For the uninitiated, Skin is the avatar or the profile picture that gamers use. They have absolutely no impact on the functionality of the game. However, they add some aesthetics to the players’ profiles. Any item of display has the potential to become an NFT. The same goes for gaming skins as they can be a valuable asset.
So far, gamers have been reluctant to use NFTs in games. The apparent reason seems to be the fear associated with cryptos. Many gamers think that integration of any form of crypto will pave the way for scams. According to them, digital assets will bring forgeries and pollute the whole gaming environment.
It’s not just the gamers, even some bigwigs of the gaming industry endorse this viewpoint. So the point of discussion is, do NFTs really impact gaming negatively? To understand this, one has to understand every aspect of it.
How Do NFTs Change Gaming Skin Markets?
Non-fungible tokens bring a radical change in the gaming skin markets. They turn these licensed features into permanent assets. Moreover, the players will own them and will get the proceeds from the sale. So far, gaming platforms enjoy total ownership of skins and other similar items. They license it to the users but they can also revoke it whenever they want.
The arrival of NFTs will change the whole setting. It would snatch away the sole proprietorship of skins from the gaming platform. Furthermore, the domain could see some second-order impact of it as well. If the platforms let users turn skins into NFTs, they’ll probably raise the former’s price. Now, it could tick off a large number of gamers across the globe.
But it is probably too early to predict something like that. The industry would probably see a meticulous system working behind this new offering. Maybe, players will have the liberty to choose to go for NFTs or not.
Will NFTs Improve the Gaming Experience?
By bringing NFTs into the scene, developers will get some exclusive privileges. They can implement some specific rules that will regulate the game too. The platforms could adapt blockchain to a greater extent. They can write many programs on smart contracts which would decentralize the whole thing. It would make deposits, withdrawals, and transfers of assets safer for gamers.
What is Stopping Gaming Platforms to Implement NFTs?
Largely, it is the gamers. Most of them think that non-fungible tokens will plague the platforms with scams. As stated above, even the platforms do not support it fully. Steam, a digital gaming store has banned all blockchain-based games from its platform. One particular game, Age of Rust, incorporated NFTs into its mechanism. Steam removed it with the drop of a hat.
Conclusion
Even if the number is measly, there are supporters of NFTs in the gaming domain. Hopefully, their number will pick up in the next couple of years. In addition to that, gamers aren’t totally unknown to the benefits of non-fungible tokens. However, it may take some time for the entire industry to realize it.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2023/07/31/things-to-know-about-nfts-affecting-gaming-skin-markets/