Current Market Gaming Models

Metaverse models are constantly evolving and are broadly categorized into Free to Participate, Pay to Participate, and, most recently, Play to Earn (P2E).

Pay to Play:

This traditional gaming model has a pre-requirement to purchase the game before playing. It has been the most popular model in conventional gaming. However, it is not inclusive to all aspiring gamers as an upfront payment is required, which may not be available to all individuals.

Grand Theft Auto and Assassin's Creed are famous examples of this gaming style.

Free to play:

This model requires no upfront costs and allows a gamer to play for free. It is currently the most popular mobile gaming industry (Bityard, 2021). Creators of Free to play games can now make revenue through add-ons such as extra tools, skins, and unique coins in the games. Examples of Free play are Fortnite and Apex Legends.

Play to Earn (P2E):

P2E is a disruptive gaming model inclusive of the open economy concept that financially incentivizes the participants that add value to the gaming ecosystem in numerous ways, allowing gamers to be compensated as they participate.

For a period of time before P2E was adopted, studios would profit from users purchasing in-game assets that they did not own outright. This made the industry one-sided as users spent money on game add-ons but with no means to be compensated. However, with new technologies, users can now own the purchase assets. More recently, platforms such as Twitch and YouTube can assist gamers in earning money from playing their favorite games via streaming services and advertising (Forte, 2021), a dream come true for many gamers. In addition, as Blockchain and Crypto technologies have continued to evolve, more gamers now earn money when playing. New solutions have emerged, allowing users to P2E.

As Blockchain technology has evolved, the gaming industry has utilized this to change the gaming experience for developers and participants. The ecosystem is now full of opportunities for both the gamer and the developer. Besides more scalability and low transaction fees, this space is accelerating through innovations such as smart contracts and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These NFTs are used to purchase and own in-game items (for example, a hatchet, a bulldozer, or a super-fast vehicle) and fungible tokens that can be used in the game and further provide a value-enhanced transfer for the gamer.

Gamers must pay for minting in-game assets upfront for gamers using blockchain technologies. Games' unique platform does not need gamers to spend money to mint in-game assets upfront. It does not require capital to start participating before reaping the rewards and monetary value. Most P2E concept proprietary technology bridges the gap by creating scalable blockchain technology with low transaction fees.