Most gamers are against the concept of NFTs in the games they play, and that is completely understandable.
The current NFTs are nothing short of a scam that everyone jumped on to. The expensive JPGs of apes and random faces with different combinations are probably not here to stay in the long run.
So what does the future hold for NFTs? That part is still unclear, however, I wanted to list down a few positive ways that NFTs could be implemented in a more useful and non scammy way.
NFTs as Fundraisers For New Games
Rather than using Kickstarter or other fundraiser sites, game developers could use NFTs as a way to raise funds. CreatureAtsume’s fundraiser shows the simple layout of how you can create tiers that offer different benefits to NFT owners once the project launches.
Benefits for ‘investors’ could be as simple as their name in the credits, to receiving a plushy of the game, to being flown out to meet the team and design a character.
NFTs as a fundraiser would work exactly as you see it on Kickstarter, but without the middleman and a much larger worldwide community of potential buyers.
NFTs For In-Game Skins
We all love to be unique when we play online and skins could be a great way to have something special, that’s limited to a few people.
Skins are a way to show your character off as well as your willingness to spend your money. Regardless, some people enjoy it, so why not have limited skins for people that people can trade.
Over time, these skins would get rarer as people might stop playing the game, die, or just forget that they had them.
There would of course need to be some kind of way to track which account owns the NFT so that the skin can be enabled/disabled when traded.
NFTs That Offer Recurring Rewards
Similar to the skins, you’d simply need to hold this NFT and link it to your account to get weekly rewards.
Rewards could be things like the much-hated/loved loot boxes, in-game currency, rare mounts, random rewards related to the game, and even game time for subscription games.
As long as these rewards are not pay-2-win rewards, this could be a nice element for gamers.
NFTs That Are Tied to In-Game Land
Does anyone remember the popular MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies?
In Star Wars Galaxies players could build their own homes, cities, and bases.
Players could set up automated shops that provide buffs in exchange for money, organize town hall meetings with their guild, decorate their cities and buildings, and much more.
It was a cool concept that could work in modern games. Buy a piece of land for yourself or your guild and start building on your land.
The only downside to this is that some people might hoard all the land and possibly rent it out to other players. There would need to be some way to limit this to make it fun for players to actually own that part of the game.
Conclusion
If we look past the silly pictures of apes that currently plague NFTs, there might be some actual benefit for long-term players once the concept evolves.
Above I just named a few things that I think could be done in the future to make NFTs in games at least a little bit useful and fun.
We are undoubtfully going to see more and more of NFTs in video games as the concept of NFTs evolves, but let’s hope it’s not more of those lazy Play-2-Earn games that entice you with actual money to enjoy the game.
NFTs will need to integrate in such a way that the gamer doesn’t actually notice it. No crypto wallets, no exchanging fiat to crypto, etc. NFTs and blockchain technology will need to integrate into the backend for the majority of players to accept it.
Leave a comment below and let me know how you see NFTs transforming games, if at all.
