Find out how P2E games work and learn to generate income with them ? Discover the easiest way to exchange crypto assets from various games or trade them for BTC, ETH, and numerous altcoins.
What Is Play-to-Earn (P2E) Gaming?
The global games market is now valued at nearly $200 billion and it’s estimated to reach around $550 billion by 2028. Some experts including Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian believe that, by that time, 90% of games will use the play-to-earn model empowered by cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Even if this prediction is not totally accurate, blockchain technology definitely can have an enormous impact on the gaming industry. The rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can incentivize people to participate in gaming. Considering a career in online gaming is no longer a crazy idea. The play-to-earn model using crypto assets makes it possible to get tangible value from gaming. It is attracting new adepts at a fast pace.
Play-to-Earn (P2E) Model
The principle of the P2E business model is simple: you get paid to play an online game. In the context of crypto gaming, you earn digital assets by playing a P2E game. This business model is very successful because of the notion of making money while having fun. In this type of game, gamers get ownership over certain in-game assets. Then, by playing, gamers can increase the value of the said assets.
In this model, both gamers and developers benefit from the time spent playing. Gamers can see the value of their digital assets grow as they play actively. These assets can take the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or specific cryptocurrencies.
Are P2E Games Free to Play?
P2E games are a new hit in the crypto world. After all, who wouldn’t like to be paid for their time and effort put into a game? A common question newcomers ask is whether it is free to play crypto games. There is no consensus about the accessibility to P2E games. Each developer decides whether to make a particular game freely accessible. Some games are free, others require payment to start playing. But even free crypto games require gamers to make some initial investments to unlock basic capabilities in the game.
The Most Popular P2E Games
Now, let’s review some of the most popular play-to-earn games 2021. Since 2022 is just beginning, this list is still relevant.
1. Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is the most popular P2E NFT platform at the moment. The developer likely took inspiration from previous popular games like Pokémon and Tamagotchi. In this game, players can build up a collection of token-based creatures called Axies. You can also breed, raise, battle, and trade Axies.
Axies can take different forms like bugs, beasts, birds, and more. Each Axie is an NFT characterized by its own attributes and strengths. Players can spend time and effort on breeding rare Axies. Eventually, they can trade their Axies for cryptocurrencies on a dedicated marketplace. The native cryptocurrency of this platform is Axie Infinity Shards (AXS). Players can earn by staking AXS coins.
Also, players are rewarded for participating in the game with the Smooth Love Potion (SLP) token. It is an ERC-20 token that players can use to breed new Axies. Players cannot breed more than seven Axies, and each breeding has a cost starting at 100 SLP. Players can accrue SLP and eventually sell their tokens at a profit.
Although Axie Infinity is often listed among free-to-play NFT games, it is not technically free, at least not at first. You need at least three Axies to start playing. Each Axie has a cost you should pay with fiat money or cryptocurrency. Once you fulfill this requirement, you can freely play on the platform.
2. Decentraland
Decentraland is another popular P2E game, launched in 2017. This project's initial coin offering (ICO) raised $24 million. Decentraland is a virtual world where players can purchase plots of land. Then, they can use different features to make it more attractive. For example, they can build on their plot of land and monetize it. This virtual world runs on the Ethereum platform.
The native cryptocurrency of this game is MANA, a basic ERC-20 token. However, players can burn MANA tokens to acquire ERC-721 LAND tokens. Decentraland has a marketplace where players can buy different names, wearables, avatars, and other items using MANA tokens.
3. The Sandbox
The Sandbox is another game that recreates a virtual world. The blockchain version of this game allows players to earn while they enjoy playing. Players can purchase plots of land as in Decentraland. Later, they can monetize their in-game creations. This game utilizes two different tokens: SAND and LAND. The former is an ERC-20 utility token. The latter can be used to host games, build multiplayer experiences, and more.
How to Exchange P2E Crypto Gaming Assets
Play-to-earn gaming has taken the crypto world by storm. This business model allows developers and gamers to monetize their time doing things they enjoy. As such, many experts believe that blockchain-based games represent the future of the online gaming industry. Mass adoption is underway. We are at the beginning of this journey.
Many people worldwide are already generating extra income with crypto NFT games. In some low-income countries, playing P2E NFT games is a full-time job. But a common problem that gamers face is exchanging their in-game assets.
As one can expect, different P2E crypto games use different types of digital assets to reward gamers. Some major games are even developing their own blockchains. Exchanging digital earnings from P2E games can be tricky. Cross-chain swaps are especially complex and costly. Moreover, players are often required to verify their identity to trade in-game assets, which might be unreasonable when you just want to try a new game without compromising your privacy.
All these reasons limit players’ opportunities to move between different games or trade their in-game assets for major crypto and fiat currencies.
Luckily, gamers don’t necessarily have to sell their digital assets on the game’s platform itself. LetsExchange.io allows gamers to swap their digital assets quickly and cheaply. You can always have your earnings from gaming in your preferred cryptocurrency by using our exchange platform.
Why LetsExchange Is a Perfect Place to Exchange P2E Crypto Gaming Assets
No registration and KYC required. On LetsExchange.io, you can swap any crypto pairs straight away, without KYC checks. Registering a user account is optional and only requires an email address. This gives you an opportunity to trade P2E gaming cryptocurrencies while maintaining your privacy.
A wide variety of coins. LetsExchange supports around 4,500 coins and tokens. There are quite a few cryptocurrencies from P2E games among them, such as Axie Infinity (AXS), Decentraland (MANA), The Sandbox (SAND), Hive (HIVE), and others. You can easily swap between all these coins or trade them for BTC, ETH, or any popular altcoins.
Cross-chain swap opportunities. With so many different NFT P2E games out there, bridging in-game assets between different blockchains is challenging. LetsExchange.io provides an excellent cross-swap solution for P2E gamers. Our platform supports tokens from multiple networks. For instance, when trading SAND for AXS, you can send The Sandbox tokens in the ERC-20 network and receive AXS in the ERC-20, RON, or BEP-20 network. It works just like any other swap on LetsExchange.
Low fees. Forget about insane gas fees. On LetsExchange, you only pay regular network and exchange processing fees for any swap. All the fees are included in the estimated exchange amount. If you select the fixed rate option, you will get this exact amount sent to your wallet. When choosing the floating rate option, the amount might change only due to crypto price fluctuations during the exchange process.
Low minimum exchange amounts. There are no upper exchange limits on LetsExchange, while the lower limits are really low. They are only applied to avoid loss-making transactions when exchange fees account for a major part of the total exchange amount. As a result, you can get in-game assets you want and try a new P2E game without spending hundreds of dollars in crypto.
How to Exchange P2E Gaming Assets and Other Coins on LetsExchange
Head straight to the exchange widget on https://letsexchange.io/; registration and KYC are not required, so you can start swapping right away.
Let’s say you want to swap SAND for AXS and get it in the RON network.
- Select SAND (ERC-20) in the You Send field and pick AXS (RON) in the You Get field
- Enter the amount you want to exchange and indicate your address to receive AXS in the RON network
- Switch between Floating and Market Rates if needed and click Let’s Exchange. On the next screen, check the exchange details and click Accept if everything is correct.
- Finally, send your indicated amount of SAND to the deposit address provided in the exchange widget.
Once done, the exchange will be processed automatically and your AXS will be sent directly to your receiving address.
The whole exchange process is completely transparent as you can track transactions using block explorers and also request a transaction receipt on LetsExchange. You don’t need to share your private keys and data so there’s no risk of compromising the security of your funds and personal information.