GameFi is one of the hottest topics in the crypto industry now. Many metaverse projects are mushrooming now and then and most of the metaverse projects are based are play to earn (P2E) games based on GameFi . But what is GameFi Metaverse?
When a game is built on any Blockchain and uses decentralized finance (DeFi) concepts in a metaverse, the game is known as GameFi Metaverse.
In this post I will provide you some basic ideas about GameFi Metaverse and the concept revolving around it. First, I will state out the difference between Game Fi and traditional online games. Then I will cover its history, statistics and at last will introduce some GameFi Metaverse games.
Traditional Game Vs GameFi
You might have played games like GTA, Counter Strike, NFS Most Wanted, etc in your childhood. These are all the traditional games. These traditional games are taken and built using blockchain technology in metaverse to make GameFi Metaverse.
Nowadays, you might play games like PUBG, Call of Duty, MineCraft, etc. There you get rewards in form of points, dress, equipment, etc. These are used to go to the next level of the game or change use in the game. You cannot exchange these reward points for real currency.
But in GameFi, the concept is completely reversed. The time you spent in the game and reward you earn can be exchanged to real currency for use.
Traditional Online Games vs GameFi Metaverse
| Traditional Online Games | GameFi Metaverse |
| You have to pay to play the games | You can play to earn. |
| Built on a centralized structure. | Built on Blockchain Technology |
| You cannot exchange the coins, avatars, etc earned in the game for real value currency. | The coins earned in GameFi are cryptos and the avatars, skin, gun earned in the games can be in the form of NFTs. You can exchange these for real value currency. |
| The in-game assets are limited to the game environment. It is centralized. | Since GameFi is built using Blockchain technology. It is decentralized or distributed. |
| If your account is stolen or banned,all your in-game assets are lost forever. | Since in GameFi, all your assets are stored in your crypto wallet like Metamask, you are the sole owner. It cannot be banned. |
Statistics of Gaming Industry
According to Accenture, the Global Gaming industry value at present exceeds $300 Billion. The users in gaming increased by half a billion in the past 3 years. There are 2.7 billioin active gamers worldwide. This number is expected to grow by 10% per year. So, by 2025 the active users of GameFi Metaverse will be nearly 4 billion users.
The lucrative gaming industry along with cutting edge blockchain technology infrastructure made GameFi in the metaverse possible. This is because gaming applications being developed on the decentralized metaverse offered by blockchain allows players to use some of the innovative DeFi functionalities and NFT. This has opened a completely new space of financial opportunities.
Nearly 38% of the GameFi metaverse is deployed on ethereum blockchain and 31 % on Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Polygon, WAX and EOS shared 7-5% share. The rest 10.5% are built on rest blockchain like Harmony, Tezos, Flow, etc.
What is GameFi Metaverse?
GameFi is the combination of BlockChain Game and Decentralized Finance(DeFi).
Metaverse + Blockchain + DeFi = GameFi Metaverse
In simple words, it is a type of game made using blockchain technology in any metaverse project. In these games you can earn money in the form of cryptocurrency by playing it. In turn you can exchange the cryptocurrency in form US dollar or the local currency in your area.
GameFi made the financialization of video gaming possible now.
History of GameFi
GameFi is a new concept to most of you. Before knowing its details, knowing its history will be an interesting one.
The term GameFi can be traced back to 8th November, 2019. The founders of a blockchain game publishing platform, Mixmarble delivered a speech in Word Blockchain Conference about GameFi . It was held in Wuzhen, China.
The term GameFi was first used by Andre Cronje in a tweet back in September, 2020. From there the word GameFi is used on a regular basis for those games built on a set of financial elements of blockchain technology.
Features of Video Games in GameFi Metaverse
Presently, GameFi in the metaverse comes in different types. The mechanism in which you can earn money in a GameFi varies from game to game. But, there is some common feature or way in which you can earn money in GameFi games in metaverse.
All the GameFi games in metaverse are based on blockchain based gaming protocol. These blockchain gaming protocols basically revolve around 3 main features.
- Play to Earn (P2E)
- Asset Ownership
- DeFi features in Game
Play to Earn(P2E)
Earlier to DeFi or blockchain games, the players mostly relied on random chances to earn profit or earn some money. You can say the chances of winning some money were nil.
