The new trend of the video game industry in 2021 to now is GameFi. This model became popular in the last two years. So what is GameFi and why did it become a craze and attract a large number of players? Let’s find out through the following article.
1. What is GameFi?
Many people are curious to know what GameFi is? That is the term for games developed on the blockchain platform. The term GameFi is a combination of Game (short for Video Game) and Finance. Simply put, game projects combine with the unique features of cryptocurrencies to help users earn income by playing games.
What’s Gamefi? – Image: nftandGameFi.com
2. The Origins of GameFi
GameFi appeared in its infancy in the first Minecraft servers integrated with Bitcoin. After that, the term “GameFi” is considered to have first appeared in September 2020 through a Twitter post by Andre Cronje – Founder of Jearn Finance and also known as a legendary coder. Since then, the term has grown in popularity and is used to refer to games that incorporate financial elements.
Cryptokitties is the first GameFi venture, launched in November 2017. Players can collect, buy and raise virtual cats in the game. In particular, it is possible to sell them as NFTs (Non-fungible tokens) for three times their original price.
3. The difference from the traditional game
The biggest common point of games in general when users come to it is the entertainment factor. So besides the fun and excitement of experiencing the game, what is the difference between GameFi and traditional games?
Experience GameFi – Image: icoviet.com
3.1. Play to Earn
If traditional games consider entertainment as the top priority in game building and development, encouraging Play to Earn behavior is GameFi’s top priority.
Like the name Play to earn, GameFi was born to make the game much more attractive because it attracts both gamers and investors. Any item in the game is more like a tool that can earn money than an ordinary item.
The GameFi trend has changed the traditional game ecosystem. Gaming is no longer just about wasting time and money, it’s about being able to actually earn money. Rewarding players with virtual currencies of real value is a factor to attract more and more players.
Play to Earn game – Image: de.beincrypto.com
3.2. Property ownership
In-game items such as characters, costumes, weapons, pets, etc. are represented as NFTs. Players obtain these items through playing the game. You can then trade them on the NFT marketplace for a profit, or exchange them for cryptocurrency and then convert to fiat (a currency printed and issued by the governments of countries such as USD, VDN,…). Players have full control over their assets with authenticity and verifiable ownership.
Example: In DeFi Warrior – a GameFi project inspired by the cryptocurrency universe, released from Q3 2021. Players can own warrior NFTs and earn money from game modes, create new NFTs, buy and sell NFTs,… It is even possible to rent out their own warriors as these are all owned by them.
3.3. Little upfront cost or Free
Currently, there are a lot of GameFi that can be downloaded for free on Google Play/App Store or played directly on the website and has a trial mode before deciding to invest. However, there are some games that also have special requirements such as: buying tokens, characters or in-game items to play. This cost will also help the player make a profit after a while, also known as ROI (Return on investment).
Example: Players can experience the game DeFi Warrior for free through Trial Mode on mobile. After that, you can invest in the game through buying FIWA (DeFi Warrior’s token), warriors to fight,… And experience modes such as: PvE (Battle with the system), PvP (Fight with other players), Championship (Tournaments organized by the game), Challenge mode (Mode to challenge your friends to battle),… and other attractive modes are waiting for you to explore.
DeFi Warrior game interface – Image: DeFi Warrior
3.4. Potential in the future
Through the combination of DeFi, NFT and blockchain technology elements, GameFi has created a breakthrough compared to the traditional game genres before. Therefore, a number of “giants” in the traditional game industry have announced their plans to develop into GameFi such as: Ubisoft, Square Enix, Epic Games,…
DappRadar estimates that there are 1.09 million daily blockchain game players (as of February 13, 2022). Meanwhile, Footprint Analytics estimates 1.03 million daily GameFi players (as of February 13, 2022). That is not a small number.
Moreover, according to Gabby Dizon – Co-Founder of Yield Guild Games, he predicts that we will likely see 10 million wallets daily interacting with blockchain games before the end of 2022. This demonstrates great faith in a GameFi future ahead.
The potential of GameFi in the future – Image: beincrypto.com
In the coming years, more GameFi projects will be released as there is still a huge untapped market of gamers who have the ability to convert from traditional games to money games. We can look forward to a more developed, more popular GameFi future, more unique game content and especially a more sustainable in-game economy!
Hope this article will help you understand what GameFi is. If you have not experienced GameFi yet, let’s find out and step into this vast and exciting world!
