Gaming is an industry full of forward-thinking folks and companies with a finger on the pulse of what is happening in the tech industry, so there was no way they would ignore cryptocurrencies when they started taking the world by storm in the 2010s.
Bitcoin launched back in 2009 and since then many industries have been evolving to integrate Bitcoin as well as oBitther cryptocurrency options. The growth since then has been massive with over 100 million people now using Bitcoin alone.
For some areas of the games industry, it was clear and obvious how these changes would be made, such as switching the currencies available to make payments, but for others, the integrations have been creative and fascinating, and as well as cryptocurrencies, the blockchain technology running it has also been introduced to some games and NFTs have been a big part of that, too.
Casino and Table Games
Casino and table games were some of the quickest to make changes and have been intrinsically linked with cryptocurrencies for a while now.
Crypto and Bitcoin in particular have made perfect sense for an industry that wants to provide customers with benefits such as more security and anonymity, so there have been a lot of traditional casino brands embracing cryptocurrency.
There have also been brands launched that use Bitcoin or crypto as the main (or only) payment method, allowing people to use a Bitcoin slots machine or stake on a specific Bitcoin poker table. The crypto slot machines can even have some specific mechanisms that relate to crypto, or incorporate things like NFTs as part of the offer for players.
Crypto casinos and table games have created more methods for people to play and some developers are making specific crypto games, so there are different choices for people who choose to play at a crypto game provider.
Big Gaming Companies Accepting Crypto Payments
The way people buy their games is also changing, and there have been a few different trends regarding crypto payments, some big companies have actually gone back and forth on accepting Bitcoin, but there are plenty of options for those who want to pay using their cryptocurrencies.
One thing to keep in mind is that even if a company doesn’t directly accept Bitcoin, there are sometimes ways around it. For example, with Steam, a lot of people choose to buy a Steam gift card which can provide them with a balance to buy games on the giant platform, but they can buy this with cryptocurrencies. It is a way to get money to your Steam account without ever having to use a traditional currency or bank account.
On top of this, some companies make it even more straightforward, and BitPay is an example of a company providing a valuable middleman service so that players can buy directly from Microsoft and other companies using Bitcoin.
The future takeup of cryptocurrencies could evolve further to give more options to players, so it is something for everyone to keep a close eye on if they are interested in both crypto and gaming. Other industries are also seeing a similar shift, and people can even order their food and drinks with cryptocurrency, often using these third-party providers for payments.
Crypto Games Earning NFTs
Another trend that has cropped up that uses blockchain technology is the world of NFT games where players can earn certain NFTs in return for playing for a long time or for achieving things in the game. NFTs have a certain value based on popularity and the fact they can’t be replicated, it is a bit like getting a rare trading card when you get a rare NFT, and a lot of players get involved in these games in the hope of getting some fun or even rare tokens awarded to them.
Lots of the games are creative and fun to play without even thinking about any potential rewards, so plenty of people are drawn to these kinds of games. Axie Infinity is maybe the best known of these “Play-to-Earn” NFT games, and it was launched by Sky Mavic as a game where players can collect Axies, which are sorts of creatures that can then be battled in a virtual platform.
Conclusion (and the Future of Crypto In Gaming)
Blockchain has changed everything when it comes to gaming, and the world is in a transitional period where we use this decentralized technology more and more by the month. Game makers and big companies at the center of the gaming industry are also starting to see how currencies can change things for players, make them more secure, and create a simple way for currency to change hands.
Nobody knows what tomorrow brings, but looking at gaming trends it seems inevitable that more and more crypto and blockchain uses will work their way into modern games.
