The gaming industry is considered the most lucrative and profitable source of entertainment globally, with a $134.9 billion USD market enjoyed by over 2.3 billion users. Mobile gaming currently accounts for the majority share of the industry’s revenue — 47% percent of it — and blockchain technology is armed and ready to shape the future of the industry.
The year 2018 was considered the first ‘official year’ for crypto-gaming, marked with the release of the tongue-in-cheek ‘CryptoKitties’ in late 2017, in which users breed and sell digital cats for Ethereum. These digital felines are tokens that can be traded between wallets for other cryptocurrencies and in-game assets. As simplistic as this game developed by Axiom Zen is, this was the first time that crypto-gaming was thrust in the public eye as a viable development direction for the gaming industry.
Blockchain technology has the ability to bring new opportunities, remuneration, and incentives for avid gamers as well as providing increased security for gamers. As a result, technology heavyweights are backing a foray into crypto-gaming. The $16 million USD Series A funding raised by Mythical Games in November 2018 is a prime example. The raised venture capital will be used to develop a line of games across a variety of platforms on the EOSIO blockchain, giving developers free rein to develop “player owned economies.”
Big names such as Sony and Epic Games are reported to be exploring blockchain use with PlayStation 4 set to launch a blockchain-based video game in 2019. Microsoft is in the process of releasing a blockchain-product that would manage content rights and royalties of Xbox. Ultimately, the revolutionization of gaming through blockchain technology is already in motion.
Why Use Blockchain Technology in Gaming?
In traditional legacy games such as Call of Duty and Counter-Strike, users embark on quests to complete missions in order to earn ‘rewards’. These can be in the form of weapons, supply drops, equipment, and other assets relevant to the game.
The value of these virtual assets becomes apparent as the gamer progresses through more advanced levels of action where these rewards can be used to accomplish increasingly difficult tasks (kills). They are often sold or traded as well. This exchange of in-game assets has become a highly lucrative industry, with an estimated worth of over $50 billion USD and growing.
However, in-game items and Avatars are owned by the game developers regardless of any peer-to-peer transactions that take place. Storage of virtual assets and characters on blockchain allows for a decentralised ownership record separate from the gaming company. As a result, virtual assets increase in intrinsic value and liquidity, as the players themselves have irrefutable ownership rights over them. This is the same for popular blockchain-based games such as CryptoKitties with non-fungible assets.
Transferability and Authentication
A common problem that plagues conventional gaming is the inability to prove ownership of specific virtual items acquired in gameplay, which can ultimately lead to fraud.
By the very nature of the blockchain technology, there is a secure ledger that records a player’s assets and records the authenticity and the “scarcity” of the asset. If a player sells an in-game asset to another player, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain. This ensures that every transaction is legitimate: items can only be sold by the true owner, and can only be sold once, thus eliminating fraud and preserving the value of the asset.
With the immutable record of game data, assets can now be transferred between gaming platforms via a ‘smart contract’ and the record will follow the asset, authenticating ownership (and value) to the new gaming environment.
Further, for those who take their online digital identities (Avatar) seriously, the blockchain also secures this for a player. The blockchain technology not only safeguards the Avatar’s special features and virtual assets but it also protects gamers from hacking, thereby securing personal information.
Revain’s Transition into Gaming
Revain’s Platform is an unbiased review platform built on blockchain technology revolutionalising the review industry. The Platform’s trusted customer-review system provides trustworthy, constructive, and authentic feedback on projects, companies, exchanges, etc. With the current focus on crypto-market, Revain is to expand its horizons to the consumer market and gaming just may be the logical next step for The Platform.
With the power and integrity of blockchain technology, Revain is in a prime position to create a community of gamers so that they could review existing gaming platforms and, in general, discuss developments in the gaming industry, helping to shape the future of this favourite pastime.
Benefits for the Game Developer
In a community-driven environment such as The Revain Platform, developers could amass peer support for new gaming concepts. The Platform is a prime candidate to provide an opportunity for direct developer-to-consumer contact, eliminating third-party intermediary that aids with the marketing and distribution of crypto-games. This also allows the developer to exercise complete control over their digital rights to the game.
Small-scale developers could also potentially overcome major barriers they often encounter when trying to enter this competitive market, such as securing funding for development — as Platform participants may be more likely to promote crowdfunding efforts to launch innovate ideas. And with further consideration, it is conceivable that Revain could even play a role in developers receiving cryptocurrency payments directly from the game player through the implementation of smart contracts, further facilitating the direct developer-to-consumer connection.
And finally, as game developers establish a reputation through user reviews of their products, there is also an opportunity for further monetisation of their games through the establishment and secure trade of virtual assets with verifiable intrinsic value.
The continued integration of blockchain into the gaming industry is undisputed, as seen in the increase of available crypto-games and by the steps taken by major names like Sony to integrate blockchain technology into their existing consoles and games. Of all these possible benefits to implementing The Revain Platform for community building, support, exchange, and funding, the only questions remaining are when and how Revain might step into the ring and will you be a part of the action?
