In the waves of the coronavirus, gaming became the respite for millions across the world. Now, it is not just gaming for fun. It is gaming to earn rewards and sometimes, a living. With the influx of many play-to-earn crypto games, many are beginning to wonder if crypto games can replace their day jobs.
For the skeptics, the question is more about the legitimacy of crypto games being a revenue source. The truth is that many gamers across the world are making a living through crypto gaming. If you are one of the late adopters wondering if this is a legitimate source of income, read this post to get enlightened.
How Gamers make Money from Play-to-earn Crypto Games
When the hype around crypto games began to rise, many think it is another Ponzi scheme. Interestingly, game platforms, such as Axie Infinity, have debunked this assumption. Currently, Axie Infinity has over 2.23 million active daily players from all across the world.
Players on the game platform participate in battles with colorful blob-like Axies and get rewarded with SLPs, which can be exchanged for cash or cryptocurrency. The tokens can also be reinvested into the game’s metaverse.
According to one of the players from the Philippines, he plays Axie Infinity for about two hours daily and earns between $148- $185 monthly in pesos. It is worth noting that this earning is almost half of what he earns in his current nine-to-five job. With his earnings, he pays his sister’s school fees and helps out in paying bills in the home.
The pandemic created a perfect opportunity for these play-to-earn games to attract players from across the world. While sitting at home and staying away from getting in contact with infected persons, they can play a game and earn money while at it.
Is Play-to-earn Crypto Game a House of Cards?
The massive growth in the number of people turning to play-to-earn crypto games has raised questions about the sustainability of crypto games. For example, Sky Mavis, the creator of Axie Infinity, generates revenue from marketplace fees and breeding. Axie Infinity has also earned over one billion Euros and attracted powerful moneybags and backers.
Due to the remarkable growth within a short span, many gaming industry analysts think that the business model of the game platform is not sustainable. This is one of the reasons it is likened to a Ponzi since it needs new players to maintain the in-flow of money.
According to industry analysts, most play-to-earn crypto-based games are a house of cards that are controlled by price speculation and hype. Many opine that for these game metaverses to survive a possible market crash, they have to integrate some real-world utility and assets into their games that do not rely on the volatility of the markets.
How Players Perceive the Volatility in Crypto Gaming
Just like cryptocurrencies, crypto gaming can also be influenced by volatility. For example, players in the Axie Infinity metaverse witnessed a drop in the game’s economy when the AXS and SLP experienced the type of volatility associated with crypto assets.
Sometimes in 2021, the game platform upgraded to enable users to access cheaper and faster trading, and based on this, the SLP value increased to about $0.03 and within a few days, it increased again to $0.32, which is about 900% within a week. However, by the end of January in 2022, the price has dropped significantly to roughly one cent.
This directly has a major effect on the value of fiat currency that players could earn. The currency has slightly recovered to about $0.02 as of today but it is yet to hit the rate when it first surged. While all these are a cause for concern, players are still investing with the hope that the rate will still surge.
While crypto gaming is volatile, players derive more than income from the games. With the gaming industry looking for ways to introduce more sustainable gaming mechanisms to reduce the volatility of prices on their platforms, the truth remains that many are earning from these games.
The fact that some governments have begun to request that players pay tax on their winnings from crypto games means that the world is gradually acknowledging play-to-earn games as a source of income and revenue generation for not only the game developers but also for the players.
