April 15, 2022

The Complete Guide To NFT Games

Have you heard about the blockchain? What about NFT games? There’s been a lot of chatter and excitement about these concepts for good reason: they are the cutting edge of how video game players interact with the internet, cryptocurrency, and even each other.

However, not everyone understands exactly what these NFT games are all about. Maybe you’re not clear on all the concepts or are a little confused about how NFTs relate to video games.

In this post, we'll discuss what NFT games are, whether they’re the same as crypto or blockchain games, what makes them unique, how you can start playing them, and their place in the metaverse. Plus, we’ll also discuss some of the best NFT games available right now.

What Are NFT Games?

NFT games are a new kind of video game that is based on blockchain technology and that uses non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as part of the game mechanics or the interactions between players. This means that the code which drives the game and its functionality is located on the blockchain instead of a centralized server from the game publisher.

For instance, with an NFT game, your avatar or unique character could be an NFT. Additionally, any in-game items that you find or win while playing the game could also be NFTs.

The use of NFTs makes it possible for the player to actually own whatever digital asset they may have won in the game. This is because NFTs are unique, one-of-a-kind, and indivisible. Plus, they can’t be copied, unlike other digital files. So, if a player has the NFT of an in-game item, they actually “own” that item.

Certain NFT games are also known as hybrid games. In this scenario, many of the game’s assets for functionality are stored on the publisher’s central servers, including things like maps, non-playable characters (NPCs), and skins. However, the game still includes the ability to buy, trade, or sell NFTs and/or cryptocurrencies, both of which are stored on a decentralized blockchain.

Are NFT, Crypto & Blockchain Games All The Same?

Yes, those are all essentially the same thing. In fact, the term “NFT games” can be used interchangeably with “blockchain games” and “crypto games”. That’s because they all refer to the same concept: video games that are hosted on the blockchain and use blockchain technology.

NFT, crypto or blockchain games have one defining characteristic: they use NFTs at some point in the game mechanics or as part of the in-game economy. For example, in-game items can be minted as NFTs or there might be an in-game currency that’s based on NFTs in a certain blockchain.

However, in most cases, those three phrases all mean the same thing. Just to summarize, these new video games based on blockchain technology can be called:

NFT games
Crypto games
Blockchain games

Finally, there are certain NFT, crypto, and blockchain games that allow players to earn money, commonly known as play-to-earn games.

For instance, if players win or earn NFTs, then these NFTs can then be bought, sold, or traded on an NFT marketplace and converted into fiat currency like dollars, euros or pounds. If it’s the type of game in which players can earn cryptocurrency, then that cryptocurrency can also be converted into fiat currency, allowing the player to earn money while playing.

How Are NFT Games Different From Conventional Video Games?

NFT, crypto, and blockchain games are different from conventional video games in one crucial way. In conventional video games, all the digital assets - including the in-game currency, weapons, skins, characters, and other in-game items - are not owned by players. Instead, these digital assets are hosted on centralized servers and are owned by the game publishers.

However, an NFT, crypto, or blockchain game is decentralized, meaning that the digital assets are hosted on the blockchain and are owned by the players.

Essentially, NFT games empower players in the following ways:

Decentralizing control - Video game developers and publishers no longer have exclusive control over every aspect of the game.
Giving players real ownership - In-game assets in the form of NFTs are now fully owned and controlled by players instead of the gaming companies.
Integrating players with the growing metaverse - Players can now trade assets that they accumulate in the NFT game across the entire metaverse, including NFT marketplaces.
Creating a more immersive experience - Blockchain technology allows for a more open, distributed, and transparent ecosystem as well as giving players more control over game dynamics.
Increasing the creative potential - Players can continue playing and even contribute to updates on a given game since it’s no longer run on a centralized server that’s maintained by the developers.

This is all accomplished via blockchain technology. This is a system that uses cryptography to link blocks of data sequentially and in a decentralized network spread over multiple computer terminals known as nodes.

Additionally, blockchain technology functions as a kind of digital ledger that stores and records sensitive information, including NFT ownership and/or financial transactions. That’s what makes the blockchain so valuable and innovative: it can’t be hacked, altered, or otherwise tampered with.

As a result, NFT, crypto, and blockchain games are considered to be decentralized applications (dApps) and are part of decentralized gaming.

How Do You Start Playing NFT Games?

If you want to see what all the fuss is about and are looking to try NFT or crypto games, then you just need to take a few steps to start:

First of all, you need to find the right game for you, usually via Epic Games or on Egamers.io.
Figure out which blockchain the NFT game is operating on. In most cases, this will be Ethereum.
If the game requires that you use cryptocurrency to play or to purchase in-game NFTs, then you’ll need to find a crypto exchange platform to convert your fiat currency into crypto. If it’s on the Ethereum blockchain, then it will use Ether (ETH).
Pick a crypto wallet to store your cryptocurrency - MetaMask is a good choice, but there are lots of options to choose from.
In some cases, you may have to buy starter items like certain characters, cards, or upgrades to begin playing.

