Is Gaming Safer Than Ever Thanks To Blockchain?

Blockchain, the digital ledger technology that underpins cryptocurrency, has found utility in other industries besides crypto. It is used in healthcare, real estate, and traditional banking because it can be used to maintain permanent, immutable records and has high levels of security and privacy.

Another industry that is seeing some implementation of blockchain technology is the gaming industry. Players enjoy the same benefits of privacy and security while also enjoying full ownership of accounts, in-game assets, and more.

There are thousands of cryptocurrencies. This includes meme coins, with no real utility, as well as those designed for use in peer-to-peer transactions. Some of the best crypto to invest in, though, are those with specific utility. Finance writer Michael Graw points out that cryptocurrencies with real utility will have greater sustainability than those without. One such utility is in gaming.

The Growth Of Blockchain Gaming

The gaming market has an estimated value of more than $300 billion a year, easily surpassing the movie industry and the TV industry combined. Much of this value is found in mobile, PC, and console gaming, but blockchain gaming is growing in popularity with projects like Axie Infinity and Decentraland leading the way. And one of the reasons that players are taking to blockchain gaming is its increased security.

Countering In-Game Theft

In-game theft has long been a problem. Games like World of Warcraft see players invest hundreds of hours to acquire the best items, sometimes even spending real money to buy them.

But hackers know that stealing items in games isn’t treated as seriously as physical theft. There have been a few cases of people being prosecuted for in-game theft but these instances are few and far between. For the most part, it isn’t even reported. And when it is, there’s very little the game makers or authorities can do about it. Blockchain can help.

The Role Of NFTs

Blockchain gaming primarily uses NFTs, or non-fungible tokens as in-game assets. Axie Infinity, for example, sees players acquiring, raising, and battling in-game creatures. Every creature is a unique NFT, which means the player retains full ownership of their Axies. In traditional gaming, assets are owned by the game maker. They effectively decide what players can do with those assets.

This also means if thieves can hack the player servers and get access to accounts, they can effectively steal the in-game items. With blockchain records, items are secure. They can’t be hacked or stolen because the player retains the crypto keys to those NFTs.

NFT Trading

Because NFTs can be traded on marketplaces, with keys being passed to the new buyer, this also means that gamers can buy and sell Axies. If a gamer spends hours battling their creature and leveling it up so it becomes highly sought after, they can make real-world money from their efforts without the fear of losing it to cyber-criminals and data thieves.

Decentraland, which was one of the first major blockchain gaming projects that launched in 2020, is a 3D virtual world. Players can buy plots of land and build whatever they want on that land. They retain full ownership of the plot and can build businesses, projects, theme parks, or whatever else they want on that land. They can charge entry, rent pockets of land, or even employ other gamers to work there.

Samsung has a version of its flagship store in Decentraland and other big companies that have joined the metaverse include Coca-Cola, Nike, Adidas, Domino’s, and even Sotheby’s.

Protecting Personal Data

It isn’t just the theft of in-game items and accounts that players need to worry about, either. In 2011, Sony endured a massive data hack that saw the personal details of millions of Playstation gamers compromised.

Because blockchains are decentralized and use advanced cryptography to encrypt data, player information remains secure on these networks. A hack might give access to wallet addresses, where accounts and NFTs are stored, but these are pseudonymous, which means the hacker wouldn’t gain access to any sensitive data. And they wouldn’t be able to steal anything from the wallets themselves.

Immutable Records

Blockchain records are immutable. This means once the record has been created, it cannot be deleted or changed. This aids security for the players, and it also reduces the risk of corruption or item loss after server updates and other changes. The immutability of blockchain prevents fraud. If you own the private keys to an NFT, you effectively own that NFT.

Cryptocurrency In Games

While traditional games do use in-game currency, like Robux in Roblox and V-Bucks in Fortnite, these are usually non-convertible and are just in-game items. Blockchain games use native currencies that are developed as cryptocurrencies. For example, FLOW is used by a variety of games on the Flow blockchain. This means that the currency can be transferred across games. It also means that players who earn Flow in the game can convert it to real cash.

Players can monetize their gaming efforts, and as long as they use the best security and privacy practices, including keeping their currency in a secure wallet, their crypto will remain safe. MANA is used as the currency in Decentraland and AXS in Axie Infinity, and these offer the same benefits.

Where Next For Blockchain Gaming?

As yet, no major gaming companies use blockchain technology or cryptocurrency, but the potential for them to do so certainly exists. Many games use in-game currencies, from the ever-popular Call Of Duty series COD Points to Minecoins in Minecraft.

If Activision or Mojang Studios ever introduce blockchain to their gaming, this not only means that these in-game currencies could convert to cryptocurrencies, but they could also become transferable. Both studios are owned by Microsoft, along with a growing number of game companies, and there are reports that the next generation of Xbox consoles will include crypto wallets.

Blockchain gaming has a lot of potential including cross-game features. Gamers would not only be able to take their cryptocurrency from one platform to another, but they could potentially take accounts, skins, and items across, which could see gamers taking your Energy Sword from Halo over to Valorant. And, thanks to the decentralized, secure nature of blockchain’s records, you could do so without the fear of losing everything to cyber criminals.

🔙 Back to Articles list.