6 Clever Uses of the Algorand Blockchain in Gaming
The gaming industry has always been on the cutting edge of technology, from early uses of virtual reality and augmented reality, scanning objects in 3D, to controlling on-screen action with gestures. It’s no surprise, then, that companies have started integrating blockchain technology for different applications in the gaming space, which is estimated to be worth $120 billion by 2025.
The Algorand blockchain is a great match for gaming applications. Its decentralized nature allows for accuracy and transparency, its fast and permissionless, and its open source to allow for imaginative and groundbreaking applications. Not to mention the Algorand blockchain is secure, built from the ground up to protect the transactions of all participants. What does this mean for players? Algorand’s speed and near-instant transaction finality ensures that something like an in-game purchase won’t disrupt the player experience, its low cost per transaction (just fractions of a cent) enables participation by a mass consumer base, and the network’s scalability allows applications to accommodate audiences of scale. Finally, the Algorand blockchain will never fork — ensuring the validity and uniqueness of in-game assets will never come into question.
Here are six clever uses of the Algorand blockchain in gaming.
1. Zone
Gamers love earning rewards, whether it’s an awesome skin for their playable character or a rare pet, but there’s no real individual ownership for these digital assets. Zone, which launched its Mainnet this year, aims to change that. Zone already has over 90,000 users on its decentralized social gaming platform. It has expanded to GameFi, a combination of gaming and decentralized finance. What that means for players is, instead of buying and earning rewards controlled by gamemakers, they’ll be able earn assets they truly own. Zone has a strong focus on hyper casual games, and has announced integrations with globally popular games such as DOTA 2.
2. Drone Racing League
The world’s premier professional drone racing property is no stranger to video games, having launched The Drone Racing League Simulator. The real-life league will soon reach the next level, thanks to a partnership with Algorand that will bring scalable, fast, and decentralized applications to DRL. These include blockchain-enabled ticketing, collectibles, fan transactions, and NFTs. DRL has also announced a play-to-own game created in partnership with web3 game developer Playground Labs that will allow players to race drones for the chance to win cryptocurrency and NFTs on Algorand.
3. FLEX NBA
Sequoia Games, whose products seamlessly connect physical and digital experiences, leveraged Algorand to help develop FLEX NBA, an NBA-licensed turn-based board game. Each starter kit of the game includes 10 limited-edition physical tiles representing NBA players called Flexagons, with additional tiles available to purchase separately. Flexagons are also represented digitally as an individually-owned, unrepeatable, and non-duplicatable code registered in FLEX NBA’s bespoke mobile companion app, built atop Algorand’s open-source and forkless protocol. FLEX NBA players can then buy, sell, and trade their physical Flexagons while transferring digital ownership.
4. AlgOcean
AlgOcean’s main mission is ocean conservation, which it accomplishes through partnerships with existing conservation efforts. The project features a Discord-based community and NFTs, as well as a play-to-earn virtual fishing game. “You catch virtual fish and save real fish in the ocean while earning crypto,” according to its website. The game is played via Discord, where users input commands such as /catch, which uses a ticket to catch a fish.
5. Trantorian
This project describes itself as a “blockchain 3D space exploration, battle, economic and civilization development NFT based game situated on a persistent, ever growing metaverse.” Trantorian’s gameplay is a mix of role playing games and the strategy genre known as 4X. In the space-set game, players take on the roles of either fleet commanders, who provide commerce services, or empire landowner citizens, who help build up infrastructure and repair ships.
6. Cosmic Champs
Cosmic Champs boasts of being the first 3D real-time play-to-earn game on the Algorand blockchain. The space-set game combines elements of tower defense, multiplayer strategy, and collectible card games, and will of course allow players to keep any assets they earn in game, including champs (playable characters, spaceships, and planets. The game’s closed beta is expected to be released at the end of October.
Explore the Algorand Ecosystem:
