How to Make Passive Income Playing Video Games on the Blockchain
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How to Make Passive Income Playing Video Games on the Blockchain

Updated: Sep 12, 2023


Last week, we shed some light on the exploding market of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which is where digital art and other collectibles are selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. We also mentioned how NFTs are revolutionizing the online gaming industry- an industry which generated over $130 billion in revenue last year and continues to grow at a breakneck speed. In this article, we'll delve deeper into how you can make money playing these NFT-based video games-- by flipping and trading digital assets collected within these games. A third of the world's population still play traditional video games like "Call of Duty" or "Civilization" where the idea is to simply play-to-win. It's only a matter of time when most of those people discover that on the blockchain, you can play-to-earn.



Why NFTs Become Valuable in Online Games


There's been a lot of attention on DeFi (decentralized finance) in the last year. The current surge in the cryptocurrency market is largely due to that growing popularity. However, when the number one blockchain for online gaming upgrades to Ethereum 2.0, NFTs and the platforms that use them will likely go parabolic. The existing industry of online gaming with its billions of gamers will be revolutionized. The number one reason is now users can make money when they win.


Let's recap. Non-fungible assets represent something unique that can't be copied, like baseball cards or pieces of art. In the digital world, these assets may be tools within a video game like "Gods Unchained," digital art on Rarible or land in Decentraland. These digital assets are represented by tokens. By representing these assets as tokens on the Ethereum blockchain, you ensure security and ownership. To learn more about what NFTs, visit our recent article about them. Because of this technology, there is now a surge of markets across the digital gaming ecosystem that enable users to trade and flip digital assets-- like rare swords and dragons. And just like in real life, whether you're trading stocks or comic books, there's real money that can be made.


The main contribution of blockchain and its smart contracts to the gaming industry is how it creates a healthy ecosystem for both game developers and players, where they can both profit. The rise of blockchain-based games will also come with completely new business models and revenue streams. There will also be a virtual economy that connects them, where assets can be traded and sold on platforms like Bakkt.


Make Money with Blockchain-based Games


For decades now, video games have traditionally been based on a play-to-win model. Users simply played to win, while the developers made all the actual profits. In other words, users can beat the game many times, win many prizes and assets within the game, but never actually gain any real life monetary value. However, with blockchain-based games, the business model has become play-to-earn. Now users can actually accrue real wealth with the assets they win and collect within games.


With only tens of thousands of users playing per day, this market still has plenty of room to grow. Nevertheless, the big name developers are noticing the potential. For instance, Atari is going to launch its own NFTs and crypto. Ubisoft is investing research and resources into blockchain projects like Sorare. And Square Enix is heavily invested in The Sandbox, a virtual reality arcade.


The Top Ten Games


Here's a list of ten online blockchain-based games you can play right now to earn and collect valuable digital assets. In the next section, we'll showcase a few marketplaces where you can buy, sell, flip and trade these assets.


1) Cryptokitties. Breed and collect digital cats. "Breed your rarest cats to create the purrfect furry friend."


2) World of Ether. Players collect monsters on the Ethereum blockchain, which they can battle, breed, and sell for profit.


3) Axie Infinity. Currently the only Ethereum-based NFT project with over 10,000 monthly active users, Axie Infinity lets users collect, raise and battle unique fantasy creatures.


4) Chibi Fighters. Battle digital warriors on a digital battlefield where you can collect and trade weapons and other prized assets.


5) MyCryptoHeroes. Collect, train and battle historical figures. "Get great extensions and Land through collecting/training historical Heroes!"


6) Hyperdragons. Another digital collectible game built on the Ethereum blockchain where you can battle, breed, train and trade unique digital dragons.


7) Blockchain Cuties. A new crypto game where you get to play and battle puppies, lizards, bear cubs, cats and other real and fantasy creatures. Each "cutie" is unique and 100% belongs to you.


8) Gods Unchained. One of the older games on this list, Gods Unchained is a digital trading card game that gives players true ownership of their collection. Includes tournaments and rewards. "The trading game that pays to play."


9) Decentraland. In many ways, it's like the Oasis in the film/book "Ready Player One." You can inhabit a digital world owned and developed by its users. You can buy plots of land, explore the lands of others, create and trade assets and much more.


10. CryptoAssault. In this game that includes fantastic CGI, you can command armies, capture territory, mine resources, and much more. Enter this huge 3D world with thousands of players.




Where can you sell and trade these NFT tokens?


As you can see from above, the main way to make money in these games is by collecting digital assets usually as a reward from winning. These same assets are represented as tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. Tokens of the most popular games can be traded on decentralized exchanges such as IDEX, Uniswap, TomoX, or decentralized marketplaces that specialize in NFT-tokens like OpenSea and Enjin Marketplace.


These marketplaces enable players to buy/sell/trade any tokens and collectible game items. Players can easily earn a profit by playing games, training tokenized animals, collecting unique game items and more, and then sell them for a better price through these exchanges and marketplaces. The underlying technology of blockchain makes these actions secure and decentralized.


A New Age for Gamers


Since the dawn of man, we've enjoyed owning things, especially rare and unique things. This could be anything from gold jewelry to baseball cards. Now we are in a new age, where much of these prized items are digital and ownership history can be easily verified through blockchain technology. Gamers can truly own digital items, like swords and puppies. And exchanges can show the value of these items.


Nevertheless, to obtain these unique, rare items, gamers need to be skilled and creative. Never before has gaming had such high stakes. Indeed, it's a very exciting time for gamers.



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