NFTs Change Online Gaming Dynamics
The Punters Pick #11 — How NFTs are becoming a major part of the online gaming industry
Non-fungible tokens (NFT) are playing a major role in recent changes being observed in blockchain-based gaming. Through this technology, gamers have an instrument that allows them to participate in more encompassing and rewarding activities. NFTs allowed them to gather unique collectables and trade them within vibrant in-game economies.
After an explosive beginning of the year where NFTs drew huge sales, the hype has been settling down but the asset class has been finding some long-term and sustainable use cases in the gaming industry. Several gaming platforms have been adopting NFTs and fostering immersive gaming environments for their users.
In the latest version of The Punters Pick, we highlight some of the recent developments surrounding NFT implementations into online gaming. We also detail the expectations of the industry with regards to this development and the benefits that such implementation brings to both the gaming platforms and the gamers themselves. Before we review the implications of NFTs on the online gaming industry, we present our weekly development roundup.
CryptoPunt Weekly Development Roundup
Over the past week, we have made significant progress on the CryptoPunt platform, putting in place measures for the introduction of new games while also improving the overall codebase. The resources required for us to start development on the Blackjack game have been assembled. The rules, tech stack, and logic for the game has been determined and we can now begin to implement the game into the Cryptopunt codebase. Outside of the Blackjack game, we have made adjustments to smart contracts underpinning the CryptoPunt gaming platform and have also updated repositories of code related to various functionalities of the gaming platform. We updated the CryptoPunt Vault smart contract. The CryptoPunt Vault will be a critical element of the gaming platform and the code surrounding this contract will be heavily reviewed and audited.
Over the week, we identified several areas for improvement. We identified a potential bug related to the fees paid in the Coinflip game and we will quickly address this. Moreover, we designed further tests for the CryptoPunt Vault.
We have an exciting few weeks ahead in terms of development with some important tasks on our agenda. We will be carrying out research on how to accomplish fair card deck shuffling within our games. CryptoPunt will separate itself by having provably fair games and implementing code for fair card deck shuffling will be critical to achieving this. We will also begin experimenting with multiplayer onchain sessions and implement smart contracts into the Blackjack game. We will also clean up some of the minor bugs identified over the past week.
The fast-paced of growth of NFTs
In Q1 2021, the awareness and adoption of NFTs skyrocketed as household names scrambled to issue and sell the rapidly growing asset class. Countless tech moguls, A-List celebrities, and mainstream corporations explored how to issue NFTs to their audiences and users. By the end of March, sales on the OpenSea marketplace alone approached $150 million.
(Source: Reuters.com)
Despite huge hype surrounding NFT sales, there was always the potential that the technology would find more long-term use cases. Implementations into blockchain-based gaming, like in the case of Axie Infinity, are unsurprising given the strong fit between the technologies. Integration into gaming applications has not been the only development for the NFT asset class.
Decentralized applications (dApps) creation platform Polygon recently launched an NFT-focused department known as Polygon Studios. According to the platform, this new development will be focused on growing the global Blockchain Gaming and NFT industry. The innovation is also aimed at bridging the gap between Web 2 and Web 3 gaming. Polygon is not the only major player entering the NFT space with Crypto.com and Binance both recently launching their own NFT marketplaces.
NFTs empower gamers
The integration of NFTs into online gaming brings significant benefits. NFTs introduce an increased level of decentralization over asset ownership and sales, giving players the power to maintain custody and freely trade with their assets. Being underpinned by decentralized protocols also allows gamers to benefit from a greater level of security. Server shutdowns pose little risk of asset loss.
For the first time, gamers are being introduced to a system where they can fully own the property rights of gaming elements. This is different from the traditional systems where gaming assets are owned by publishers and only licensed to players.
NFT is just an aspect of the gaming revolution
NFTs have brought significant value into the online gaming industry but they are just one of the many innovations in blockchain-based gaming. Since the adoption of blockchain technology by gaming platforms, gamers have been able to interact with gaming environments in an entirely different manner.
Next-generation gaming platforms like CryptoPunt provide gamers with permissionless access to a suite of popular gaming options. With no KYC or registration process, gamers worldwide can simply connect their Ethereum wallet and start gaming.
About CryptoPunt
CryptoPunt is a next-generation gaming and gambling Dapp. Underpinned by the Ethereum blockchain, CryptoPunt is positioning itself to be the leading blockchain-based gaming application. Users can start gaming in less than one minute with no KYC or registration process. CryptoPunt will offer a broad suite of games, including an option that has a virtual world and in-game economy.
