Play-to-Earn? It’s Possible with NFTs
For decades, musicians have been told the internet will rescue a wavering music industry with enormous potential to enable new levels of fan connectivity, allow musicians to escape the industrial music complex, and ultimately be a step forward. Along every step of the way, Spotify, iTunes, and other corporations have discovered how to take artist earnings away.
In fact, musicians only pocket $5B in comparison to the music industry’s $43B annual revenue for a paltry 12% cut and with the onset of the proliferation of NFTs, artists unsurprisingly have begun leveraging this new decentralized tool. NFTs have offered a way forward from the existing industrial model dotted with centralized streaming platforms such as Spotify where artists average only a third of a cent per stream.
The reasons why mainstream media and musicians have latched onto NFTs are clear. It presents a stark dichotomy, where on one side, a higher power controls an artist’s income, and on the other, there exists a refreshing lack of intermediaries. The next iteration of the music industry could boast substantial NFT influence.
While the world has been infatuated with the potential adoption of NFTs in music, a potentially much more lucrative relationship has flown under the radar.
Blockchain-Powered Video Games
Blockchain-based video games include any game that incorporates some aspect of cryptographic blockchain technology. Items acquired in-game — armor, houses, experience points — have a tangible value that users can trade with other players in a marketplace.
This free market concept provides an ideal complement to digital ownership in video games, which can generate sorely needed income on behalf of marginalized communities.
One such example can be found in the Philippines, where residents already teetering on the poverty line amidst the epidemic found themselves either jobless or struggling to put food on the table. The locals in Cabanatuan City, a rural community north of Manilla, discovered an unusual way to make ends meet.
Playing Axie Infinity, a Pokémon-inspired universe where users can earn tokens through gameplay and contributions to the ecosystem.
Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) are an ERC-20 governance token for the Axie Universe. AXS holders can claim token staking rewards, play the game, and participate in crucial governance votes. Players will also earn AXS when they play various minigames within the Axie Infinity Universe and through user-generated content initiatives.
AXS was featured during the final NFT Exclusive slot during Manic NFT MAYhem on May 25 and ProBit Global will open a second window of opportunity for everyone to get 50% off AXS as part of our overarching support and commitment to the socially invigorating play-to-earn ecosystem.
Within the Axie Infinity ecosystem, players can breed, battle, and trade their digital pets known as Axies. Users must purchase three Axie NFTs before they can begin playing the game. At the game’s conception, new users could buy Axies for around $5, but due to elevated demand and rising transaction fees, average prices have increased to over $100 USD
As rising Axie prices are out of reach for many Filipinos, some residents took it into their own hands to find a solution. This ultimately led to the conception of Axie University. Axie University, developed by a few Axie Infinity early adopters, enables new users to rent Axies instead of purchasing them outright. The Axie University creators retain ownership of all Axie assets. This allows those affected by today’s extraordinary circumstances to try the game without investment at the outset. Profit generated from the renters in-game time is shared between Axie University founders and the renter.
How is revenue generated? Axie Infinity is community-owned. When you purchase an Axie, you are, in essence, purchasing a share of the game. This ownership modality rewards Axie users a percentage of the revenue and profit from the platform’s growth. In-game items, such as smooth love potions, can be exchanged for AXS and then subsequently pesos. After only a few short weeks’ committed gamers can make 300–400 USD from Axie Infinity, nearly twice what they would typically make in a month.
Axie Infinity won’t eradicate poverty, but it is a thought-provoking example of how technology can alleviate stress from some of our world’s most vulnerable people. Emerging economies where job opportunities are lacking and government relief is limited may benefit from a further proliferation of pay-to-earn games. This movement is not limited to Axie Infinity; numerous other platforms are looking to transform a pastime into a revenue stream.
Axie Infinity exceeds the mere boundaries of a game for its global community as it provides a tight-knit social network, an educational platform, and economic sustainability.
