Across many industries now, blockchain technology has become a very influential technology that is having a profound effect on them. One of its largest impacts has been seen across the gaming industry, with blockchain gaming shining since the advent of play-to-earn games. Growing more immersive and fun all the time, games like Decentraland and CryptoKitties have grown tremendously in popularity.
However, as the popularity of these games continues to grow, a question that frequently arises is whether a certain game is available on mobile apps or not. The short answer is a very resounding yes. However, there’s a lot more to it than that. Here’s a deep dive into the ever-expanding world of blockchain games and mobile apps.
What Are Blockchain Games?
The integration of blockchain technology into mobile gaming has opened the industry as a whole to a new world of endless possibilities. With the use of cryptocurrencies being embraced across the entire gaming sector as a whole, it’s found itself showing up in all manner of gaming circles. Among them is the world of mobile online casino apps, which, according to iGaming writer Aneeca Younas, provide the means for gambling enthusiasts to play their favorite gambling games online via safe and secure mobile apps.
While such casino apps also cater to so-called crypto gambling, these must be distinguished from traditional play-to-earn crypto games. The key difference is that crypto gambling apps relate to cryptocurrency more closely in the sense that they accept them as a payment method, so players can actually bet and gamble using crypto holdings. While this results in perks like faster payouts, more transparency, and greater anonymity in those games, they are very different from crypto gaming.
For one, crypto games are games that essentially allow players to keep what they earn. Through that strategy, the play-to-earn model of crypto gaming has resulted in an entirely new genre of gaming. In crypto gaming, players basically enjoy the perk of being able to translate collectibles like weapons and other digital items they collect in a game into a digital asset in real life. Transactions that occur using the underlying platform of blockchain technology are also usually secure and transparent, meaning such games can actually become a way to secure long-term assets while having fun and literally playing games.
What this all means is that crypto gaming is something of a win-win genre for both blockchain developers and gamers. From the gaming side, players get to earn rewards that can be translated into real-life earnings, while developers are also exposed to a variety of benefits such as monetization of their gaming apps through tokenization. Some of these concepts can be a little tricky to really wrap your head around if you have no prior understanding of how blockchain technology works so let’s take a brief look at each of the main concepts and a few other important topics underlying blockchain gaming in more detail.
Ownership of Digital Assets
Unlike traditional games where in-game items belong to the company and have no inherent value outside of the game, blockchain games allow players to own virtual assets like weapons, avatars, and even land. These items take the form of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs ), and they have unique digital certificates that mean they cannot be forged or replicated. Players who own them can buy, sell, or rent these tokens within the game world—with some games allowing you to stake them for the chance of being rewarded with more tokens if the underlying app takes off and becomes a success.
Play-to-Earn
Many blockchain games have a “play-to-earn” model, where gamers can play to earn cryptocurrencies and NFTs. This model usually involves players completing quests or fighting monsters to earn rewards. Some of these cryptocurrencies and NFTs have real-life value, which allows gamers to profit from playing.
Transparency and Security
Since blockchain transactions are recorded publicly on decentralized networks, they provide a high degree of transparency. This means players can verify that there is genuine and provable fairness being used in the game mechanics, which is another reason why crypto casinos are becoming so popular since players have complete certainty that the games aren’t rigged. Both in ordinary blockchain games and crypto casinos, this means that players can rest assured that any assets they earn or own will not be manipulated or tampered with.
Cross-Game Interoperability
Blockchain games leverage the interoperability of the blockchain network to improve players’ experience. Gamers can transfer their in-game assets across different gaming platforms and decentralized applications. This feature gives players a greater sense of autonomy and control over their assets.
Use of Smart Contracts
Smart contracts are self-executing contracts; they can be used to monitor gameplay rules, automate transactions, and manage in-game economies to further ensure transparency and fairness.
Cryptocurrency Integration
Just like with crypto gambling, some blockchain games use cryptocurrencies for fast, secure, and transparent transactions within the game. This eliminates the need for traditional payment methods, thus leading to more efficient in-game purchases.
