Play-to-Earn Crypto Gaming: Top 5 Biggest Contenders in the Crypto Games Industry

The play-to-earn gaming field is overflowing with options, and more games are coming out every day! The growing popularity of this gaming genre can’t be overstated, as the 2022 market size data shows the industry climbing over $3,000 million!

Unlike traditional gaming experiences, play-to-earn games are fun and highly profitable. While traditional games measure your progress in in-game items or achievements, play-to-earn games award individuals with equivalents to real-world money that can be traded immediately.

In many of these games, rewards are often given in the form of cryptocurrency. However, even newcomers to the crypto world can benefit significantly from these gaming experiences thanks to the seamless and user-friendly integration of crypto elements.

What makes Play-to-Earn Games Fun and Profitable

With the advent of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency in gaming, the landscape has shifted drastically. The tokenized nature of cryptocurrency perfectly complements the traditional gaming experience, and popular use cases of such technology, such as NFTs, can wildly transform the gaming experience into something completely new.

Play-to-earn cryptocurrency games have filled a necessary niche in a casual gamer’s life —- the opportunity to profit from their gaming achievements. While traditional gaming experiences still require gamers to compete with the best of the best at a chance of profit, play-to-earn games allow those less talented, experienced, or skilled to make money from the things they love — gaming. Now, more than ever, gamers of all skills and experience can take a gander at making a profit from their favorite hobby.

Let’s examine how the play-to-earn gaming experience differs from the traditional variety.

Optimizing the gaming experience through blockchain.

As you probably know, most play-to-earn games are related to cryptocurrency. This means that, at its core, a play-to-earn crypto game utilizes a blockchain infrastructure to complete necessary transactions or other forms of exchange of data, assets, and more. This opens up the opportunity for game developers to experiment with in-game rewards and items.

One of the most blatant examples of this is the NFT. Non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) have been extensively used in the crypto gaming industry to motivate individuals and allow them to effortlessly profit from their favorite hobby. With NFTs’ implementation into the gaming world, every in-game weapon, gear, or cosmetic can be turned into a digital asset that can carry real value outside the game’s world.

This implementation provides a clear path to success for individuals who strive to make money from gaming. Now, all you need to do is play the game, farm the best loot, and find lucrative deals to sell said assets to make an immense profit.

Simulating real-world economics in gaming.

With many play-to-earn games part of a wider, free cryptocurrency market, gamers are now more liberated than ever to build a career off of gaming. Now, gamers can sell, buy, and trade in-game assets for equivalents of real money, which sets up an incredibly rich economic ecosystem—all in the confines of one game!

Safetiness through decentralization.

Blockchain technology allows crypto play-to-earn games to prosper fully without a centralized power or authority behind the economic landscape to twist and turn it in any way they choose. In other words, the crypto gaming landscape is among the freest and most liberated markets available today.

With such decentralization comes the worry of safety. But the blockchain also takes care of that. All blockchain transfers and interactions require blockchain verification. This process ensures that the interaction is imprinted on each user’s version of the blockchain equally so that everyone agrees on the same consensus.

Top 5 most profitable play-to-earn games

We’ve discussed the benefits of play-to-earn gaming and how blockchain technology has forever altered the gaming field. If we’ve piqued your interest and you are excited to try and jump into the play-to-earn gaming field to change your life forever, read on!

Without further ado, let’s dive right into our pick of the top 5 games to try out!

Axie Infinity

Developed by Sky Mavis, a studio founded in 2018 in Vietnam, the game was first released in March of the same year. Although the game had an early start, it wasn’t until 2021-2022 that it reached the peak of popularity it enjoys today. Back in 2022, during the game’s highest peak, it totaled around 3 million monthly individuals. Since then, the hype has died down, but not completely, with almost 400,000 monthly concurrent individuals.

The gaming experience of Axie Infinity hinges around pets. The game is heavily inspired by popular traditional gaming experiences such as Pokemon and Digimon while blending its mix of cryptocurrency into the equation. In this creature battler, individuals are tasked with breeding, raising, and caring for the game’s titular pet—Axie. Axies come in all shapes and sizes and have wildly differing abilities, which are fun to explore and make strategies with.

As you might’ve guessed, each Axie is a digital asset, but the game doesn’t stop there. It allows individuals to purchase virtual land as NFTs. The game is hosted on the blockchain Ronin, a sidechain designed by the game’s dev team.

The Sandbox

Initially launched in 2012 by Arthur Madrid and Sébastien Borget under Pixowl, The Sandbox has evolved significantly over time. The blockchain version of The Sandbox that players interact with today only emerged around 2018. This virtual world offers a creative gaming experience comparable to platforms like Roblox, encouraging users to design games, environments, and other entertainment experiences within its expansive metaverse. The Sandbox has attracted global celebrities, including Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton, along with renowned brands such as Ubisoft, Adidas, and Gucci, all of which are contributing unique gaming experiences to this ever-growing digital universe.

Sorare

Sorare is a unique project that combines fantasy football with blockchain technology. In this game, players assemble teams of real-world footballers represented as NFT cards. These cards can be used to participate in tournaments, as well as traded or sold on exchanges.

Sorare’s economic model is based on Ethereum tokens, allowing players to earn from successful transactions and their teams’ performances. Players can acquire new cards by winning tournaments or buying them on open markets. This project is particularly interesting for football fans who want to combine their passion for the sport with earning opportunities.

Tamadoge

What started as a meme coin in 2022 has now become one of the more popular gaming libraries on the cryptocurrency side of the internet. As a web app with a mobile version in the works, Tamadoge presents a unique opportunity for crypto enjoyers worldwide to submerge themselves in a gaming experience that rivals many of its competitors.

Tamadoge is an innovative play-to-earn gaming platform that revolutionizes the way individuals interact with blockchain-based entertainment. At its core, Tamadoge utilizes $TAMA, a proprietary digital asset, as its ecosystem’s primary means of engagement and reward.

individuals can acquire $TAMA through various avenues, including popular cryptocurrency exchanges such as OKX, BitForex, and Gate.io. For those seeking a more direct approach, the Tamadoge Bank offers token purchases via Transak, ensuring accessibility for all users.

Once obtained, $TAMA is the gateway to exciting gaming experiences. By converting $TAMA into credits, individuals can access the Tamadoge Arcade, a diverse collection of games designed to entertain and reward. Pulse-pounding titles like Tama Blast, Rocket Doge, and the adrenaline-fueled Tamadoge Run are among the offerings.

But the innovation doesn’t stop there. Tamadoge also incorporates non-fungible tokens (NFTs) into its gameplay, available on the renowned OpenSea marketplace. These unique digital assets serve a dual purpose within the Tamadoge universe: they can enhance an individual’s earning potential or boost in-game abilities, adding an extra layer of strategy and customization to the gaming experience.

By seamlessly blending cryptocurrency, arcade-style gaming, and NFT technology, Tamadoge offers a fresh and engaging approach to the play-to-earn model. It invites individuals to immerse themselves in a world where fun and financial opportunity coexist.

Spider Tanks

Created by GAMEDIA and accessible on Windows and Mac desktops, Spider Tanks offers a distinctive gaming experience entirely built on the Ethereum blockchain. In Spider Tanks, players aim to build the most formidable tank for intense PvP battles. Every upgrade, piece of armor, and equipment is a digital asset that can be enhanced, sold, purchased, or traded.

The game offers a variety of competitive modes, including team deathmatch and capture the flag. With extensive customization options, Spider Tanks stands out for the level of creativity and individuality that players can bring to their machines of destruction.