Blockchain Technology has the Potential to Revolutionize the Global Gaming Market
Esports, or competitive video gaming, and gaming in general are becoming extremely popular. The global gaming market, which covers mobile, tablet, console, PC and boxed/downloaded games, generated nearly $116 Billion in revenues for 2017. The esports economy achieved an estimated $700 million in revenues for 2017. While these markets continue to boom it’s hard not to wonder how another growing industry, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, might enable even faster growth.
Blockchain + Gaming: Hype or a Perfect Match?
There are a multitude of startups trying to leverage the popularity of gaming and esports right now. Combine with this the popularity of blockchain and cryptocurrency and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a frenzy. Startups are looking to incorporate many benefits of blockchain technology into the gaming world. From wagering to automation via smart contracts and hosting tournaments there is no end to the possibilities. However, is all of this needed?
In the good old days, a player could get online or turn on a console and game away. No need for fancy blockchains. However, limitations were present that allowed the experience to be good, but not great. For example, have you ever played a game, really spent a lot of time, but then decided to pursue a new game? What happens to all your experience and virtual assets in the old game? They stay there and don’t help you very much. What about your reputation or status within a game? That stays put in the same game as well and can be lost if the game memory is destroyed (memory cards, cartridges, disks, etc.).
Blockchain technology has many promises and if startups in the space work diligently to marry the technology with gaming then a new era could be upon us.
A few use cases include:
Virtual Items
Transfer items seamlessly from player to player and have an immutable record of every transfer. Want to sell an item? Simply use a crypto token within the game and carry on your way. No need to mess around with payment processors and outside services.
Wagering
Think you’re good? Put some money on the console and see how good you are! Wagering was difficult in the past since you needed to either go through a middleman with high fees or have a trusting relationship with the counterparty. Now you just need to trust the smart contract, which is open source and available for all to review.
Blockchain based games are becoming a thing as well. Games can be played on web3 and all actions can be recorded on the blockchain.
Powering Gaming Companies
There are lots of members of the gaming industry that need constant support from the community. One specific group consists of game developers. Those developing games, both traditional and blockchain based games, require funding. A new funding model, the Initial Coin Offering (ICO), may provide developers the opportunity to crowdfund their new games. Supporters can then own tokens representing ownership or some other benefit in their favorite game.
Another industry member that can benefit from blockchain technology are the esports teams. Like the developers, teams could issue coins or tokens that represent ownership or some other benefit. Fans could then contribute to their favorite teams in a way not previously available.
In the above two scenarios the contributor not only gets to support their favorite developer or team, they may even get to share in some of the profits. A new win-win opportunity is now possible.
Pay2Play will utilize blockchain technology for a few different reasons. First, smart contracts will power the wagering feature of the platform. Players can enter wagers with complete strangers and trust that the winner will be paid out correctly. It will also be possible for game developers to provide unique perks to players who frequent their game. Finally, players will have an immutable record that spans all of their favorite games that will live on as long as the Ethereum blockchain exists.
Blockchain technology presents an astonishing opportunity and one that can indeed pay off immensely for all parties in the long term.
What about the future?
Blockchain technology comes with a lot of potential. Since esports are powered by a younger and more tech savvy audience, it’s easier to embrace things like esports blockchain games, ICOs and tokens, and the transfer of virtual items. In addition, younger people are comfortable using newer technologies like this as long they get to play the games they want and even monetize their passion, if possible.
Finally, blockchain technology can be used to aid amateurs with team building. In addition, it offers some astonishing opportunities in the form of esports wagering and esports team management platforms. It’s a more honest, transparent way to run a business and the community gets to be actively involved in everything related to this company. It’s well worth the effort due to that, and the future is bright because the blockchain has no limitations in this regard. It can help the esports industry grow, and only the sky is the limit here!
