The current state of NFT games

“I play video games for a living!” This is not an uncommon answer that we receive in the 21st century, and we pay little to no mind as to the fantastic nature of this concept. Indeed, people can earn enough from gaming to lead a comfortable lifestyle, but the gaming industry has yet to achieve its final form. Initially, this profession was reserved for streamers and other content creators that would post videos of themselves playing a game, but blockchain technology, in the form of NFT gaming, has made this dream a much more attainable reality for millions across the globe. With countless currencies vanishing into thin air and losing over 70, 80, or even 90% of their value due to the market crash, little attention has been given to blockchain games. The question remains, are people still able to make a living out of NFT games?

The Crypto Gaming Sphere

CryptoKitties

With the first entry, we are taking a look at where it all started; of course, we are talking about Cryptokitties. This game was considered a pioneer in this genre, and it was all about breeding digital cats and trading them to create more and more new kittens. Indeed, the game was adorable, and it took the world by storm. Where are the kitties now? As it turns out, it was one of the games that fell the hardest among all of the ones we have discussed here. Currently, their monthly active users’ number is unimpressive with a little over 390 according to DappRadar.com. As for their price, Kitties can currently be found for as cheap as 0.06 ETH, or about USD $73. Is this the end for the endearing kitties? It’s hard to say, but they do seem to be struggling to keep their footing in the current market. Nevertheless, their legacy is forever set in stone as they may very well have started the next generation of gaming. Here’s a fun factoid, though it is regarded as the first NFT game, Cryptokitties started out as an experiment to showcase the use-cases and values that could be linked to digital ownership.

Axie Infinity

?Now, let us take a look at the fallen titan who took their inspiration from the Pokémon franchise, Axie Infinity. The tragedy that has befallen this game that was all about building a team of adorable monsters and train them in the art of battle to overcome their foes and reap the rewards of their victory wasn’t an isolated incident, but it was a series of events that ultimately led to its sizable decline.

The first event that caused the game to derail is the balance update of February 2022 after which players could no longer earn Swift Love Potions (SLP), a currency used for the breeding system of the game, from solo adventures. In other words, the revenue of players took a significant hit, and some gave up on the game because of it. The second event was the hack of their Ronin Bridge Solution in March 2022, and this resulted in the vanishing of upwards of USD $600 Million in funds and assets. This malicious feat was executed by exploiting vulnerabilities in the system which allowed the hacker to take control of private keys and create fake withdrawals. Today, the Axie user-base has dropped by 62.9% from its all-time high, and it clocks in at less than 1 million daily users.

While many events served to destabilize Axie Infinity, many posit that one of the central issues was the in-game economy, designed from the get-go as unsustainable. This was clearly stated by Mihai Gheza, Cofounder and CEO of Machinations who explained ‘Players (especially scholars) would use axies to produce SLP, the SLP would produce more axies, and the axies would bring even more SLP-producing players into the game. ‘It’s a guaranteed means of creating inflation.’ ”

Splinterlands

?The next game on our list is Splinterlands, and it is one of the games that has seen the most successfull due to its fast pace and simple to pick up combat, and it has some unique systems that have set it apart from its competition. At its core, Splinterlands is a Trading Cards Game (TCG) that draws a lot of inspiration from both Hearthstone, developed by Blizzard Entertainment, and Magic the Gathering which is a timeless classic in the genre.

As a matter of fact, Splinterland stands strong with its 421,000 monthly active users in the middle of this worldwide recession. Their barrier to entry has always been comparatively low as it only required players to pay USD $10 to be able to play, and they would be able to use the free monsters and spells that they would get to build a solid deck and start winning right away. Suffice to say, the crash did cause some issues for Splinterlands and its users, but it is still very relevant, and quite frankly, an overall enjoyable experience.?

?Metaverses

This section is for projects that have video games at their core, but that have developed to encompass much more and represent microcosms that run on the blockchain with their proprietary economy and a decent number of dwellers that call them their homes.

Decentraland

Let us take a look at Decentraland. This open world sandbox gives their users the ability to build whatever they desire and provides them with the tools to do so, and players can roam around the world and discover infinite different structures and architectures that would be situated right next to one another making their stay a rich and varied experience. Decentraland’s active user base is looking healthy, and they’re sitting at a comfortable 300,000 monthly active users, and they show signs of life in fighting the current flood. Their NFTs are still worth some 2.7 Ethereal, but their token, MANA, has plummeted from its all-time high by about 84% as it dropped from USD $5.90 to a current USD $0.9. Does this spell the end for Decentraland? As with all of the entries in this article, no, not really; as long as a platform is showing engagement, it wouldn’t be fair to assume that it is nearing the end of its lifecycle.

The Sandbox

?The second world we’ll be exploring is The Sandbox. It is widely regarded as one of the games that gives players the widest range of free agency as all they need to do is download the custom game engine VoxEdit and start creating right away. Whatever they could visualize, it could be given shape. The Sandbox is effectively a recreation of the game Minecraft onto the blockchain, giving creators a chance to make money out of the time they spend unleashing their creative side. Although it boasts a modest 30,000 monthly active users, the Sandbox seems to be on the right tracks for a long and successful career. Needless to say, they’ve been affected by the market-wide crash, as their land’s floor price dropped by about 50% from their all-time high, but they’re still going strong securing all kinds of deals and partnerships with some household names. The legendary Snoop Dogg is a public supporter of the project, and the New York Times recently announced a partnership with the Sandbox to build a Time Square in their Metaverse. So, the Sandbox seem to be quite healthy in these tough times.?

Conclusion

All in all, though the crypto sphere is suffering, the NFT gaming scene is still ripe with opportunities. Indeed, NFT games are no longer in their infancy, and developers, including us at Rekt studios, are now learning from and rectifying the errors made by their predecessors to develop games that are superior in terms of graphics, mechanics, and gameplay which is a source of excitement for NFT as well as traditional game enthusiasts. The numbers don’t lie, according to Coindesk.com, the NFT gaming scene has seen a 2000% increase in Q1 of 2022, and NFT gamers make up 52% of the total blockchain user-base. The momentum does not stop there though, an estimated USD $2.5 Billion was raised at the hands of investment titans such as Animoca Brands and Andreessen Horowitz which are to be invested into the blockchain gaming industry. So, the reality is far from being doom and gloom as one would be led to believe due to the market crash. Actually, the funds are continuously being poured into the crypto sphere, and VCs are completely disregarding the crash as they believe in the future of NFT gaming and the Metaverse. The other point that sparks hope in the hearts of many is the fact that the gamers didn’t vanish, they’re still here, waiting for a good game to play.