The blockchain gaming market is predicted to rise by USD 65 billion by 2027 and is expected to attract investors due to its consistent growth and introduction of new concepts. Because of the area’s relative novelty, innovative thinkers are inspired to fuse traditional or revolutionary gaming principles with fresh features for players.
Marketing teams working on DeFi gaming ventures are already facing challenges due to the increasing competition. However, interested investors must investigate their surroundings and gain more knowledge about blockchain game creation in order to completely comprehend the potential of blockchain gaming and determine whether it’s a path worth going.
This article provides a thorough overview of blockchain game development services, its most prevalent flaws, and trends to watch out for in order to help entrepreneurs looking for new investment opportunities.
What Is Blockchain Gaming?
Blockchain games are similar to traditional video games in terms of gameplay and design. They come in a wide variety, ranging from shooters to pixel-style platformers to open-world exploration missions, and they offer a very similar experience to popular non-blockchain gaming ventures.
Because they are built on play-to-earn (P2E) principles, blockchain games are unique in that they let players make money by minting and creating assets that can later be exchanged for real money. The process of creating assets can differ depending on the genre, but it must always flow naturally into the gameplay and make obtaining tokens enjoyable.
The Main Advantages Of NFT Gaming
Players’ opinions on the use of NFT in games have been divided, although at least 56% of them said they would be interested in blockchain gaming platforms. Generally speaking, they have high hopes for decentralized games because of the following benefits:
Revenue Source
Since professional players compete in international events and sign deals with companies and brands, the play-to-earn concept is not new. But to become a professional gamer and make money, you have to take gaming seriously and approach it like a full-time job. In addition, gamers must train for hours before receiving payment for their work.
However, because NFT games allow players of all skill levels to benefit from playing, they provide far simpler choices for making money. A player’s performance may be directly linked to the value of gained assets in certain blockchain games, which incentivizes them to interact with the game and get better.
Improved Gaming Experience
NFTs are a fantastic reward for players who prioritize exclusivity over profit because they come in a wide range of forms, including images, skins, goods, and cosmetics. Players can exhibit their rank or advancement by becoming the exclusive owners of exclusive content they earn within blockchain games. Furthermore, blockchain-based gaming systems enable users to exchange or even sell their exclusive in-game items for tokens that can be redeemed for real money, much like people may do with eBay or collectibles.
More Motivation To Players
There are certain games that provide players rewards for things they do outside of the game environment. For example, jogging apps built on blockchain technology can add gamification to regular exercise routines and inspire users with achievements and incentives (based on program and performance). Players who show dedication can earn exclusive NFT milestones as well as cash by trading or exchanging their prizes for other currencies.
Even while not everyone seeks cash reward when engaging in self-improvement activities, DeFi games that offer extra support can serve as a further motivator.
Players also acknowledged that the play-to-earn feature would encourage them to interact with the game more, which would help developers increase the retention rate. However, achieving the advantages of blockchain gaming requires the appropriate blockchain development partner, a well-thought-out approach, and a complete understanding of any potential obstacles.
The Life Cycle Of Blockchain Game Development
We may characterize P2E crypto game development as a combination of a traditional game development approach and blockchain elements.
Like with traditional games, a future blockchain game needs a community and early adopters, a development roadmap (with milestones), and a promotion strategy. Without these, the game will not succeed. Before any development begins, all of those issues should be settled so that marketing teams can define the target market and provide promotional materials for them, and game designers can comprehend the genre and style of the game. Developers also need to tackle tokenomics, a problem unique to blockchain games.
The degree of player pleasure in the blockchain game is determined by in-game economics. It would be simpler for the game to attract players if user interactions with DeFi features were more seamless. Additionally, it’s critical to strike a balance between the developer’s profit and the value for players. If it turns out that the developer makes more money than the players do, the game will quickly lose its appeal and be abandoned.
Building game mechanics and engineering DeFi features based on the preferred blockchain network are two procedures that are carried out concurrently. These processes eventually intersect.
Following testing, the blockchain game moves on to the pre-launch phase, during which time marketing efforts pick up steam. To keep players interested and involved, developers interact with the community, invite players to participate in closed testing, start pre-release token sales, and progressively release promotional materials.
The gaming and blockchain industries are highly competitive, so marketing strategies are just as important to the game’s reception as game development quality. Even with excellent game design, development efforts won’t be successful without appropriate target audience awareness and community support.
Which Are The Most Typical Challenges Of Blockchain Game Development?
Technically speaking, a lot of blockchain game ideas and features are doable if business analysts and innovative thinkers collaborate with knowledgeable blockchain engineers. But even the most competent group will face the typical difficulties in developing a DeFi game:
Anti-Corruption Actions
Games that require play-to-earn appeal to those who dislike fair play. Because of this, developing blockchain games necessitates a continuous search for vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit to obtain an unfair edge and, as a result, earn and convert more tokens. The job of blockchain developers is to create a robust system that keeps participants from manipulating the game. In order to prevent cheaters from taking advantage of certain weaknesses, the team must also find and fix them. Additionally, in order to fast shut the window of opportunity for cheating, developers must react immediately to examples of in-game cheating.
Optimization Of Gas Costs
The computational resources used to power smart contracts and maintain the operation of blockchain networks are covered by gas fees. Gas fees are necessary for the creation of any blockchain game, but since they are a part of the cost of purchases made inside the gaming ecosystem, developers want to keep those costs as low as possible.
Interaction Between Blockchain And Games
Creating a game is difficult enough as it is. The challenge becomes even more challenging when one must make blockchain technologies and gaming components work together. Every developer working on a DeFi game wants to ensure that the gameplay and blockchain platform are simple to use, operate quickly, and don’t crash the system when playing. The careful selection of networks, programming languages, and smart contract writing expertise enable this synergy.
Coordinating Off-Chain And Blockchain Elements
Creating a play-to-earn game without off-chain components while maintaining a reasonable end price is next to impossible. Because off-chain components maintain the game scalable and affordable, developers must constantly decide which data should be kept on the blockchain and which should be processed and stored via a backend.
How To Select The Top Blockchain Networks For Developing Web3 Games?
Since there are no constraints on the networks that can be used to create a blockchain gaming platform, selecting a network is often not regarded as a blockchain development difficulty. The developers’ tastes and company vision will ultimately determine the decision. While some developers opt for a multi-chain strategy, others favor using a single chain network.
Ethereum
- Among the safest and most reliable networks
- Accepts a lot of decentralized applications
- Has a sizable developer and building community
Solana
- Is intended to be compatible
- Has quick transaction times
- Has affordable gas optimization costs
Polygon
- Possesses a very adaptable infrastructure
- Guarantees the seamless integration of blockchain and off-chain components.
- Allows speedy operation without compromising security
How To Quicken The Pace At Which Blockchain Games Are Changing?
The euphoria around blockchain gaming is set to give way to normality. Decentralized gaming and blockchain development will inevitably include modifications, tweaks, and total strategic makeovers. Since the players are the ones who ultimately decide the project’s success and sustainability, entrepreneurs should now pay close attention to the feedback they receive from their target audience.