Additionally, if it’s a free NFT game, then you can even skip the step of converting your fiat currency into cryptocurrency.

However, the hardest part is generally finding the right NFT game for your needs. It’s important to note that these games come in just about every genre, including card games, role-playing games (RPGs), first-person shooters (FPSs), action/adventure, survival, and strategy.

Finally, if the NFT game does not have a dedicated mobile version but you still want to play it on your mobile device, then you’ll need to get a decentralized application browser (Dapp browser). Common choices include:

These Dapp browsers can be especially useful since some of them also function as crypto wallets.

Can You Find NFT & Crypto Games On Steam?

As of March 2022, no, you can't find any NFT or crypto games on Steam. Back in October of 2021, Valve decided to ban all games that use blockchain technology or allow users to exchange NFTs or cryptocurrencies on their gaming platform.

According to some developers, Valve has based this decision on the idea that they don’t allow items that can have real-world value on their platform. In other words, they don’t want to host video games on their platform that can actually make money for players.

As you can imagine, there were many NFT game developers and enthusiasts who were deeply disappointed and criticized this decision. For them, it seems like a short-sighted ruling that’s a little out of touch with the future, which many experts believe will be blockchain-based games set in the growing metaverse.

On the other hand, Epic Games has taken a very different stance and is open to working with NFT games or games that support blockchain-based assets. As Valve’s primary competitor, this will very likely have a huge influence on the future market.

However, Epic has stated that there are some requirements for the NFT games they’ll host, including:

All games will have to comply with any financial laws.
Developers must make it clear exactly how the blockchain will be used.
The games will need appropriate age ratings.
Epic’s payment service can’t be used to accept any cryptocurrency.

As you might imagine, NFT, crypto, and blockchain enthusiasts have applauded Epic’s decision, stating that their commitment to innovation will help drive the demand and development of NFT games and the related metaverse.

How Do NFT Games Fit Into The Growing Metaverse?

The metaverse has become extremely popular in the past several years. It’s a version of the internet that’s more immersive and lifelike, like a form of virtual world-building. It means that the user will do more than just “surf the internet”; they’ll have a whole life online.

It’s a tricky concept, but it’s easier to understand if you just think of it as the next evolutionary step in the development of the internet. Essentially, it’s about making your online life in the virtual world feel more like your everyday life in the real world.

That being said, NFT and crypto games allow you to accumulate NFTs and/or cryptocurrency that can be exchanged with native tokens in a given metaverse. These games give you a chance to make real money in a virtual environment, so they’ll likely play a huge role in the metaverse moving forward.

However, it’s important to note that there currently isn’t a single, unified metaverse. In fact, it’s a bit of a Wild West environment right now, meaning that there are countless NFT games that are being developed. These games will integrate with their specific metaverse in various ways, including giving players plenty of opportunities to be innovative and make money.

For example, The Husl is launching the Huslverse, a dynamic metaverse on the Ethereum blockchain.

This includes our NFT game, where players are prompted to “choose their own adventure” and complete various quests. They work towards achieving their professional dreams while playing as one of several occupations, including:

Fashion designer
Musician
Actor
Artist
Athlete
Explorer

Each occupation will have a corresponding community in a quadrant of the Huslverse map, filled with its own associated games that prompt players to own resources, create valuable NFTs, level, and progress in quests to unlock more exclusive opportunities.

Plus, the Huslverse will offer plenty of music NFT drops as well as exclusive experiences to connect with musicians. It’s all about creating an experience that goes beyond just listening to music and that includes the ability to interact with their favorite creators.

Top 8 NFT Games

Now that we’ve discussed what NFT games are, let’s take a look at some of the top options available to players today.

Free NFT Games

These are NFT games that do not have any upfront costs to start playing. That being said, there are some in which you can buy certain starter items to make your gameplay easier, but they’re not strictly necessary.

Gods Unchained

This is a strategy card game within the fantasy/adventure genre. The player starts with a Welcome Set of 140 cards and - as they level up - they unlock other cards and decks within the Common Core set. Although these are not on the blockchain (meaning that they can not be sold), they are used in Ranked matches. If the player wins a Ranked match, they earn the in-game token known as Flux and can then fuse cards together that are minted on the Ethereum blockchain as NFTs.

