Why Play-To-Earn Is Fundamentally Flawed
The idea, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day” is unrealistic.
Play-To-Earn Makes Jobs Out Of People
Play-To-Earn — the type of game that allows players to earn from playing games, has a fundamental problem. When you start earning money from a hobby, you see it as a job.
First, Why Do People Play Games?
Well-made games are a fun way to relax, destress, and escape reality for a while. They provide a form of entertainment. Playing games is rewarding in itself. The motivation to play is intrinsic if the game is fun.
What Is Play-To-Earn?
In short, Play-To-Earn (P2E) are blockchain-based games marketed as a way to earn money while you play games. It is a popular theme in the crypto community, advertised as the future of games. Instead of points or in-game currency, players earn cryptocurrency from playing and can exchange it for real-world money. In a way, gamers can now justify spending unproductive hours playing games as a source of income.
Turn Gaming Into A Side Income?
On the surface, this seems like an attractive model. For example, if you enjoy content creation, such as making videos, writing, or photography, would it be great if platforms reward you for publishing content? It could be the start of turning your hobby into a full-time job. Not only do you do something you enjoy, but you also get better skills and a source of income.
The Hobby Into Job Dilemma
But that is also the problem. When you make money from a hobby, you see it differently. It could be making content on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or Medium, or playing a sport, like skating, golf, or weight lifting.
Take Content Creation As An Example
First, you create content on TikTok because you find it fun — it’s surprisingly easier to use, and you get more organic views than Instagram. Soon, you get some traction, reach over 10,000 followers, and get into the creator program. TikTok starts paying you for your content, and you also get sponsorship inquiries.
So You Start Making Money
It’s not much, but it’s a nice side income. This is where you start to think differently — instead of creating content you enjoy, you create content for the sake of an audience. As you get rewarded with money, you feel less motivated by the hobby.
You Begin To Tweak Your Content For Views
You ask yourself what people want, more than what you want to make. You also take sponsorships from brands you don’t fully believe in or endorse products you don’t use.
Change In Motivation
The point is — earning money from a hobby changes the way you see the hobby. Yes, many great creators have made a profitable business from their hobby, and have continued to create quality content. But they had to make decisions that were more business and marketing driven.
The Same Goes For P2E
In P2E, you start by learning about the gameplay and mechanics. As you progress, you start to think about more effective ways to earn money in the game. You also calculate your daily earnings and how much time you spend on the game — making you aware of how productive(or unproductive) this is. The volatility of the in-game tokens also makes your earnings volatile.
As the price of the token crashes, as all P2E games have done, many players leave the game because it is no longer a good source of income.The amount of time spent was not worth the same as when they started. When most players were here for the “investment” and “income yields”, they left when it was no longer profitable. Players go back to playing “traditional” games when P2E is no longer fun. These also affect the ecosystem and player base of the game.
My Personal Experience
For me, when I started “investing” into P2E, what compelled me to keep playing was the sunk cost. I felt compelled to play every day to make my money back. After some time, it was no longer fun to play, and I found myself obligated to fulfill the daily requirements.
What was more interesting was I went back to playing other non-play-to-earn games because I was looking for something fun to play. When the prices of everything crashed, I felt exhausted thinking about it. I considered my “investments” gone, and it was better to move on.
Was It A Viable Source Of Income?
Most P2E games were advertised as a source of income, attracting many players from developing countries. For a short period, some P2E games were able to cover a substantial amount of their income, especially during the harsh times of the pandemic.
But it was obvious why it was popular.
It was a job for these people when the economy was bad, unemployment was high, and where the cost of living is much lower.
But It Was Not A Long-term Solution
These people were not learning any marketable skills to help them be employable. And if they wanted to play games as a means to escape, enjoyment, and entertainment, they should look for games made to be fun, instead of investment opportunities.
The earning potential of P2E ruins the experience of play.
Instead, games were made to be unproductive — as a player, you enjoy being challenged, exploring vast and expansive worlds, or the social aspect of playing with friends.
The Play-To-Earn Model Is Still Unproven
Games have been entertainment more than an income source. Only a minority make a living playing games — such as streamers, competitive gamers, and maybe video game testers. The next group is people who work in the game industry — jobs in the gaming industry. These people are skilled professionals who work on games, which is very different from playing games as a full-time job.
The dream of playing games as a part-time job is still only a dream.