DeFi introduced a fully fledged suite of many financial utilities and advanced in-game economics. These financial utilities include both
- Fungible Token
- Non-Fungible Token (NFT)
The points earned in GameFi games are in the form of fungible token or cryptocurrency (game cryptos). You can use this game cryptos to exchange to real currency, hold it or invest.
Asset Ownership
Asset Ownership in GameFi Games is an important revolution in the blockchain gaming industry. The asset are in the form of Non-Fungible Token (NFT)
In traditional online gaming, you can own asset. But these asset ownership had major problems. Such as
- The in-game assets are limited to that particular game environment. It was centralized
- These in-game asset could not be traded for real world economic value such as fiat, cryptos and currency
- The purchase of virtual in-game items were limited in scope.
- These game assets could be accessed from a particular single account. If this account was lost, stolen or banned. All the assets would be lost forever.
So, DeFi has overcome the above problem. The assets in the GameFi games like avatars, apparels, guns, etc comes in the form of Non-Fungible Token (NFT). You can freely exchange these items and earn money for your work, time and dedication in the game.
DeFi features in Game of Metaverse
Staking is another way in which you can earn in GameFi. Some of the GameFi or NFT games allow you to lock up your in-game NFT or NFT assets in smart contracts. This in turn will provide you with a staking reward.
Staking is similar to fixed deposits in the banking sector. You lock your money for a certain period of time so that the bank can use it. In turn you get some interest on the amount.
This is a good option for players like you to earn money. Staking is a concept of DeFi incorporated into GameFi Metaverse..
One of the most prominent examples of staking in GameFi is Yield Guild Games (YGG). It is a block chain gaming guild. But what is YGG and how does blockchain gaming guild work? To know more see this post.
Requirements to Play GameFi Games in Metaverse
There are some basic requirements to play GameFi games. The most basic requirement is to have an internet connection on your mobile, laptop or computer.
You have to have some basic knowledge of blockchain technology. This is important as you are diving into a new field.
Having a crypto wallet like Metamask, Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet, etc is a must. To know what a crypto wallet like MetaMask is used for, read our post here. Basically, a crypto wallet will hold all your token-fungible and non-fungible.
Next, you have funds in your wallet or you can add funds to your wallet. These funds will allow you to buy the basic assets to play GameFi games. For example, initially you need 2 AXE to play Axie Infinity.
Different GameFi Games
At present, there are limited GameFi games. Many games are in development stages. But some of the popular GameFi games you can play right now are.
- Axie Infinity
- Games in Decentraland
- Games in Sandbox
- My Neighbor Alice
- Crypto Blades
- MOBOX Platform
- Games in Gala Games.
GameFi Metaverse
You can also see GameFi NFTs in the majority of Metaverse Projects. Some of the Metaverse project that have GameFi NFTs based protocol are
- Sandbox
- Decentraland
- Somnium Space
- Axie Infinity
- And many others.
In these Metaverse, you as a inhabitat can monetize your time spent by digital asset ownership. The main way of earning is the land ownership in the Metaverse. To know more about land ownership, read our post here.
Future of GameFi Metaverse
Blockchain gaming or GameFi is gaining alliances among popular gaming studios and chip manufacturers. For example, Ubisoft has created a NFT platform called Quartz in-game items.
American chip manufacturer AMD joined the Blockchain Game Alliance (BGA), bringing blockchain to games, license and distribution. So, many corporations will plunge to GameFi.
Many innovative GameFi is currently in the development phase. So, it is clear the GameFi ecosystem has a bright future. But, this doesn’t mean that every GameFi protocol implemented will succeed in future. Some better protocol will replace them.
So, please do your proper research before you plunge into the world of GameFi Metaverse play.
Conclusion
GameFi Metaverse is just now starting to gain momentum and widespread mainstream in the gaming industry. You have come to know that there are 2.7 active gamers worldwide at present. In the coming years all these active games will move to the GameFi ecosystem.
Due to the active users in the gaming industry, blockchain technology, NFTs, cryptos, are going to be mass adopted globally through GameFi Metaverse. Play to earn structure will empower these games economically.
In Summary, GameFi Metaverse will completely replace the traditional gaming industry in the future.
