How Blockchain Technology Could Change Gaming

Blockchain technology is now well established with most people at least aware of Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies, even if they don’t hold any themselves. However, outside of digital money, it’s mainly blockchain enthusiasts who are aware of the other uses and benefits that this new technology can deliver.

If you’re a gamer, then you might want to stay abreast of all the exciting blockchain-based advancements we have seen and are likely to see in the gaming space as they promise to completely revolutionise the way we enjoy the medium.

Payments

Of course, the most obvious way for the blockchain to be implemented into the world of gaming is by allowing players to purchase new titles and other content with cryptocurrencies. While we don’t have universal acceptance, there are plenty of platforms where you can spend your Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin, or even Dogecoin.

Some of these marketplaces make spending crypto incredibly easy. For example, Microsoft has partnered with BitPay so you can fund your Microsoft account with your chosen token and then use that credit in the Xbox Store.

Unfortunately, however, some require you to go through a few extra hoops to be able to spend your hard-earned digital money. Steam, for example, dropped its support for Bitcoin in 2017 during the first major spike in the digital currency’s value.

Therefore, if you’d like to use your crypto to buy games via Valve’s gaming platform, you need to use a cryptocurrency card that allows you to spend via either Mastercard or VISA and have the transaction charged to your crypto wallet. Once set up, these tools are easy to use, but it can be a hassle if you need to create an account and order a card just to buy a video game.

Casino Gaming

The online casino space has come a long way since the first ones opened in the late 1990s. They’ve gone from offering a handful of classic titles to building huge catalogues of content that include thousands of different slot games and dozens of different variants of traditional tables games.

Much of this innovation is the result of stiff competition within the online casino market as there are many operators all vying for the same players. That’s why there are also many, including big names like 888casino, that offer bonuses to new customers who sign up and make a deposit.

Other attempts to stand out in this crowded space include creating mobile apps, developing live casino games, introducing virtual reality, and running VIP programmes and loyalty schemes.

Some others have opted to use blockchain technology. Of course, one way to do this is to accept deposits and/or bets denominated in a cryptocurrency, though others have adopted smart contracts too. This latter approach places each wager on the blockchain, creating a public log of each one to show that players are paid out when they win. However, there are other ways of demonstrating fairness in the casino space, such as independent audits, which may explain the slow adoption.

Blockchain Games

Games built around the blockchain have become much more prominent in recent years. Often referred to as “play-to-earn” games, these titles usually contain some form of collecting functionality where players can earn in-game items by completing certain actions.

These items are distributed in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) to ensure that there is a finite number of them, helping to create scarcity which may make them valuable.

The ‘earn’ element comes from the fact that it is, at least in theory, possible to sell these in-game items later on to convert them to crypto. This does require demand for the in-game items, however, so you won’t be able to sell them if no one is actually playing the game for fun.

For this reason, it’s a good idea to only play a play-to-earn game if you genuinely enjoy the gameplay, not because you’re hoping for some sort of return.

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