top of page
henrik.sabban
Jul 18, 20225 min read

Play-to-earn games in the metaverse

Updated: Sep 26, 2022

Traditionally when we wanted to play video games we assumed that would have a cost for us (buying the game, electricity, time). The metaverse has completely revolutionized this aspect of gaming. Now we can have rewards or even make a living out of them. We can also collaborate with the developers to decide the future of the game. All of this happens thanks to the metaverse where every day more games arise. At basenode.io we want you to have the best gaming experience and not be worried about taxes. That's why we help you to report all your transactions and tokens easily.


Author: Carmen Rodríguez


What are play-to-earn games?

Play-to-earn games don't differ much from normal video games apart from the fact that the player gets a reward with real-world value. In order to get a price, you may need to battle other players, complete tasks, or progress through levels. Crypto tokens, virtual land, skins, and weapons are some of the in-game rewards you can obtain and exchange later on for real money due to the decentralization of the platforms. As you can see in figure 1 the value of crypto tokens can fluctuate resulting in different benefits. ¹


What role plays the metaverse in these games?

The metaverse is based on technologies such as blockchain, AI, and VR. These technologies make it possible that gamers can meet in digital spaces to play and interact with each other using cryptos or NFTs. We could say that the metaverse is the meeting point for play-to-earn games. ²


Play to earn games you should know

This game was inspired by Pokemon and therefore has its own pets. They are called Axies and they are NFTs with unique value. You can battle with them to earn rewards and breed them to have new Axies. Owning land is also a possibility with 90,601 plots available. As a player, you can be rewarded with SLP (Smooth Love Potions) or AXS (Axie Infinity Shards). The first ones are useful for creating new Axies and AXS are a governance token, meaning that their owners can vote protocol parameters aligning the incentives between the developers and the gamers. ³


In a metaverse of seven planets set in the year 2055, the goal of this game is to obtain the mineral Trilium (TLM) which is also the token of the platform. With the Trilium we can buy land, mining tools, avatars, and even weapons. The platform has more than 300 nonfungible tokens. Another interesting feature is its decentralized finances (DeFi) that allow gamers to stake their holdings to other planets in order to become counselors. In order to play, you will need to have a wallet in Wax. ⁴


Built under the Ethereum blockchain this multi-player game invites you to create your own world through in-game objects. Land trading is one of the key features, probe of that is that the most expensive parcel of virtual land was acquired in this platform for 4.3 million in December 2021. In the same way, Axie Infinity was similar to Pokemon, Sandbox also has some resemblance with Minecraft. Even though the cubic graphics are similar, Minecraft doesn't have a marketplace where players buy and sell their creations as sandbox does. ⁵


If you are searching for the metaverse version of a collective card game, Splinterlands is the option for you. Rewards can come from tournaments or ranked games. The battles are skilled-based but it definitely helps to have a strong deck of cards. Our favorite part is the low costs transactions of this game. The crypto used as a reward is DEC (Dark Energy Crystals) and the game governance token is SPS (Splintershards). Wich allows the owners to vote in future developments. ⁶


Owning a virtual land is possible in this metaverse game, as well as collecting items (plants, animals, houses,...). You can even customize your avatar and farm your land. The Defi elements make you earn rewards in ALICE, the token of the game. If you are visualizing something similar to animal crossing you wouldn't be wrong since socializing with other users is also a feature of this game. The Alice that you obtain you can use to buy new elements but also convert them into other currencies or fiat. ⁷


Founded in 2015, by Ari Meilich and Esteban Ordano, this virtual world is a huge collaborative space. It is based on the Ethereum blockchain which allows you to create from avatars to wearables. Divided into same-sized squares of land, there are three actions you can do with the land: buy, trade, or build. In order to buy land, or pay for goods, you will need the token MANA. Governed by a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) token holders also have the possibility to vote on policies. ⁸


When you start this game you have six plants and a mother tree. In different waves, undead monsters will try to invade your garden. For each round, you successfully complete you will receive in-game tokens. This is useful to buy new seeds but also to exchange for other cryptocurrencies. At the marketplace, you can acquire plants and seeds. These are different plants than the ones you have in the beginning because they are unique (NFT backed) and fight differently. ⁷


Over 15.000 players around the world have become farmers with this game. The reason behind this large community has a lot to do with how engaging it is. As you can imagine from the name some of the activities you can do are breeding animals, and cultivating, but also gold mining is a possibility. There is also a variety regarding their NFT’s where you can find fishing nets or mining excavators. There is also competition since you can visit other farms and play to obtain resources. ⁶



Play-to-Earn games running on Ethereum (left) and running on an own sidechain (right)
Figure 2: Play-to-Earn games running on Ethereum (left) and running on an own sidechain (right)

Where does the money come from?

It is a combination of different things. Firstly, when players exchange their tokens they pay a fee. Some games also use advertisements capitalizing on the amount of time you spend in the game. If you want to start playing some games you even need to invest a significant amount at the beginning. For example, to play Axie Infinity you need at least 3 Axies . ⁹


Play-to-earn in developing countries

In countries with a high unemployment rate such as Philippines, these games are really popular. Some people even use it as a way of living. One of the most successful is Axie Infinity. In order to avoid the initial investment users rent the NFTs to play and can make up to 1000$ a month. Given the situation, the government announced that people that play for a living would need to start paying taxes. ¹⁰


Do I have to report my activity?

Something you should not forget is to report your NFTs and crypto gains from gaming because they can change the results at the end of the year. Doing reports can be a challenging task if you don't have the right tools. Keeping track of each and every one of your play-to-earn transactions and NFTs becomes easy with basenode.io. We provide you with an overview of your assets and track your transactions. You just have to connect your wallet. If you like to play Axie Infinity you can, for example, connect your Ronin wallet.


At basenode.io, our mission is to eliminate the gap between traditional accounting and blockchain-based accounting. basenode.io is the easy-to-use accounting solution for digital assets that offers seamless crypto invoicing and portfolio tracking. We provide a self-explanatory user interface with a clean and modern look, that naturally supports your workflow. We support the most popular networks like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Lightning, Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Ronin Chain and more.


Author

Carmen Rodriguez is the executive assistant at basenode.io and community manager. Before, she worked in educational entrepreneurship for one year. Besides her degree in business administration, she holds a master's in social innovation. You can contact her via LinkedIn.


References

Comments

bottom of page