Crypto gaming: Is it worth your time and money?

As we spent large amounts of time inside during Covid, the lockdowns appeared to have supercharged the gaming industry, which is now    crypto games   experiencing huge growth.And it wasn’t just a fad. Research from InvestGame shows the global video games industry grew during 2021, too.

In the first half of the year, private investments more than tripled year on year, while public offerings were up from $4.9bn in the first half of 2020 to $17.1bn in H1 2021.InvestGame noted another trend in its research: the rise of blockchain-based gaming.

Crypto games combine the two technologies, whether through the use of an non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace or by allowing gamers to earn cryptocurrency rewards through playing.

Cryptocurrency in the gaming industry is emerging as a successful combination. Axie Infinity, one of the most popular crypto games, has amassed a staggering $1.2bn in revenue.What is crypto gaming?Traditional games are centralised, which means all items and experience (XP) gained while playing cannot be used in other games. Crypto gaming changes this by introducing blockchain technology. Players can now use their rewards and items across different crypto gaming projects.

Crypto gaming also offers a way for players to earn money. This is called a play-to-earn model and players can do this in a variety of ways. Take Axie Infinity, for example. Users can buy characters called Axies, level them up, then sell them at a higher price. Players can also battle with their Axies to earn SLP and AXS, which are Ethereum-based crypto gaming tokens.

This introduces a whole new element to the industry – the idea that gamers can earn crypto while gaming. Worldwide Asset Exchange found this is a welcome development, as three out of four gamers wished they could use their currency on other platforms. But is it just gamers playing?