As people look for ways to make money on blockchain, Play 2 Earn has become extremely trendy in the last few months. Some users have been able to make a living out of it.
Some of these games had such huge payouts, that people left their day jobs to play these all day. However, they were not sustainable in the long term. Games that were focused on the earning part found it hard to survive eventually. Games that focus more on the fun part might have lower earning potential, but they’re much better at sustenance.
Here are some of the most popular Play 2 Earn Games:
Axie Infinity
Axie infinity was the first game that went big, giving birth to the entire P2E model. Axie is a Pokemon-like game, where you can use your characters to battle with other players and win rewards.
The game uses AXS and SLP tokens, which can be earned by playing the game. They can be used for leveling up your creatures, breeding, or buying new ones. It also makes use of an Ethereum side-chain called Ronin, to settle transactions instantly without costing much.
Axie Infinity is no longer rewarding as it used to be in terms of money made. However, it is still a fun game to play, and you can make some money while playing.
Sandbox
Sandbox is one of the largest blockchain metaverse projects. It runs on its own token called SAND, and makes use of Polygon. Anyone can buy a piece of land on Sandbox and create their own games. While it can be expensive to buy plots of land on Sandbox, it is easy to start playing on the lands that have already been developed by others. Some of them even have good P2E systems that are rewarding to users.
Decentraland
Decentraland is similar to Sandbox, with plots of land developed by various people. You can play games here to make money. Some plots even have casinos that have good odds at times. Either way, you cant go wrong with both Decentraland and Sandbox. Both have a variety of user-developed content to explore.
CyberKongz P&K
CyberKongz initially launched as a PFP NFT project in 2021. Later, the collection expanded to 2 more side collections, which were eventually combined to create the CyberKongz Play & Kollect game. You need to buy one of the NFTs to get started. But after that, it is free to play. The game pays out in $Banana, which can be exchanged for money or used to level up your CyberKongz.
Splinterlands
Splinterland is a popular P2E card game, with a focus on gameplay. First and foremost, the game is fun to play. The game runs on the Hive Blockchain, and players win prizes for participating. You get a free pack to start with, which can be easily expanded as you play more.
You can earn the game’s native token, Dark Energy Crystals (DEC), by winning games, selling cards, and other interactions. DEC can be exchanged for other cryptocurrencies and cashed out.
Illuvium
Illuvium is an upcoming open-world game that uses Blockchain on the backend for every interaction. It utilizes NFT and ERC20 tokens for in-game interactions.
Illuvium is an open-world RPG, planet exploration game after surviving a wrecked spaceship. Game rewards players with the in-game token ILV, which is blockchain-based and can be exchanged for cryptocurrencies. You can increase your returns by staking ILV tokens.
Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained is another blockchain-based game focusing on true ownership in every aspect of the game. Led by Chris Clay, the former game director of Magic The Gathering: Arena, the company puts a lot of focus on gameplay. Players can build decks and play against each other with complete freedom on the cards.
Gods Unchained also has its own token called GODS, which is used for in-game purchases and distributed as a reward for players. GODS can also be traded against other currencies on exchanges.
Stepn
The final inclusion in this list is Stepn. It is not exactly a P2E game. It is a Move 2 Earn game, which is a good inclusion in this list. With Stepn, you need to move to earn rewards. To get started, you need to buy a shoe. The prices of these shoes have dropped significantly. However, that is still an entry barrier to keep in mind. You need a different shoe for walking, jogging, or running. With each shoe, you need to get a few minutes of exercise every day to earn the rewards.
Stepn is an amazing example of how blockchain can power users at a large scale toward good habits.
Conclusion
Play 2 Earn is just getting started. At the peak of crypto in 2021, there was a wide variety of games with unsustainable models. However, now that the market is cooling down, we’re finally seeing more games that are fun to play and reward players for a long time.