Gaming & NFTs – A New Way To Earn
What is an NFT?
I feel like we should start slow. NFTs or “Non-Fungible Tokens” are a unique, verifiable certificate given to digital assets so you can prove ownership of said digital asset. Millions of dollars of NFT sales have happened in recent months and now game developers are looking to incorporate them into their platforms but is this a good thing? How are gamers like you and I able to make money from this?
Well, let’s find out.
New Tech
Times are tough in the art world. Fakes are everywhere and experts are often needed to dispel forgeries. It’s no wonder that the occasional fake will still sell at Sotheby’s for millions. With Blockchain technology though, this is a thing of the past.
Today, digital assets can be verified as being legitimate as well as attributing them to the correct and legal owner. While it can be downloaded, copied, and shared by almost anyone with an internet connection there’s only one buyer who can prove that they are the rightful owner. Essentially, it’s a letter of authenticity that this piece of art belongs to you.
This is important because it gives what you hold an actual value. If people are replicating it, putting it on shirts, clips, music videos, etc. you suddenly have an original valuable asset that can be bought and sold.
How Gamers & Devs Make Money With NFTs
Usually to play a game you’ve got to go down the traditional route of buying it first. With NFT-based games however they’re usually free to download, but you’ve got to buy NFTs to join the action. These can be in the form of armor, heroes, creatures, or weapons.
The standard grinding usually follows but instead of just gaining XP and achievements you will also gain some cryptocurrency, the type will depend on what the game developer chooses to use. You can then use that currency to buy more in-game gear or even turn them into real money and withdraw it as cash.
Most of the games have a sort of marketplace too, where you can buy and sell your NFTs to other gamers, ending the need for grinding, though some could argue it’s another method of “pay to win” – with devs usually taking a cut of each purchase.
When the game becomes more popular, the marketplace grows and with it so does the potential for making money. Gamers can choose to grind their way up the ladder and convert their earnings straight to cash, while others might play the market with supply and demand and make their profit that way. Others might just play the game because they simply enjoy it and the ecosystem it provides.
These NFT games benefit everyone, the developers take cuts for their hard work, gamers make money for their time and effort, and whales can get their fun gaming the market.
Potential Pitfalls
As with all methods of making money, especially with cryptocurrencies – there is a risk.
The cryptos that developers use for their games are notoriously volatile, as most cryptos are. Everyone knows about the rise of Bitcoin, Doge, and others in recent years, but not all cryptos go up, most go down.
You’ll want to have caution when partaking in these NFT games. Some players mitigate risk by withdrawing any earned currency to real cash as soon as possible, rather than leaving it as crypto and vulnerable to wild market fluctuations.
You also want to be sure that the developers are trustworthy, the last thing you want is the developer to suddenly close and you’re left holding a bag of NFTs with no means to sell them.
When Gaming Becomes Work
There’s also the professional angle, if you’re gaming as your sole way of income, then are you still gaming or are you now working?
Be under no illusion, NFT games are populated by players who 99% of the time are making money from it. These increased stakes come with much more pressure and responsibility, it could be an investment, it could be your rent for the month.
In any case, for those who are exceedingly talented at them, or have a passion for it, then NFT games could be for you. There’s a huge market out there for gamers and devs to seize with both hands.
Are you going to get involved with NFT games? If so, what’s your favorite? If not, why not?
We want to know!