Highlights

• Play-to-earn games are a new model in decentralized games that allow players to play, earn and sell its in-game assets.
• Various industries are now investing across NFTs that has sparked excitement and scepticism in the tech and gaming sector.

With the emerging gaming world and blockchain technology, NFT games are one of the top trending topics in the crypto space this year. A few years ago, NFTs were just virtual assets that are only known to tech geeks.  

Play-to-earn games are a new model in decentralized games that allow players to play, earn and sell its in-game assets such as characters, weapons, vehicles, coins and more, as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on cryptomarket.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital tokens whose certificates of authenticity and ownership are registered on blockchain technology, and it cryptographically represents the ownership of unique physical and digital assets of real-world items that can be traded for fiat currency in another non-fungible asset or digital currency.

Various industries are now investing in NFTs, which has pumped in enthusiasm in the tech and gaming sector. Recently, French video game company Ubisoft launched Quartz, a platform where players can acquire NFTs within games. Also, other gaming heavyweights including Take-Two, Electronic Arts and Atari have also indicated an interest in NFTs.   

French start-up Sorare, that allows sports fans to invest in NFT versions of tradition football cards, has received an investment of US $680 million this year.  According to DFC Intelligence, over 3 billion people play video games that represent 40% of the world population.

According to Crypto.com around 221 million people around the world invested in cryptocurrencies by June 2021, double since January 2021.  So, with the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies, Play-to-earn games are gaining popularity in a fast pace and allowing people to profit from the technology.

Also read: OpenSea IPO: Is the largest NFT marketplace going public?

Here are the Top 10 play-to-earn crypto games that you may consider investing and exploring in 2022.

1. Axie Infinity

Launched in 2018, Axie Infinity is one of the most popular play-to-earn games, developed by Sky Mavis and is inspired by Pokémon game but with a blockchain twist. In this game, players need to compete with other players to collect, raise, breed and trade creatures known as Axies, which are digitized as NFTs and has its own genetic imprint and can be traded on Ethereum NFT markets. To get started with this game, the players need to collect 3 Axies. Its native tokens include Smooth Love portion (SLP) and Axis Infinity Shard (AXS).

2. Battle of Guardians

 The Battle of Guardians is the newest launched play-to-earn game that is based on Solana Blockchain. In this player need to compete for rewards, but for competing player needs to have some form of in-game currency such as Fighting points and Guardians Share to complete the transactions. The game offers various opportunities and NFTs to generate real-world revenue that are the assets for the players, and it believes it will help stabilize the economy in the long run.  

3. Rainmaker

Rainmaker is one of the most sought-after digital currencies at present and stock fantasy gaming platform that is designed to educate and collect investors across the world. The game offers on a single platform to play blockchain games against each other, which leverages real-time stock and crypto market data and events to evaluate the decision-making abilities and also help new investors by offering them with training and development opportunities and participating in contests offered on the platform.

Also Read: What are "Pepsi Mic Drop" NFTs?

4. Splinterlands

Splinterland is a tradable free-to-play card games, inspired by Magic the Gathering and Hearthstone and is built on the Hive blockchain. The players need to compete with each other to earn in-game rewards. But to get started on this, players need to buy a starter pack of cards and then get a registration done on a Steam account that will enable players to unveil the cards brought. The games include various factions called splinters, under which the trading cards fall, with seven stats that players have: armor, mana, speed, and types of attack include magic, ranged and melee.

5. RaceFi

RaceFi is a first Solana-based automobile racing ecosystem in which player may race or own in-game property of the game and earn in its metaverse. With PvE or PvP and racers or gamblers, the possibilities are nearly endless and it also employs two Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies: AXS and SLP. As to compete with other players, cars are essential assets so they can buy the game’s car collection from the polrare marketplace.

6. Polygonum

Polygonum is a free-to-play cross-platform DeFi multiplayer survival simulation game that includes NFT, crypto and Open gaming world components. The game allows players to trade in-game assets, mine coins, and minerals and create their own regions and communities and has three primary zones that include: Farming (FARM), PVP (Player-versus-player) and PVE (hunting and exploring). Players may also compete with each other by taking territories and fighting, looting other player’s assets and developing barricades together to defend themselves from various threats.     

7. MetaWars

MetaWars is a multiplayer strategy and roleplaying game that is based on blockchain technology. In this game, players are free to immerse themselves in the most realistic space explorations, to earn from the war economy of the game. Metawars consists of three aspects that cover everything related to exploration, the fleet formation follows, where players customise their robots and fleet ships and the last is combat segment. The game also allows players to play together to discover variety of galaxies and complete a series of missions. 

Also Read: What prompted Melania Trump to unveil her NFT platform

 

8. Sorare

Launched in 2018, Sorare is another card collecting fantasy game that features footballers from different leagues around the world. It is based on Ethereum’s blockchain technology and allows players to trade and manage a virtual team with the help of digital cards. The players may create virtual teams of five soccer players that depends on blockchain cards available on the game’s platform. If the player’s team wins the match their team becomes stronger and rewards them in Ether Tokens. The game includes three levels of scarcity that are Unique, Rare and Extremely Rare.    

9. Sandbox 3D

Sandbox 3D is one of the most popular NFT game for creating and trading virtual assets and is based on voxel gaming metaverse. The game allows players to monetize and customize voxel assets and receive tools to develop and animate objects that can be traded in BFT marketplace. For this player is rewarded with ERC-20 token, known as SAND. 

10. Star Atlas

Star Atlas is a massive multiplayer online game, with space theme and grand strategy. the game is based on Solana blockchain and uses the popular and groundbreaking unreal five video game engine, that allow game to feature cinema-quality and real-time environments. The game is going to feature two in-game currencies that are ATLAS and POLIS. The game is set in way in future in 2620, where there are three major sections: humankind, a consortium of alien races and sentient androids, who all are competing for resources and control.