The Enchanting World of Crypto-Based RPGs and NFTs

Online gaming is all the rage nowadays with its popularity soaring with each passing day. Something that has for long been considered a time-wasting indulgence for idle teens and unemployed young adults has inevitably morphed into a lucrative engagement for people of all ages. Fair to say, a hobby that was once looked down upon has magically transformed into a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Currently, the gaming industry is valued at around $160 billion, more than twice the music and movie industry combined!! More interesting, it is estimated that there are more than 2.7 billion gamers globally. This loosely translates to every 1 in 4 people is a gamer. Mind-Boggling figures for an industry that hasn’t been taken with the seriousness it deserves.

NFTs: an exciting proposition

A common feature of RPGs is in-game assets and rewards that players can unlock or receive after successfully completing some predetermined milestones. Some games also require players to purchase certain assets that they will need as they progress to the next level.

Sadly, under the centralised gaming environment, the players cannot trade these assets that they earn or buy throughout their progression in the game. Even more unfortunate is that the players can lose all their assets if the game developer deletes their accounts or the services just stop being offered.

For example, if Fortnite goes bankrupt, servers shut down, everyone's avatar skins have nowhere to go!

Blockchain-based games are changing this through an innovative solution known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). An NFT is a unique digital token that cannot be directly exchanged with another.

Simply put, the owner of an NFT is guaranteed that they are the sole owner of that digital token as it cannot be replicated.

These attributes make NFTs the perfect fit for the gaming world as they provide a means for creating and assigning value to various assets. This means crypto games assets like characters, weapons, properties, powers and other items can all be tokenised into NFTs. The game creators only develop a limited number of these assets making them highly valuable due to their scarcity and rarity.

Adoption of NFTs in crypto games makes the experience more worthwhile as players can earn valuable digital assets that they can keep as collectibles to showcase their prowess or trade for cryptocurrencies.

This proposition has made crypto-RPG games more interesting, which explains why many game developers have ventured into the space. There is also an influx of gamers and collectors exploring the thousands of crypto games due to their immense benefits. The player truly owns the assets they earn in games allowing them to:

• Transfer the NFT to another account
• Retrieve the NFT’s equivalent value from the game’s reserves
• Trade the NFT is secondary markets
• Use interoperable items in other supported games

All games are not created equal with some offering more benefits and gaming options. As such, here we will review the top three Crypto-RPG games we found to be a cut above the rest.

1. ChainGuardians

ChainGuardians is the world’s first gaming ecosystem to marry blockchain and superheroes, resulting in one of the most immersive RPG experiences ever. They are focused on creating a player-centric economy by merging traditional RPG gaming concepts with NFT mining. This enables players to earn income by participating in games allowing them to turn their time and energy into valuable rewards.

Players get to assume the role of various superheroes in a fighting game where they get to annihilate gatekeepers through a turn-based strategy. The platform is interoperable meaning players can access it across multiple networks through browsers and via mobile app. ChainGuardians is premiering the world’s first NFT mining game enabling holders to stake NFTs to earn passive income. This new entrant has entered into a strategic partnership with some notable projects in the crypto space to accelerate its penetration and broaden choice for its gamers.

My Crypto Heroes

My Crypto Heroes is one of the most popular RPGs in the crypto space, having amassed a large number of players since its launch at the end of 2018. It is an Ethereum-based role-playing battle game where players get to assume the character of historical heroes and proceed to fight with other players to earn rewards.

The players need to overcome the enemies and take back the captured heroes. They earn rare NFTs as they progress through the game. The game has gained popularity for its massive multiplayer format that allows players to assume various characters within the MCH Ecosystem. However, the recent rise in Ethereum gas fees is posing a challenge to the sustainability of the game.

Splinterlands 

Splinterlands another interesting Crypto-RPG that provides players with a platform to battle out with each other in a fun environment.

It is a collectible trading card blockchain game that combines the magic and mayhem reminiscent of the splintering days. Players engage in factions that battle for control, by harnessing and unleashing their primal energies in a truly rewarding environment. The game is quite different from other Crypto-RPGs, it is built on the HIVE blockchain (formerly Steem), a rarity in the Ethereum dominant space.

Still, it is quite a lucrative engagement as it rewards players with in-game assets, airdrops, potion upgrades, and highly valuable card packs. 

Role-playing games are really enchanting with the ability to transport the player to different universes altogether through very immersive experiences.

Now, with the adoption of NFTs, players have, for the first time, a real proposition to turn their passion into a rewarding undertaking.

With a bubbling secondary market for NFTs and their increasing popularity, the possibilities are truly unlimited. It's really exciting to watch crypto-RPGs take gaming to the next level.