Blockchain technology is creating new marketplaces and giving gamers the means to transfer their achievements from one game to another.
The Blockchain revolution is upon us, and the emerging technology is gradually encroaching on every aspect of daily life. The gaming industry is one of the several major sectors, that is being significantly disrupted by Blockchain.
Blockchain enables crypto integration
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Blockchain technology has introduced a paradigm shift in the gaming industry. One of the biggest changes that Blockchain allows is the integration of digital currencies into game economies. Use of Blockchain technology could allow gamers to exchange in-game items for cryptocurrency in a trustless fashion outside the game.
The CEO of Borderless Corporation, Christopher Franko, notes some benefits of Blockchain being used for gaming. In his opinion, one of the clearest use cases is the replacement of in-game currencies with digital currencies such as Bitcoin.
Inter-game barriers are broken
Franko explains that most games have their own version of in-game tokens, such as World of Warcraft’s gold. He explains that game assets no longer have to be bound to one single game and can be transferred around, creating cross-game functionality.
Franko further explains that Blockchain is already being used in games:
“Platforms like EXP.LIFE or Spells of Genesis…exist solely on the Blockchain. For EXP.LIFE users create quests that other users compete to complete, while in Spells of Genesis, the cards to the card game are globally tradeable assets. In EXP.LIFE a player’s progression through the game, quests, and earnings are stored on the Blockchain and I see that becoming more popular in the years to come.”
Augmented reality (AR)
CEO of Cubus Pte. Ltd, Sergey Popov, believes that Blockchain is decentralizing the gaming industry.
Popov tells Cointelegraph that until recently, the results of gamers’ achievements could not be applied beyond that particular game. With the implementation of Blockchain in gaming, the borders between games, as well as between gaming and the real world, are disappearing quickly.
Popov explains that the Blockchain allows gamers to take their results outside their game into the real world, as tokens and other items can be transferred or exchanged outside of the game. Augmented reality (AR) technology could augment these Blockchain-based transfers, significantly blurring the line between the real world and virtual worlds.
According to Popov, games like BitComon GO combine AR and Blockchain technology. Such games allow users to create their own tasks, publicity campaigns, sports events and micro-jobs using Ethereum smart contracts. Gamers can earn game coins and other forms of digital currency such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum in the process.
Popov explains:
“The crossborder ability introduced by the Blockchain enables the possibility of bringing the results from [one] totally different game into another. These implications also open new possibilities to create user-friendly interfaces for totally practical markets like courier services [and] sports competitions…totally new marketplaces where people can exchange the assets with the real goods. Everything is limited only by imagination.”
The opportunities provided by Blockchain platforms such as Bitcoin and Ethereum is enabling the continued creation of innovative products. The Blockchain revolution of the gaming industry is creating a more robust industry that blurs the lines between reality and fantasy.
