Can the Benefits of Crypto be Fully Felt Yet in Gaming?

Crypto gaming, or, as it is alternatively known, ‘blockchain gaming’, is still relatively new. The first ever official blockchain game was ‘CryptoKitties’, which only launched in November 2017. Built on the Ethereum blockchain and allowing players to buy, sell, and breed digital cats, it quickly gained widespread attention, not least due to its integration of the groundbreaking NFT concept – creating unique digital assets that could be purchased within the game using ETH.

Since then – and with the success of CryptoKitties in mind – there have been several more games that have appeared in the crypto space. These include Decentraland, Star Atlas, Spider Tanks, and the Pokemon-inspired Axie Infinity.

As well as this, we have been seeing crypto casinos popping up left, right, and centre, with top platforms like cryptocasino.ltd giving players the option to play their favourite games using anything from BTC, SOL, ETH, and more. This is, inarguably, the most successful example of crypto’s integration within the gaming world, with so many players embracing the advantages crypto offers to security and payment speed to such an extent that the industry is forever changed.

All of these crypto-based initiatives have been successful in their own way, but it is fair to say that the full benefits of crypto are not yet being fully felt in the world of gaming.

Why Is Crypto Not Being Integrated Fully?

The people who use crypto and play crypto games are, of course, fans and investors in crypto, so it is easy to see why there is a mass calling for more crypto games. But actually, it is a little more complicated than that. Crypto still has a long way to go in terms of how it can be fully utilised, both from a responsibility and practicality standpoint.

For one thing, it is complex. Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is hard for the average developer to comprehend – especially if they have never experienced it before – and integrating crypto into games takes a certain level of technical expertise.

Secondly, there is the scalability issue. Even Ethereum, which is the second most popular crypto network in the world behind BItcoin, faces scalability troubles, leading to slow transaction times and high fees, at least during periods of network congestion. With regulatory uncertainty, volatility, and overall doubt on user adoption still a question in the crypto market, once you take a step back, it is easy to see why not every gaming developer is jumping on board.

The Future for Crypto Gaming

But that is not to say they never will. With crypto on the rise in 2024, there will be wider attention given to it, and this could incentivise more gaming organisations. One of the biggest gaming companies in the world, Ubisoft, has already been experimenting with blockchain technology for a few years now, with Ubisoft Quartz being one of the standout releases, where players could complete in-game challenges for cryptocurrency and NFTs. Despite some initial backlash – specifically with reference to blockchain is energy-intensive mining process – that has not stopped them developing new ideas and sticking to the crypto experiment itself.

And perhaps that is just the point – in order for the benefits of crypto to be fully felt in gaming, we need groundbreaking companies to stick with their experiment and take risks, rather than take a step back after one attempt. After the shaky response to Ubisoft Quartz, Ubisoft itself stated that it would assess the feedback and consider how to proceed with blockchain technology.

The word ‘proceed’ is key here. It is easy enough to throw the hands up and continue doing what you do best, but Ubisoft – and other companies in general – have to be a little more proactive than that.

Because there is a crypto audience waiting for them. Whether it is playing crypto poker or exploring the various opportunities in Ethereum’s sandbox of games, there are numerous crypto gamers who want to see crypto fully adopted across the gaming industry. It might take another few years yet, but with companies like Ubisoft leading the charge, we can certainly see it happen sometime in the future.