of the bigger games that we play, but it is only a matter of time. Most people won’t notice when blockchain is implemented into their games though. At least not until they start to see a reduction in cheating and true ownership of their digital assets. The future really is bright if you’re an online gamer.