Even if you don’t know a lot about it, chances are you’ve heard the term blockchain technology in passing. Ever since Bitcoin began its explosive ascent, putting cryptocurrencies on the map, blockchain has been featured on the news and has become a topic of conversation among everyone, from business people to amateur investors. What many find surprising is that blockchain technology has also found a home in the video game industry. While its use isn’t widespread, in some instances, developers have used the technology that underpins Bitcoin in video games. In this article, we look at the role blockchain technology might play in the next generation of video games.
The Basics of Blockchain Technology in Gaming
To understand how blockchain can be used in gaming, it’s important to understand the basics of how the technology works. Blockchain technology is a decentralized and secure ledger system. It might help to think of it as something like a digital chain of blocks, where each block holds a record of transactions that are verified and linked to the one that came before it. What makes the system attractive is its transparency and the fact that once something is entered into the ledger, it can’t be changed.
What differentiates blockchain from centralized systems is that nobody has control of the entire system. In theory, this makes it more secure than centralized systems like banks and reduces the risk of fraud. You might be wondering what this has to do with gaming, and while the benefit isn’t immediately apparent, blockchain technology comes into play with things like in-game assets. Imagine being the true owner of that rare sword or unique character you acquired during a game. With blockchain technology, that’s possible, and you can take these assets with you to other games or trade them in external marketplaces.
iGaming and Blockchain
If you’ve ever visited an online casino or bet on sports online, you’re familiar with the iGaming industry, even if you didn’t know it by that name. Many iGaming platforms feature a real money casino where players can deposit money into an account and wager on everything from slots to classic games like blackjack or roulette. While real money is still the most popular form of currency in these online establishments, some have begun to introduce blockchain technology and accept payments in cryptocurrency. As the use of cryptocurrencies continues to grow, it’s likely more and more online casinos will begin to accept it. Cryptocurrency’s popularity has a lot to do with how quickly payments can be processed when using it and the anonymity it provides.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in Gaming
NFTs have a big role to play in blockchain gaming and how players interact with in-game assets. Let’s say you’ve acquired characters, weapons, or even a virtual piece of land in the game you’re playing. Traditionally, these assets wouldn’t have any value in the real world, but blockchain gaming promises to change that. An NFT is a unique digital token that you can use to prove that you own a specific item you’ve acquired in a game. Since NFTs are verifiable, other gamers can’t copy them, meaning if it’s yours, you’re the only one in the world who has it. And this rarity is what makes NFTs valuable.
While blockchain hasn’t gone mainstream, a few games have gained popularity among certain sets of gamers. Two of the most popular NFT-based games are Axie Infinity and Decentraland, which have given us a glimpse into what the future might hold for this genre. In these games, players can buy, sell, and trade their NFTs in decentralized marketplaces, giving real-world value to virtual items. NFT-based games are slowly changing the gaming industry and how players view their digital assets.
