Just as blockchain technology is disrupting the financial sector, so too is it revolutionising the gaming industry. In Q1 2022 alone, investors have poured more than US$2 billion into blockchain games.
Meanwhile, esports continues to grow, with global revenue already reaching US$1.38 billion in 2022. In fact, the esports audience is estimated to be 532 million people worldwide.
When gaming meets finance
The growing popularity of blockchain games has given rise to the buzzword GameFi, which is a portmanteau of “game” and “finance”.
Unlike traditional video games, GameFi offers economic incentives to players in the form of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which is why the term play-to-earn was born.
This is in stark contrast to traditional gaming, where players only get virtual items such as in-game gold, armour, weapons, and so on, which have no value outside the game.
Esports and evolution
Meanwhile, esports helped traditional gaming evolve by turning video games into spectator sports. Game designers must now also keep in mind the audience watching the esports competitions.
For instance, how can they make the gameplay easier to understand and follow? What kind of fresh content can they release to keep interested in the game alive and make it more engaging?
Esports has also introduced gaming to a new audience, who might not have started out as gamers, but who enjoy watching the tournaments and cheering on their favourite teams.
Blockchain as a game changer
Now, blockchain gaming is, in turn, revolutionising the esports industry. For one, the esports industry is currently fragmented, with different game publishers, game developers, and esports organisations running their own tournaments on different platforms. With blockchain, however, esports can have a decentralised platform that will bring together all stakeholders.
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Moreover, the use of blockchain will also increase trust in esports because of the transparency of the platform, which allows everyone to see what is happening. Not only that but also cryptocurrency will enable secure payment systems and in-app purchases.
These are just some of the benefits that blockchain technology brings to the table for esports.
Beyond Web3 bubble
One big challenge, however, is whether GameFi can grow beyond the cryptocurrency space and attract traditional gamers and even non-gamers.
“Perhaps it’s building out the gaming experience or creating new openings for non-crypto-native players to enter the space, but there’s a range of opportunities and challenges for builders and gamers,” TechCrunch noted in this article.
After all, the main reason players fall in love with a game is because it is fun. Sure, esports is a competition, and pro gamers are out to win cash prizes and attract sponsorships. But they would not have become interested in the game in the first place if not for the fun factor. Nor would the audience want to watch esports tournaments if the games were boring.
A tale of two game developers
What we will see in this space are two parallel developments: blockchain game developers that will try to make their games more fun and traditional game studios that will try to embrace Web3 and integrate blockchain into their games.
Both will face challenges, and blockchain gaming startup Playfix was founded precisely to help developers overcome these. Playfix offers a platform for easily building, launching, and growing web3 games and NFTs. By providing all the APIs needed to build a web3 game, from tokens to NFTs to wallets, developers don’t have to worry about the technology. Instead, they can focus on what they do best: making fun games and delighting their players.
So get ready, gamers. With blockchain gaming, esports is about to level up again.
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