Metaverse & Blockchain Games

The metaverse is a digital environment that utilizes a combination of technologies and digital concepts like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), blockchain, social media, online gaming and more to create an immersive experience, where the digital and physical world converge.
Metaverse is a virtual environment where real people can meet each other and have real conversations, hold jobs and work, play games, attend events, gain knowledge and skills, shop for digital and physical goods; in addition, users can earn with a form of currency distinct from, but related to, the real world.
The metaverse opens a new economy where wealth can be created, traded, and enhanced.
Video games have become a significant component in the metaverse space because many games provide the ideal virtual environment: digitally enabled concepts such as live online social interactions (team ups with other players, live chats, “physical” interaction via avatars), event attendance (music concerts in Fortnite) and in-game shopping (purchasing gear, food, skins, clothing, and collectables). Some MMO (massively multiplayer online) video games have already been referred to as ‘Metaverses’, especially those that integrate real world products, experiences, financial mechanisms or novel technological components, not traditionally found in games , into virtual environments, for example:

Fortnite

  • Nike Air Jordan branded skins for in-game avatars.
  • O2 virtual arena for in-game concerts.
  • Concerts featuring real-world stars like Ariana Grande and Travis Scott.
  • Carrefour Health Map as a game level that provides healthy eating.

Minecraft

  • All kinds of education service providers build worlds to facilitate teaching and learning.
  • Users can sell their creation(s) in the marketplace.

Decentraland

  • Users can create, share and monetize in-game assets like buildings, venues (museums, clubs…etc.), interactive objects, art, games, and massive live events.
  • Each plot of virtual land is a unique, scarce and irreplicable NFT that users can own.
  • Digital goods in this virtual world are NFTs that can be traded.
  • Has a utility token (MANA) that can be traded on decentralized exchanges.

Sandbox

  • Users can create, share and monetize in-game assets, which include games and art.
  • Each plot of virtual land is a unique, scarce and irreplicable NFT that users can own.
  • Virtual goods in this virtual world are NFTs that can be traded.
  • Has a utility token (SAND) that can be traded on decentralized exchanges.
While many have called MMO games metaverses, it seems to be commonly agreed that the metaverse as a concept encompasses much more than just MMO gaming. This goes to show that the understanding and definition of the term ‘metaverse’ is still evolving. Is it a technical dimension enabled by technology, like the internet? Is it a marketplace? Is it a product? Or is it an industry?
What is clear today however is that blockchain games with play-to-earn business models are becoming the front runners in both the games industry and the metaverse space.
Blockchain-based games Axie Infinity and DeFi Kingdoms reached more than $400 million in transaction volume on a daily basis.
-Cointelegraph Research, 2022
NFT games generated $2.32 billion in Q3 2021.
-VentureBeat 2021
Blockchain games and game-related NFTs have outperformed other crypto verticals during the bear market and have not been impacted as drastically. VC investments remain strong with $2.5 billion committed in Q2. Total 2022 investment is already outpacing the 2021 total by 33%.
-DappRadar x BGA Games Report - Q2 2022
Metaverse may be $800 billion market.
- Bloomberg Intelligence 2021