- GameFi sector in the blockchain is incubating a lot of advanced projects.
- This sector provides players with a new way to monetize gaming skills.
- Axie Infinity, DeFi Kingdom, Xchange Monster, etc. are the games to look out for in 2022.
The crypto industry goes through sectoral rotations from time to time. Those who understand the narrative behind why a new sector is emerging and how it can impact the broader ecosystem manage to reap massive rewards.
After decentralized finance, the next major trend or sectoral rotation largely making a difference in the crypto industry is GameFi. Defying the traditional norms of game mechanics, blockchain-based video games offer players a new way to monetize their gaming skills. Play-to-earn games were life-changing amidst the pandemic for third-world countries like the Philippines.
With the broader markets recognizing the potential of GameFi, everyone is betting big on well-established and up-and-coming projects. According to a DappRadar report, GameFi projects raised over a billion dollars in January 2022 alone.
In this rapidly expanding space, it can be challenging to track all projects and determine which one has the most potential. So here is a compilation of the top five GameFi projects you don’t want missing from your 2022 watchlist.
1. Axie Infinity
In 2021, Axie Infinity initiated a parabolic run for the GameFi market as it showed the potential and promising concept that is play-to-earn. For a brief period last year, Axie Infinity averaged nearly 30 million dollars in revenue every day.
Axie Infinity’s simple game mechanics, involving users minting Axie NFTs, forming a team, and winning battles to earn money, propelled the vast majority of gaming enthusiasts to give it a shot. It also allowed Axie players to generate passive revenue from AXS (governance token) staking.
The future of Axie Infinity is quite promising. The team plans to transition to a more decentralized structure that gives players control over the treasury, which is worth nearly a billion dollars. In addition, a new version of Axie Infinity, The Origin, is launching in Q1 2022 with many improvements to the storyline, graphics, and design.
2. DeFi Kingdoms
An argument can be made for DeFi Kingdoms to be the most complete play-to-earn game in the GameFi ecosystem. It is not ahead of Axie Infinity yet in terms of market capitalization and lifetime value in NFT sales, but outside of that, DeFi Kingdoms has created unique gameplay mixed with DeFi functionalities that can prove to be better than any other P2E game.
The unique value proposition for DFK players is that they can level up their in-game NFTs or heroes by participating in daily quests, which would augment their yields over time. To add to that, players can also engage in liquidity mining of its in-game currency, JEWEL, to generate passive rewards.
Another reason to be bullish about DeFi Kingdoms is its cross-chain expansion to Avalanche. This would significantly increase the locked value and tap into user bases on other blockchains.
3. Xchange Monster
While play-to-earn games form the core of GameFi, they are not the only projects fueling the gaming economy and developing the ecosystem. Infrastructure projects like Xchange Monster are capturing a massive market opportunity by bridging the gap between game creators/publishers and communities.
Xchange Monster avoids the gray areas in the decentralized world by providing game providers with a fully regulated platform. This instills confidence in more game creators and developers to transition to the Web3 world.
The all-in-one GameFi platform features many products, including a payment gateway with fiat onramps, an NFT marketplace, a trading exchange, and a wallet application. So a game creator can instantly have the complete infrastructure to handle user interactions from start to finish. For players, Xchange Monster offers low transaction costs and immediate access to their in-game NFTs, which can be swapped directly for fiat currencies.
4. Liberty Gaming
Blockchain players can reap decent rewards by consistently playing games. But it is also important to consider how much players have to spend on NFTs to access the game. This is where gaming guilds like Liberty Gaming come into play.
Liberty Gaming offers scholarships to players by covering their initial investment for buying NFTs. The guild is also building a large treasury of emerging play-to-earn and metaverse assets. Some of them are League of Kingdoms, Alien Worlds, Crypto Blondes, and The Sandbox. To become a scholar, players can apply in their discord group and get in touch with guild managers.
So, essentially, Liberty Gaming is democratizing blockchain gaming for those who need it the most by providing necessary in-game NFTs and education to thrive in the gaming ecosystem.
5. Illuvium
One of the most anticipated blockchain titles in the gaming industry is Illuvium. It is said to be the first-ever game to have gameplay similar to a AAA video game. The open-world of Illuvium is developed using Unreal Engine 4. And it is expected to give players a visual treat.
Illuvium is also creating a subset of the main game called Zero. It will be used for creating virtual assets inside the metaverse, similar to how The Sandbox transforms virtual assets into NFTs. Players can populate their virtual lands and add more resources to increase their value in the secondary market. To sell in-game assets, such as weapons, skins, and armor, players will be using IlluviDex, an NFT marketplace of Illuvium.
Players of Illuvium also don’t have to worry about high gas prices, thanks to Immutable X’s layer two solutions. This drastically improves the gaming experience and performance on Illuvium. After many delays and rescheduling, Illuvium is finally set to release its open beta version in late Q1 2022. By the end of the year, a mobile version of the game will also go live.
Why GameFi Is Primed for Explosive Growth
It has become clear that gaming is one of the best, if not the best, use cases of blockchain technology. With NFTs and metaverse gaining prominence, blockchain gaming provides many opportunities for players to earn a handsome income while still having fun. So it can drive mainstream adoption much quicker than other market sectors, resulting in explosive growth for projects building in the GameFi industry.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of CoinQuora. No information in this article should be interpreted as investment advice. CoinQuora encourages all users to do their own research before investing in cryptocurrencies.