Much like in many other sectors, developers from across the gaming industry have taken an increasing amount of interest in blockchain technology in recent years.
This revolutionary technology holds a huge amount of potential for gamers and developers alike. Blockchain technology allows for increased security, more transparency, and the seamless integration of payment systems.
Companies like Metaspins, for example, have already begun implementing blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies in many of their online casino products. This includes using cryptocurrencies to power their payment processing systems, which brings added security and efficiency benefits to the thousands of online casino fans using the Metaspins platform!
But for the outsider who might not be completely familiar with blockchain technology, what are some of the benefits it can potentially bring to the gaming industry?
What is Blockchain Technology?
Before we set out some of these benefits, we should first be clear about what blockchain actually is!
In short, blockchain is the name given to the technology that enables the secure sharing of information. It is, essentially, a type of secure database that is shared across a wide network of active participants. Information can be spread seamlessly, securely, and instantly across this network.
Blockchain is most closely associated with cryptocurrency, which is a type of digital currency built using blockchain technology.
In this case, the blockchain—which is essentially the name given to the network—acts as a kind of secure digital ledger where transactions can be duplicated and distributed across the network.
How can Blockchain be Used in the Gaming Industry?
The introduction of cryptocurrency into the gaming world immediately had a profound impact on the landscape of the industry.
Most immediately, it created new ways for game developers to monetize their games. This allowed players to make in-game purchases safely, securely, and pretty much instantly. Not only did this create a more efficient purchasing process for players and developers, but it also gave them greater confidence.
Game developers have developed a framework for improving these blockchain payment systems, which includes software development kits, wallets, game plugins, and various other apps that enhance payment gateways.
Blockchain technology can also be used to create digital assets and currencies, which can be exchanged between players. This creates a thriving, functional in-game economy, which developers can easily monetize.
Blockchain can also support the development of so-called decentralized applications—also known as dApps—which enable users to interact directly without the need for a centralized server.
As blockchain development technology is also easily scalable, this makes it the perfect technology to deploy where in-game communities can often grow at a rapid pace.
In these ways, we can see how blockchain technology can be used to create rich in-game environments.
Play-to-Earn (P2E)
One way that these developments have manifested is in the emergence of so-called play-to-earn or P2E games. Although P2E games have been present in the online casino industry for quite some time, they have taken on a new lease of life thanks to the emergence of cryptocurrencies and blockchain tech.
In P2E game environments, players have the ability to make money from various in-game activities, which can have value in both the real and the virtual world!
P2E games are one of the fastest-moving verticals within the gaming sector. And it is estimated that the P2E and NFT games market size was valued at $3292.73 million in 2022 alone.
Within these P2E gaming environments, players exchange NFTs—or non-fungible tokens—with each other, which can then be used to purchase new characters, maps, and other content.
Beyond the financial and security benefits this technology obviously brings for game developers, P2E game mechanics also help to give an unparalleled sense of depth to the worlds they have created. And by creating in-game economies that function just like their real-world counterparts, players become immediately invested in these digital worlds.
What the Future Holds
As we can see, blockchain technologies such as NFTs and cryptocurrencies hold a huge amount of potential for the gaming sector as a whole. And given that blockchain technology is only a little over a decade old, it is also clear that we are still only at the beginning of this journey.
With a steady rise in the number of gamers across the world, these opportunities for growth and development will continue to expand in the years to come. And as we learn more about this technology, the sky really is the limit in terms of how we might see it being implemented!
