Get Started With Crypto Gaming

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Gaming has long gone from being a hobby to a multi-billion-dollar entertainment industry sector, and the sky still remains the limit with gamification entering more and more areas of our lives. When you factor in the role blockchain technology is about to play in all our collective futures, including gaming, it’s a whole new paradigm shift

Defining crypto gaming?

With the advent of crypto and blockchain, whiz kids, visionaries and technocrats all over the globe are coming up with a variety of lucrative applications. One of them is play-to-earn games, and it is proving to be immensely popular. Here, instead of economic benefit (or simply put, money) going solely to game creators and distributors, players can now earn money using crypto or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in play-to-earn games on their computers or smartphones.

How do crypto-powered games work?

Many games have players accumulating digital assets such as digital weapons, property, or wearables in order to proceed. They're normally obtained as a result of completing quests and challenges, or they can be purchased with real money. Items ranging from skins to in-game currencies allow users to customise their characters with new clothing and equipment, but none of these can be sold to other players.

That's where play-to-earn games change the game in a manner of speaking. Game designers can construct provably unique and transferrable in-game objects and awards by leveraging the immutability of the blockchain. These objects can then be traded for coins in your wallet, which can be converted into fiat currency like US dollars, while NFTs can be sold via exchange platforms and marketplaces.

How to pick the right play-to-earn game for you?

With a plethora of play-to-earn options out there (and many, many more in development), users are spoilt for choice. But first things first, you must understand how rewards are earned, how in-game money can be converted to crypto, and what you can hope to earn from your gaming experiences.

1. Check your investments

All these play-to-earn games have an initiation process, where you are required to make an investment of a kind, such as Axie Infinity requiring the purchase of at least three ‘Axies’ to start playing.

Many of today's crypto games are built on the Ethereum blockchain, so you'll need to buy Ether to play them. Converting your money to Ether will need a crypto exchange like WazirX.

2. Pick your treasures

Another factor to consider before you start playing is the type of rewards you’re looking for. Different games provide different rewards, often NFTs and in-game currencies that can be converted into real-world currencies.

In some cases, players can earn the native currency of the platform; for example, Coin Hunt World, running on Ethereum, allows users to solve mysteries and get rewarded with Bitcoin or Ether. Set up a digital wallet on WazirX allows you to store these currencies and link them to your favourite game.

3. Go for easy cash outs

The cashing out process of a game is another factor to look out for. Some NFTs can be time-consuming to sell, while the valuations of in-game coins can fluctuate massively. Before investing, make sure you understand how you can utilise these earnings for real-world purposes.

Crypto Gaming in India

India has come up as a potentially huge player in the crypto-gaming market, with one of the largest gaming populations in the world. Add to that easy access to smartphones and ultra-cheap data costs, and the Indian gaming community is taking to these play-to-earn titles like ducks to water.

Aside from gaming purists, investors are also attracted to this trend, with the potential of high risk-reward scenarios. In India, real-money gaming and e-sports have exploded in popularity, especially since the outbreak of Covid-19. According to a Deloitte analysis published in 2021, India's online gaming business is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 40% to $2.8 billion by 2022, up from $1.1 billion in 2019.

While play-to-earn crypto games can be rewarding, they often need a monetary as well as time cost to understand the game and build your investment. As with anything that demands your time and money, make sure you do your due diligence and commence a rewarding relationship in the GameFi arena.