Explore-to-Earn: The Evolution of Play-to-Earn Games
A Starting Point
Looking at Blockchain Gaming
The intersection of gaming and blockchain sectors has created a new wave of opportunities for the gaming industry. Traditionally, game developers controlled all in-game assets and currency. In traditional games, players could not take rewards earned in-game outside of the game. For example, if a player earns an asset, it was “stuck” in the game.
Blockchain gaming allows user rewards to transcend the in-game marketplace. With blockchain gaming, assets earned now hold value inside and outside of the game. When a player earns tokens or an NFT, the player can trade or sell these assets in and out of the game.
There is a huge demand for decentralized games and the industry growth reflects this sentiment. The blockchain gaming industry grew 2,000% in the past year, according to a DappRadar and Blockchain Game Alliance report from Q1 2022. The report highlighted that there were $2.5 billion in investments for the blockchain gaming space last quarter, compared to the $4 billion raised for the sector across all of 2021, showing a significant acceleration of funding flowing into the space.
What is Play-to-Earn?
An overview of Play-to-Earn Gaming
In the past year, gaming has experienced a massive paradigm shift, with Play-to-Earn (P2E) emerging as a prevailing trend in which game developers and players share in the economic value created by users.
The idea is simple: as players contribute more time, effort, and capital into a game, they should share in the upside.
Players can make actual money based on how much time and effort they put into a game. Rewards include tools, gear, tokens, in-game currency (redeemable for fiat currency), and tradable items. At the crux of P2E gaming is an in-game marketplace, made possible by the advent of NFTs.
How do players get rewarded?
Diving into how players get rewarded in a Play-to-Earn game
From World of Warcraft to Axie Infinity, the gaming ecosystem has incubated new business models and the earliest examples of in-game economics. Gamers have the potential to earn income via two streams:
1) In-Game Financial Rewards
Players achieve certain milestones or overcome certain obstacles, and are rewarded accordingly with in-game tokens. Through this, the more time a gamer spends, the more money they earn.
2) Trading Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Another way to earn within P2E games is by buying, selling, and trading NFTs. Games can now use the blockchain to facilitate trading NFTs and users can earn by selling NFTs on the secondary market.
Play-to-earn has paved the way for in-game economics and mechanisms, blurring the lines between gaming, NFTs, and DeFi. NFTs give players ownership of game assets and provide a layer of safety to trade their assets whilst P2E games provide a bridge to the real world.
Where is this going?
The Future of Play-to-Earn is bright
As cryptocurrencies achieve higher adoption levels, more Web2 native gamers are expected to migrate to Web3 platforms, given the potential income earned in P2E models and the opportunity for asset ownership.
The blockchain gaming industry reached a market size of $3 billion at the end of 2021 and is projected to grow to $39.7 billion by 2025, implying a 91% CAGR. [1] This number might seem high but when you consider that the gaming industry is worth a whopping $300+ billion [2], it is clear that Web3-focused games still have a significant market share to capture.
What’s next for P2E games?
The next step in the gaming evolution
By looking the success of P2E games such as Axie Infinity, Crabada, and STEPN there is no doubt that P2E games signal a shift in gaming. To take gaming to the next level, we can expect to see more features included such as
- AR — Augmented Reality features inside games
- Geo-Aspects — bridging blockchain games into the real world with Pokemon Go-esque features
- Metaverse — brands creating collaborative partnerships with games for exclusive NFTs
Expedition will incorporate P2E, AR, and Geo-aspects to create the first-ever Explore-to-Earn game.
Explore-to-Earn
A new frontier in gaming
Expedition will pioneer a new era in play-to-earn games: Explore-to-Earn. Inspired by Pokemon Go, Expedition leverages the same technology to create the first AR game in crypto, allowing players to earn Luna rewards by exploring the Expedition Universe.
Wrapping Up
Crypto newcomers can learn about the space through a game before they learn how to use a wallet, allowing their first steps into Web3 to be fun and effortless. The Play-to-Earn wave is a great opportunity to onboard people into Web3, allowing newcomers to explore crypto through a game.
We are very excited to lead the next generation of Explore-to-Earn AR Games and introduce the next 1 Billion users to crypto through the most lucrative and engaging P2E game, ever.
Don’t get left behind. Follow Expedition on Twitter and Medium.
(This article was written for Expedition in 2021)
[2] https://earthweb.com/how-much-is-the-gaming-industry-worth/
