Crypto-Gaming and 5 Blockchain Gaming Startups to Keep an Eye On
Many consider this boom in blockchain gaming to be analogous to the rise of mobile games.
By Sarah Lao
Gaming grew as an industry over the pandemic as those stuck at home found it to be a source of stress relief and distraction. In the United States alone, the number of gamers rose by 6% to a staggering 227 million players. Globally, the market was valued at USD 173.70 billion in 2020, and it is forecasted to increase to a value of USD 314.40 billion by 2026. While Asia-Pacific is currently the biggest market by revenue, the Middle East and Africa is the fastest growing market.
What’s more, we’ve also seen the emergence of Blockchain gaming as a potential future disruptor for the industry. In fact, in just the first half of 2021, 24 blockchain gaming companies raised $476 billion, led primarily by Forte, Animoca Brands, and Mythical Games.
What is blockchain gaming?
Blockchain gaming makes use of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) — yes, the same NFTs that had stormed the world of fine art collectors earlier this year when Beeple sold an NFT for $69 million at Christie’s. In simple terms, “non-fungible” means one-of-a-kind, and NFTs rely on the digital ledger of blockchain to authenticate the uniqueness of a token.
For the world of gaming, NFTs allow players to earn, buy, and sell unique in-game items, and players may actually turn a profit from these games by auctioning off their collection of items. Notably, Dapper Labs’s 2017 game CryptoKitties, in which users could trade and sell digital kittens, was a pioneer in successfully monetizing blockchain gaming.
What are the potential risks and benefits?
Many consider this boom in blockchain gaming to be analogous to the rise of mobile games. As Rob Carroll, the chief growth officer at Ruby Play Network and a mobile game veteran said, “it’s very much like the early days of mobile gaming” where there is a “core group of developers making content for early adopters” and there are “no rules yet.”
On the other hand, there are skeptics like Steve Peterson, the CEO of Storyphorce, who criticize the current studios’ focus on crypto over gaming. Indeed, “if the game isn’t good, people won’t stick around in numbers big enough to justify these investments.”
Furthermore, there is still the possibility of scams and legal quandaries . Games have fraudulently claimed to belong to more established companies, as in the case of “AxieCat” and Animoca Brands, and if not structured properly, some games may violate securities laws and/or gambling laws.
Startups to check out:
Animoca Brands: a developer and publisher of various blockchain games, as well as an investor in some of the most promising blockchain gaming startups.
RabbitHole: a gamified platform that allows people to earn crypto by using the latest decentralized apps
Decentraland: an online gaming platform that allows users to buy, sell, trade and use virtual land for a variety of purposes: online stores, art galleries, virtual hangout sports, and etc.
Sky Mavis: the developer of one of the first successful and still-growing games, Axie Infinity, and a leader of the Play2Earn concept.
Dapper Labs: the studio behind the iconic CryptoKitties as well as new content like Cheeze Wizards and an undeniable cornerstone of the crypto-gaming industry.
