The era of gaming as we know it is on the cusp of large-scale advancement. In one aspect, that involves Web3 games utilising the strengths of NFTs, ushering in a new dimension of having fun and creative ownership.

In 2021, Web3 gaming attracted over US$4 billion in investments from venture capitalists with over 1.4 million active wallets interacting with Web3-based games. According to DappRadar’s Blockchain Game Report 2021, NFT games accounted for 20 per cent of the total NFT trading volume last year.

One unique factor that has made Web3 gaming attractive to early adopters is the play-to-earn (P2E) gaming model. Users earn in-game items, as well as NFT assets that can translate to real-world value. While in traditional gaming, players have little to no control over their in-game content, the P2E model operates rather differently. Leveraging NFT technology, P2E gaming empowers players with more control over their gaming experience in terms of content ownership. Buying, selling and trading these NFT assets on global marketplaces is now more accessible than ever, as seen in the case of OpenSea’s 1.5 million active users.

As opposed to only playing for fun, Web3 gaming via P2E takes it one step further through game rewards that can be converted into local currency or other real-world value. Although the Web3 ecosystem allows players to earn more as they play, the high entry cost among many P2E platforms are posing major stumbling blocks.

Reducing entry barriers in play-to-earn games

P2E games have been a hit, no doubt. Major industry players have even touted it as the future of the gaming industry. However, for the next leg of mainstream growth, certain challenges must be addressed, one of which is the high upfront cost requirement for new players.

Reflecting on the current state of the P2E ecosystem, Meta Mike, Co-Founder of MetaDerby says, “Play-to-earn gaming has a lot to offer, which is why gamers are strongly inclined to have fun while they earn valuable rewards. However, most P2E games require players to purchase costly NFTs well before they can actually start earning.”

A majority of popular P2E games require users to purchase the game’s related NFTs, costing up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars. For instance, Axie Infinity, a pioneer in the P2E ecosystem, requires new players to purchase its characters known as Axies before getting started. A productive Axie can often be acquired at around US$300, a relatively hefty price tag for the average consumer.

Also Read: These are exciting times for Web3, and we want you to be part of this journey with us

Adding the initial cost component to gaming is not a fun experience. Fundamentally, if the relatively expensive cost factor is removed and players can truly get started for free, Web3 gaming can transition to become a whole lot more attractive.

Merging the best of free-to-play for Web3 gaming

The traditional gaming industry has been around for a while now and has stood the test of time over the years. One of the reasons for this has been the widespread push of free-to-play (F2P) models. Popular mobile games like Candy Crush, Fortnite, GTA V, Call of Duty mobile and countless more have successfully incorporated F2P models. Gamers simply download, get hands-on and spend hours of enjoyable gameplay. No need to risk spending a lot of money from the get-go.

This same model can be applied to Web3 gaming, especially within the fast-growing P2E industry. To attract more gamers, developers need to rethink how to combine familiar F2P elements into the evolving P2E environment.

One example integrating the F2P model for the existing play-to-earn ecosystem is MetaDerby, the first free-to-play horse racing game in the metaverse. New players are only required to complete a beginners task, in which they are then rewarded a free NFT horse to begin gameplay. In contrast with existing P2E games that require initial NFT purchases, MetaDerby takes a friendlier approach by simply eliminating the upfront cost barrier.

“Free-to-play models have consistently proven to attract and retain active gamers. Naturally, it makes sense for the P2E and F2P concepts to merge and encourage millions of new players into the burgeoning P2E ecosystem,” says Meta Mike.

More Web3-based titles such as Splinterlands and Gods Unchained are also enacting the free-to-play incentive in P2E. Better yet, the proven model can be easily infused into a variety of game genres including racing, RPGs, shooter games and the larger Metaverse realm.

Finding the right balance

Gaming is all about having fun, and earning rewards in parallel is even more enticing. Players that seek new revenue streams through P2E earnings are increasingly demanding games that eases the burden on their wallets. Having a blast, earning assets that retain real-world value, while being able to try new games with no upfront cost may perhaps be the right chemistry for the growth of Web3 gaming.

—

The article was first published by The Human & Machine.

Image Credit: The Human & Machine

The post Can free-to-play models ignite new player interest for Web3 gaming? appeared first on e27.