Chainmonsters

This massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) game allows you to catch, tame, train, battle, breed, and explore different types of monsters and abilities to create your own gameplay. Inspired by Pokemon, it runs on the FLOW blockchain, which was designed for extensive scaling without the use of sharding techniques, making it ideal for open-worlds and NFTs. While playing the game, you can collect items and Chainmoms that can then be sold on an NFT marketplace.

Axie Infinity Scholarship

Although Axie Infinity is an incredibly popular NFT/crypto game, it costs about $1,200 to buy the three Axies you need to start playing. Because of this high price for entry, the Axie Infinity Scholarship system was developed as a free NFT game.

In it, long-time players known as managers will lend their Axies to new players known as Scholars. They’ll then split the NFT rewards that they earn, with Scholars usually getting about 60% to 70%.

Play-To-Earn NFT Games

Play-To-Earn games are NFT games that allow you to make money. Although there are free NFT games that also let you make money, play-to-earn NFT games are primarily focused on this task.

Players usually win NFTs and/or cryptocurrency by completing quests, missions, or challenges within the game. Afterward, the NFTs can then be sold or exchanged on an NFT marketplace and the crypto can be converted into fiat currency.

Here are some of the most popular Play-To-Earn Games:

Farmers World

This is a strategy and building game, similar to the SIMS franchise, that’s built on the WAX blockchain. Essentially, it’s a farming game, allowing you to pick the right tools, gather natural resources, and buy digital land to expand your farming operations. All of this occurs within the game’s metaverse, known as the Farmer’s World Ecosystem.

Upland

This is a strategy and property-trading game. However, it’s unique due to the fact that its metaverse is based on real-world addresses, allowing you to buy and sell virtual versions of real-world real estate properties. Once you become a digital landowner, you develop properties and earn UPX coins, a metaverse token and in-game currency that fuels the vibrant players’ economy. Plus, each property within the game is an NFT that’s based on the EOS blockchain.

NFT Games With The Best ROI

These play-to-earn NFT games have an especially high return on investment (ROI), making them the perfect choice for any player looking to make some money quickly and consistently.

It’s important to note that many forward-thinking finance enthusiasts are using NFT games as viable investment opportunities. In fact, many of them have invested in NFT-involved companies as a way to capitalize on this growing trend.

Robohero

This is the first-ever play-to-earn NFT game that’s integrated with the Terra Luna blockchain. It has a pretty simple premise: players win robo-tokens by fighting other robots. These other robots can either be controlled by artificial intelligence (AI) or other human players. Plus, there are no upfront costs, so you can get started without having to make an initial investment.

Cybertrade

This is a complex, open-world MMORPG metaverse that’s built on the Binance Smart Chain. Advertised as a “Triple-A Gaming Experience”, Cybertrade allows users to fight, trade, race, and own streets in the sprawling city of Metropolit. As you level up, you earn NFTs and Cybercash, allowing you to then convert that into fiat currency in the outside world.

Monsta Infinite

This NFT game was essentially inspired by Axie Infinity, but with significantly lower entry costs. You earn tokens and/or NFTs by breeding and trading monsters (known as monstas) that come from different nations and have various attributes. You can also win tokens and/or NFTs by engaging in player-vs-player (PVP) battles. Finally, since it’s an entire metaverse on its own, you can also earn assets by owning or speculating on digital land that hosts virtual events.

Play The NFT Game In The Huslverse

The Huslverse is the new metaverse and NFT game on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. Within this metaverse, players can trade, buy, sell, or lease virtual land that they’ve purchased.

Our upcoming NFT game will let players earn valuable in-game items and assets.This NFT game will also have the following characteristics:

A creator-driven economy. Players can buy metaverse land, skins, virtual items, building materials, and NFTs with $HUSL, the native currency and token that powers the entire Huslverse economy.
Player-owned resources. The players own their own land and resources, empowering their community and allowing them to trade, sell, or buy from other players.
In-game assets as NFTs. The Huslverse and its play-to-earn crypto game allows all players to create their own characters and in-game assets as NFTs.
Cross chain interoperability. This means the Ethereum blockchain, which hosts the Huslverse, can communicate with other blockchains, allowing messages, data, and token exchanges to flow freely between different blockchains.
Player governance. Token holders can make key decisions and participate in governance, including voting to list featured NFT drops, entering competitions, and getting into exclusive events.
Continual community involvement. The NFT game in the Huslverse will continuously source valuable input from the player community via social media channels to develop game experiences and new quests.
A communal playing experience. The Huslverse NFT game is a massive, live, multiplayer experience that will allow players to connect with one another in an immersive and dynamic environment.

You can start playing the Huslverse NFT game with just a web browser. If you want to optimize your gameplay and protect any in-game assets or NFTs that you earn, then you should also use a digital wallet (or crypto wallet).