The dynamism of blockchain technology is disrupting all manner of sectors blockchain gaming is one field that has seen interesting blockchain-related developments over the past decade. Henceforth, the intersect between blockchain and gaming can have great benefits for both industries.
Gaming is now a massive industry worldwide. Recently, a champion of the popular Fortnite game collected a cool $3 million in prize money for winning a competition involving gamers. This is testament to the enormity of the industry and commercial potential of the sector. Naturally, there was a nexus between early crypto adopters and gaming. The small pool of tech enthusiasts who took up Bitcoin had a decent population of gamers. At the moment, eSports is booming and so is the related gaming decentralized models and payment systems.
The Contribution of Blockchain Gaming
ESports is now a $138 billion dollar industry with hundreds of millions of users. Blockchain technology brings ownership of game items, fair play, interoperability and much more to this industry. Developers get more control over their ideas and have direct connection to a strong player community. Moreover, game developers can get value storage and access to applications. This sector gives developers an unprecedented share of gaming infrastructure and blockchain tools.
The gaming industry is obviously extremely competitive. This means that gaming companies often go for marketable content rather than product quality. Independent developers certainly face challenges pitching ideas in the crowded field. This leaves the overwhelming majority of such gamer’s low returns.
Regardless, this subsector is still growing even as gaming generally grows bigger. Blockchain technology can provide a bridge for smaller game developers to tap into the market. They can spread and secure Game currency, props, avatars, game input, and even the entire games on the blockchain. Moreover, players can engage others and play games in decentralized platforms.
Accordingly, platforms like Enjin coin, DreamTeam and Tron are disrupting the gaming space effectively. Enjin, for instance, has an existing partnership with Samsung Galaxy X10 in this field. Smartphone users can be able to trade ERC-20 tokens and ERC-1155 blockchain-based gaming assets. Generally, these platforms, among others, have brought new dynamism in this field and will continue to do so.
Why Blockchain is Important
Game developers stand to gain the most from this new boom. The key aspect to consider is the degree of game item ownership which is exponentially better. Modifying gaming assets into cryptographic entities ensures that game developers are able to monetize it effectively. This guarantees a proportional benefit as opposed to selling game rights to larger developers and companies.
Moreover, gamers have access to a fair gaming landscape. Blockchain games rely on consensus mechanisms that are open-source. Accordingly, game logic, gameplay elements, and general game security are better. This structure provides an incentive to both gamers and developers to have a vibrant gaming community as it the case for the Enjin platform. Besides, developers have reduced game development costs as they can outsource these costs to miners and verifiers. This translates to cost-effective development and better monetization of their projects. In the grand scheme of things, blockchain technology expands developers’ opportunities and can translate to a larger player base.
Accordingly, the stakeholders in this industry will continue to brainstorm new solutions and tackle existing problems. Scalability, for instance, will continue to be a pressing problem given the data needs of gamers. Solutions that improve network speed and developer activity will continue to be important to this sector. That and more related developments will be important to track moving forward.