Blockchain Games Have Great Potential, But Are Not Yet Known by the Community

JAKARTA - Blockchain games such as Axie Infinity, Gods Unchained, Star Atlas, Decentraland, and The Sandbox continue to attract attention among the blockchain community. Unfortunately, its impact on the mainstream gaming community is still limited.

A recent poll conducted by OnePoll revealed that blockchain gaming is still a relatively untouched field, even though there is huge potential that can be exploited by game developers and studios.

Of the 2,000 adults surveyed, 52% were not at all familiar with blockchain gaming, while 32% were aware of it but had never played a blockchain game.

When asked about the loss of in-game purchases and downloadable content (DLC) due to the closure of game studios and servers, 63% of respondents stated that refunds should be provided for in-game purchases and DLC lost due to games being permanently closed.

About a third (34%) answered that the decision to close game servers and stop online games should be determined by the gaming community in question.

Ongoing online blockchain and metaverse games offer players a way to prevent losing their hard-earned in-game assets by linking those items with non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

By connecting in-game assets to the blockchain, players now have the opportunity to resell in-game items, characters, and other digital assets that would normally have no resale value.

The highly centralized nature of the gaming industry and increasing reliance on digitally downloaded or even streamed games leaves players at the mercy of studios and publishers who routinely remove games from online stores and shut down online game servers.

Additionally, the current state of the gaming industry provides few opportunities to make money for its players. Even if players could resell their in-game assets, would they really be able to generate real income from their favorite video games?

The answer is usually no, although there are some examples in e-sports. Platforms like Axie Infinity, an NFT-based blockchain game where players collect, breed, and battle characters known as Axies, are attempting to fill this gap.

In 2021, Axie Infinity generated revenue of  1.3 billion US dollars (IDR 21.1 trillion) and created a major source of income for players in developing countries. Some of them earn up to 1,300 US dollars (IDR 21.1 million) per month by playing games.

Axie is a case study of how blockchain can leverage in-game assets and a strong player economy to unlock value by creating a resale market for in-game items while also providing a source of revenue for players.