Do cryptocurrencies have a big future in gaming?

The potential of crypto goes far beyond just commerce – the use of cryptocurrencies in gaming is already becoming more common. Expert commentators even predict that it could be an all-pervasive technology in future gaming.

“If you scroll ahead a few years, maybe every single big successful game will be fully tokenised,” said Dominic Williams. He’s the founder of Dfinity, the nonprofit that operates the Internet Computer blockchain.

By combining SocialFi (social finance) functionality with DeFi (decentralised finance), the ‘GameFi’ he’s discussing allows users to chat, trade coins and NFTs, and earn from gaming.

What makes this different to traditional game tokenisation is these tokens can be traded for fiat currency. Players can also protect their online avatars by holding them as NFTs.

The advantages of using crypto in games

The advantage for operators of this service is that they can drive up the value of their proprietary crypto coin, while also making players evangelists and part owners of their infrastructure.

“If you get millions of users on your chat service who become part owners of it through tokenisation, they’ll also become advocates for the service and you can create a sales force of millions of people,” Dominic explained.

Dominic believes that blockchain technology is the direction of travel for the entire internet, and that now is the time for developers to get involved: “Blockchain has expanded to a US$2.5 trillion industry. It’s a great time to get involved in rebuilding things like social media and games. And, if you’re an entrepreneur today, you should be building on blockchain.”

According to Dominic, the cost and speed of smart contract computation on the Internet Computer blockchain is now approaching that of traditional IT.

GameFi will transform gaming. True play-to-earn is coming.

– Dominic Williams, founder at Dfinity

Will crypto impact how games are made?

One of the biggest impacts of GameFi will be on game development. Through the tokenised system, money can be raised by players and used to design games that they want to play.

Dominic highlighted that Internet Computer has already created a US$10 billion fund from its users – a fund that’s accessible to game developers. He said: “Blockchain unlocks community funding … You can expect the community fund to be measured in the billions.”

It’s possible that, in future, players will not only be able to design their own games on blockchain, but will play to earn money that can be spent in the real and virtual worlds – or so said Dominic: “GameFi will transform gaming. True play-to-earn is coming.”

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Main image of bitcoin in a game: Audio und werbung/Shutterstock