Gaming continues to gain popularity globally as a more significant portion of the population becomes connected via the internet. With the gaming industry expected to bill more than $200 billion in annual revenues by 2023, according to a fresh report published by Newzoo, gaming adoption, both online and through traditional consoles and apps, continues to gain momentum.
The community now features almost 3 billion players, making it a strategic imperative for the gaming industry to continue innovating as competition for players heats up. The gaming industry has traditionally been at the forefront of technological breakthroughs, and blockchain is no different in this respect.
Many names within the industry have begun exploring the potential of blockchain-based gaming applications, and already, they are proving a potent force. From setting up eSports events to providing a provably fair experience and handling in-game purchases and item trading, blockchain technology proves a capable home for the next generation of gaming applications. (See Bitcoin stock comparison)
More Scalable Frameworks Entice Adoption
One of the elements that have hampered blockchain-based game development and adoption are the bottlenecks challenging existing games’ efficiency. Polygon, an Ethereum sidechain scaling solution has managed to overcome these hurdles, helping gaming applications achieve the optimal conditions for players.
One prominent use case is for setting up eSports tournaments. Community Gaming, a protocol designed to help tournament organizers set up tournaments and payouts in under five minutes, is just one sizeable use case. Since adopting Polygon’s framework, Community Gaming hosted a Gods Unchained and an Axie Infinity tournament featuring thousands of competitors.
Winners were awarded prizes within seconds, contrasting sharply with traditional prize pools that typically take weeks to distribute. Moreover, the cost of handling this transaction was tiny compared to ordinary Ethereum transactions.
Another Polygon-based solution comes from Xaya, a blockchain gaming development environment. Given the intense demands of gaming applications, high Ethereum gas costs drove many out of the ecosystem.
Xaya’s incorporation of Polygon makes it much more affordable for gaming developers to migrate back to Ethereum. Moreover, this framework supports real-time gaming, instant payouts, and provably fair outcomes through its optimized “state channels” approach.
Provably Fair Gaming Makes a Splash
Besides the security and autonomy that blockchain affords gaming platforms, one of the biggest draws for players is the provably fair nature of many games. The term provably fair means that each in-game transaction is verifiable through the use of published, open-source technology from the game operator. This means that the algorithms behind the seed value, hashing algorithm, and random number generator can all be verified and validated, giving players extra comfort.
As gamblers move from online casinos to blockchain-based casinos, transparency is paramount, and gaming applications are taking note. This is especially important for gambling applications, where credibility and trust are vital for attracting and retaining players. Virtue Poker, a ConsenSys project, was one of the first decentralized casino applications to arrive on the Ethereum network.
Through its novel application of blockchain technology by providing honest and provable conditions, Virtue Poker aims to overcome the reputational issues of online gambling. To this end, players can authenticate the “fairness” of the game, helping add the confidence needed to play on the platform.
Beyond these notable attributes, the platform has also made a name for itself through its charitable efforts. A recent tournament featured NBA star Paul Pierce and Poker Hall of Fame player Phil Ivey among notable crypto evangelists. The event was complete with NFT drops, showing that even poker can leverage blockchain innovations.
Besides Virtue Poker, FortuneJack, another online casino, has also embraced a similarly provably fair approach. Given that many players have likely been exposed to unscrupulous practices at online casinos, with no recourse, FortuneJack intends to restore trust and confidence by engaging in provably fair practices.
In real terms, customers can validate the algorithms behind the results and benefit from transactions that are appended to the blockchain directly, adding another layer of transparency. Moreover, the decentralization embedded in this application means that it doesn’t collect user data like other online casinos, and also allows it to deliver better security, provides anonymity, and ensures player payouts are seamless.
The In-Game Economy Migration
Gaming has many different embedded elements, but one area where blockchain beats out legacy systems is the marketplace operations for different in-game assets. Whether buying, selling, or trading skins, characters, items, or otherwise, blockchain technology offers multiple avenues to support in-game economies and monetization.
One of the mechanisms is turning in-game items into non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Enjin, an Ethereum-based platform, helps games mint and manage NFTs. This provides a perfect use case for gaming applications, given that developers can incorporate Enjin’s technology to mint in-game assets.
The platform’s software development kit (SDK) ensures that games can easily incorporate these assets while also helping users manage and monetize their holdings. The beauty is that these assets can actually be owned by the players once earned, held directly in players’ wallets to prevent conflicts, and can be freely bought, sold, and traded.
Given the scale of in-game economies, using the blockchain to denote ownership over related assets as NFTs presents a perfect fit for decentralized ledger technology.
A New Gamers’ Paradise
Gaming will always seek to embrace cutting-edge technologies, and blockchain is no exception. The immutable, decentralized ledger provides a capable mechanism for supporting multiple activities, whether scaling, player payouts, the ability to prove the validity of outcomes, or even hosting digital asset economies tied to gaming activity.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for the potential use cases in this area, proving once again that blockchain doesn’t have to be all about speculation but rather the preferred home to one of the fastest-growing global communities: gamers.
Disclosure: Reuben Jackson held no position in any of the stocks mentioned in this article at the time of publication.
Disclaimer: The information contained herein is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this article should be taken as a solicitation to purchase or sell securities.
