As the gaming industry continues to thrive, so does the potential for new and innovative ways to play. Gamers now have access to a wider variety of NFT gaming platforms, games, and online communities than ever before. In addition to digital storefronts like Steam and the App Store, gamers can also get their fix by participating in live streams, esports tournaments, or even video game conventions (like PAX).
With this influx of innovative ways to play has come an increase in demand for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) (also known as non-finite tokens) and their associated technology.
Worldwide, gamers are spending more time with games than ever before. According to SuperData, the gaming market will reach a value of $143 billion by the end of 2020 with 2.3 billion gamers worldwide. This has also spurred an increased demand for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that can be used across various game environments and experiences. Gaming is leading the way in this new digital trend, helping to spur its adoption among developers and players alike.
The craze around non-fungible tokens has just started. In the coming years, we will see an exponential growth of non-fungible token usage among different industries and businesses.
The gaming sector is leading this transformation with its unique needs and requirements. Let’s take a look at the future of non-fungible tokens and why gaming is so important for this development.
In this article, we’ll explain what non-fungible tokens are and why they’re important. We’ll explore some examples of non-fungible tokens in action within the gaming sphere as well as dive into where we see them going from here.
What Are Non-Fungible Tokens?
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are unique digital items that can’t be exchanged or substituted. Unlike fungible tokens, each NFT is both unique and irreplaceable. For example, a single bitcoin can be split into fractions and traded as many times as someone would like.
However, each bitcoin is unique — there can never be another “first” bitcoin. NFTs are becoming increasingly popular in gaming due to the fact that they can be used to create virtual assets that don’t have to fit the mold of a traditional game.
By implementing the use of NFTs, game developers can create a level of depth and immersion that may not be possible otherwise. Non-fungible tokens are a special type of digital token that references unique digital assets.
Think of them as virtual trading cards or collectible stickers. These types of tokens, first introduced by CryptoKitties, can only be owned and transferred once. Unlike fungible tokens, you can own a specific non-fungible token, rather than just a general one. Let’s take a look at why that matters.
Why Does Gaming Need Non-Fungible Tokens?
One of the biggest reasons gaming needs NFTs is to increase the level of ownership players feel towards their in-game assets. While many games allow players to earn and unlock new items, these items are usually a part of a larger economy.
This means that no matter how long or hard a player has worked for a certain item — or how much money the player has spent acquiring it — the item still has no real value outside of the NFT gaming platform. For example, let’s say you play a battle royale-style game and have earned a specific cosmetic item.
You’ve been playing the game for months and have finally earned this coveted piece of loot. You’re feeling really good about your accomplishment — as you should be — and now you’re wondering what you should do with it.
The item you’ve just earned holds no value outside of the game, so you can’t do anything with it other than wear it in-game or trade it with other players. This means your hard work and money spent acquiring that item doesn’t have much meaning. It’s a great feeling to have accomplished something in-game, but it’s even better to be able to take that accomplishment and do something with it outside of the game.
Virtual Assets and Collectibles
Another reason gaming needs NFTs is to allow players to collect other player-owned virtual items. Let’s say you play a game that features a trading card-like mechanic. You’ve been collecting cards and have a pretty nice deck. However, you’re only able to use the cards you’ve earned.
If you’re looking for variety, you can’t go out and buy a different deck from someone else in the game. If the game featured NFTs however, you could purchase cards from other players and add them to your deck. This would allow you to create the deck that’s best for you, rather than having to settle for what you’ve earned in-game.
Crypto-Based Games
In a traditional game like Monopoly, all pieces are exactly the same. If you trade your racing car for someone else’s hotel token, you still have the same game with different tokens. With non-fungible tokens or NFTs, each item is unique and can’t be replaced by another copy of that item. Think about a baseball card, for example, each card is unique and might have slightly different attributes from other copies of the exact same card.
A non-fungible token (NFT) is an asset that is unique and cannot be interchangeable with another one being tracked on a blockchain ledger. In other words, NFTs are digital assets that are not able to be interchanged with or copied from other tokens. It’s not surprising that NFT gaming is getting much attention.
Each individual unit of an NFT has special properties that make it different from every other unit in existence. NFTs are designed specifically for use in video games and digital environments where they add value to users as collectibles and rewards rather than as interchangeable currency units.
Another way gaming can benefit from the use of NFTs is through the creation of crypto-based games. Crypto-based games use blockchain technology to allow players to purchase, earn, or win items that can be used in-game. One of the biggest issues with this, however, is that the items are fungible.
This means players can’t really do anything with the items they earn or win. You can’t trade your Windranger bow for someone else’s Windranger bow, for example. If you’re playing a game that features NFTs, however, you can trade your bow for someone else’s bow, or whatever other assets they have. In addition to allowing players to trade their items, NFTs can also be used to create items that are truly unique.
Conclusion
As the gaming industry continues to thrive and developers experiment with new ways to play, the need for non-fungible tokens and their associated technology will only continue to grow. The gaming community will continue to see new and innovative ways to play that are only possible thanks to NFTs, and we’ll be better off for it. And of course, NFT gaming isn’t dying anytime soon.