Types of Blockchain Games
The mobile gaming world is growing massively, and blockchain games have found their place in it by introducing concepts like ownership and monetization. Here are some common genres of blockchain games available in the market.
Collectible and Trading Card Games (TCGs)
Blockchain makes the true ownership of digital cards possible. These cards are NFTs with rare and unique properties that can be collected, bred, and traded. They can also be used to compete with other players to earn rewards.
CryptoKitties is the first mainstream blockchain game that made this genre popular, with Gods Unchained being another popular example. This genre takes inspiration from traditional card games like Pokemon and Magic: the Gathering and introduces the magic of blockchain into them.
Role-playing games (RPGs)
These games combine traditional RPG elements like quests, exploration, and character development with blockchain technology. Players can own in-game assets and acquire NFT-based armor, weapons, land, and characters. They can further upgrade these items and trade with other players.
For example, Axie Infinity is a monster-battling blockchain RPG in which gamers can collect, breed, and battle cute creatures called Axies. Sandbox is a virtual RPG world in which players can own parcels of land and create, share, and monetize their gaming experiences.
Decentralized Strategy Games
Here, you can build empires, conquer territories, and participate in complex economic simulations, all thanks to blockchain. You get to make important decisions on matters like troop movements, resource acquisition, and technological advancement within the game’s economy. Also, lands and other in-game assets are typically represented as NFTs for players to own and trade.
Collaboration towards a common goal is a vital part of this genre. Players can form guilds, pool resources, and coordinate attacks to shape the game’s future. Spell of Genesis is a decentralized strategy game where you can collect NFT cards that represent mythical creatures. Players can then use them to complete challenges and unlock unique rewards for the entire guild.
Simulation Games
Simulation blockchain games imitate real-life systems like agriculture, economics, and space exploration in an ultra-realistic setting and can be very beneficial in general. The level of ownership that blockchain provides makes the game marketplace more efficient. Virtual farms, businesses, resources, and even spaceships are transformed into NFTs to give players the opportunity to buy, sell, and trade.
Decentraland is a simulation game where you can own land and build structures like art galleries. You can further create an interactive experience by charging a fee for other players to see what you’ve built. All these features further foster a sense of community and collaboration for players.
Advantages of Blockchain Games on Mobile Apps
The integration of blockchain technology into mobile games has brought many benefits that have further increased the adoption and growth of blockchain games. We’ll highlight some of them below.
Player sovereignty
In traditional mobile games, gamers don’t really own digital items. Instead, they either rent or lease these assets from the game developers. But with blockchain games, they have a greater level of ownership and sovereignty over in-game assets.
Transparency and fairness
Transparency is a fundamental fact of blockchain as a technology, and this feature is seen in the fairness of blockchain games. By leveraging the immutable blockchain network, developers can ensure that the game mechanics and transactions are resistant to manipulations. This increased transparency builds trust between the players and the app developers, with either party certain of some protection against hacking threats.
Monetization opportunities
The integration of blockchain into mobile gaming makes monetization possible for players. By playing games, players can potentially earn cryptocurrency or token rewards with real-world value. These earnings can be achieved through activities like completing quests, breeding, and trading in-game assets.
Accessibility and convenience
Blockchain games on mobile apps have significantly improved accessibility and convenience. Players can engage with blockchain games on the go using their smartphones and tablets. So, whether they are standing in a queue waiting for their turn or want to have some fun during their lunch breaks, they have little issues fitting gaming into their daily schedule.
The Future of Mobile Blockchain Gaming
The exciting possibilities of mobile crypto and blockchain games in the gaming industry are undeniable. However, some challenges should be addressed. These include scalability, increased mainstream adoption, and the need for better regulation. Once these issues are resolved, this industry will reach its full potential.
As we look ahead, it is clear that the future of blockchain games on mobile apps is encouraging. Innovations like metaverse-enabled gaming and better integration with DeFi are expected to bring the best of both gaming and wealth creation to the industry. Ultimately, we will unlock an even greater depth of engagement, ownership, and value creation.
