Crypto gaming and blockchain gaming are becoming more advanced with more options for players. They can offer rewards to players, such as in-game currency or in-game assets, and both of these can hold real monetary value and can usually be traded outside the game to other players.
Play-to-earn (P2E) is the crypto gaming model most players are accustomed to, but play-to-own (P2O) is an alternative that has its benefits, too. Below, we explore these two models.
New Tokens in Crypto Gaming
When discussing the P2E and P2O models, it’s important to first highlight the power of new tokens in that environment. New tokens launch every month, including the likes of PlayDoge which reached the end of its presale in August. The Tamagotchi-style game token raised more than $6 million in presale and subsequently launched alpha footage of its gameplay.
Meme coins continue their hot streak, too, in terms of launches, with brand-new projects like Bitcoin Bull Token (BTC Bull Token) catching the eye among the plethora of meme coins. As Bitcoin prices rise, BTCBull tokens get burned. Burning tokens reduces the overall supply, thereby increasing scarcity and potentially the value of the token. For investors that believe Bitcoin will break its all time high and embark on a substantial bull run, the community-backed Bitcoin Bull could be a good option. The token is still in the very early stages of its presale (source: https://btcbulltoken.com/en), which means that buyers can access massive discounts and other bonuses, which are further amplified for investors willing to stake the Ether they invest: a potentially good use for crypto gaming earnings.
What Is Play To Own
Not all crypto games are designed to provide financial earnings or profits. Some, known as play-to-own games, offer in-game assets or non-fungible tokens (NFTs), instead. While these may be sellable on marketplaces or directly to other players, the main aim of the P2O player is to amass a collection of the most desirable assets.
Instead of receiving in-game assets that are effectively stuck in that game world, P2O assets may be transferrable to other games. It may be possible to upgrade and improve them through playing and leveling up, and, because the player owns the assets, it is possible to sell them to other gamers.
Pros
NFTs can be traded on NFT marketplaces which means players are rewarded for the time they invest in a game. They can also become highly collectible.
Some World of Warcraft and other game items have sold for thousands of dollars in the past, but, generally speaking, it is the game producer, Blizzard, that owns these items. They could make the item obsolete and may prohibit the sale of in-game items, and there is very little players can do about it. In contrast, NFTs belong to players, which means game producers can’t prevent their sale.
Cons
In-game assets rely on the popularity of the game to maintain their value, or hope that other games will allow the transfer of NFTs to their game worlds. This isn’t guaranteed.
An NFT worth $100 when it is earned might become worthless within a few days if lots of other players acquire similar items. And if there’s no demand for the item, then the NFT is essentially worthless.
What Are Play-To-Earn Games?
What P2O games don’t typically do is reward the player with digital currency, which is what is on offer with Play-To-Earn titles. In P2E games, players typically receive in-game currency in exchange for time spent on the game, for leveling up, beating certain levels or bosses, or performing other in-game actions.
Players receive coins that hold in-game value. They can generally be used to further advance a player’s character, buy new items, or open up new levels.
But, they are also cryptocurrency tokens that have real-world value. They can be bought and sold on exchanges, stored and held in wallets, and they can potentially offer profit to the player if the price of that cryptocurrency goes up.
Pros
P2E games enable players to earn real currency, albeit cryptocurrencies. These can be bought, sold, and traded on exchanges, and some in-game currencies have become popular as trading coins, as well as for their use as in-game currencies.
The currency can also be used to pay for real-world purchases, either directly or by converting them to fiat currency. The more popular the game becomes, the more the value of that cryptocurrency increases, too.
Cons
While P2E cryptocurrencies can increase in value, there is also the very real possibility that the coins will drop in value. A player could find that their $100 holding is suddenly only worth $50.
And while some cryptocurrencies are fairly widely accepted, others are much less popular, which means the player will need to convert their currency to be able to spend what they have earned. This means using exchanges and delving into the cryptocurrency trading world.
Conclusion
P2E and P2O are both forms of the crypto gaming model. One rewards the player with real cryptocurrency (P2E) while the other rewards them with NFTs (P2O).
While it is possible to sell and trade NFTs, the P2O player is more likely to be interested in getting the best NFTs for their character, rather than making money from their gaming. But, both can be fun, and both have the added value that cryptocurrency brings to games.
