Evolution of gaming: Play2Earn vs Play&Earn
During the history of video gaming, we have witnessed the switch of the game monetization strategies by game developers at least a few times. Some changes were good for both the players and developers. Some just increased the revenue but had a big backlash from the gaming community.
We have experienced Free-to-Play games, microtransactions, DLCs, freemium, and even Pay2Win games. Yet it’s the most recently emerging trend, Play2Earn, that switches the main paradigm of video gaming.
Play&Earn sounds better than Play2Earn
The biggest difference between “old school gaming” and new web3 Play2Earn games is the goal of the game. The Play2Earn name says it all — it’s about earning. This is the biggest motivation to play. In such conditions, it is hard to talk about the sustainability of the in-game economy and the commitment to play is available as long as playing is profitable.
All the players are gathering resources just to sell them to others — in most cases the newcomers. What happens when there is no fresh blood? The game and its communities are facing a death spiral — there is almost no enjoyment in playing and the earning possibilities are not welcoming. This is the end…
On the other hand — Play&Earn model where the earning is just a part of the gaming fun sounds much better, doesn’t it?
Your next job — playing games (you probably don’t like)
The Play2Earn games are like a new economic system where you can make money while playing. This idea is not something new — even in the old days, games like Heroes of Might and Magic or even The Sims had complex ecosystems with opportunities to earn currency that was used for obtaining cool items.
These in-game currencies often had real-world value like in Tibia (you can still buy the Tibia gold in the different marketplaces even though the game is more than 20 years old!).
The same goes for the famous World of Worldcraft where the top players and “grinders” will play all day just to get the items they can sell. Yet the concept and value proposition of these games is different from the Play2Earn — they were made to bring fun while playing and the in-game economies are just a part of it.
Why do people play games — value proposition
Video games were once a simple form of entertainment, but now they’re becoming more than that. You were paying once the price of the game and the expectation was to have fun with it.
Today, with the massive online communities and web3 revolution, the space is growing in many directions simultaneously. What’s more important, gaming is becoming an important part of our lives and we treat it as such.
The “old school” games — so the ones before the Play2Earn craze like CS:GO — had items that players would value and buy on the secondary market. Some people would just play for hours and hours to get their hands on the skin of the gun with great value.
The same goes for the before-mentioned World of Worldcraft — a tiny number of gamers would make playing and getting in-game items their job, but the huge majority is there for the game itself and the entertainment it provides. For most players, it is important that these games are “Play2Enjoy” model!
Time for evolution — Play & Earn
We have been talking about how the Play2Earn is killing enjoyment in gaming — the thing that made us play games in the first place. Does it mean P2E should be forgotten? Not at all!
The new economies and the endless possibilities of blockchain tech brought us gaming that is more transparent and a great introduction to the web3 and NFT world. All we have to do is to start making games that focus not only on the earning possibilities but also on enjoyment. Fortunately, the P2E space is still early and we believe that the change is coming.
Hopefully, the new games won’t be like Aliens World or Farmers World, famous in the P2E space — they are going to focus much more on the playability, not only on the earning part.
GamerHash did it before it was cool
Yes, you’ve heard it well. GamerHash was not only a precursor in the Play2Earn space, buying plots in The Sandbox and Aavegotchi metaverses — before that, in 2019 we created the Play&Earn module in the GamerHash app! The idea was simple — to connect the gamers and game publishers and GamerHash partners.
In our Play&Earn, gamers are rewarded for playing and testing out new games. Having fun is the main part and earning is just a perk that everyone enjoys. You can use money earned straight away in the GamerHash store for your favorite skins or other digital items. And there are thousands of them to choose from.
Apart from earning while having fun with GamerHash, we are also teaching gamers about the web3 and the possibilities of the Play2Earn and Metaverse gaming. Our goal is to bring more knowledge about the disruptive technology revolution that is becoming a reality.
With the knowledge and gaming fun, GamerHash is becoming a gaming guild where people enjoy spending time, and additionally, they earn while doing so!
See you in the Play&Earn space!
