Current GameFi investors are putting more money into blockchain gaming not because of the potential profit but because of creating genuinely fun games that people will continue to play. According to a survey from ChainPlay (a GameFi project focusing on competitive gaming), over 89% of the sector’s investors lost money during the 2022 crypto winter. Over 62% of the holders lost more than 50% of their capital.
Blockchain gaming became one of the biggest successes in 2021 in the mainstream crowd to let players earn money while having fun playing. GameFi, which stands for gaming finance, combines the elements of decentralized finance and video games. However, as more experienced players realize how tedious without the feeling of fulfillment, they leave the game for good.
The ChainPlay survey also displayed the many factors that affect profits worldwide, including lesser hourly sessions, grind-vs-reward ratio, and, as a small fraction, Bitcoin’s influence.
Huge Potential but Not Persuasive Enough
GameFi investors are aware of why traditional gamers despise the business model of play-to-earn (P2E). It did surge as a trend in 2021 but was short-lived in just a few months.
To this day, GameFi developers are looking into matters that could turn the tide in their favor and create amazing games that can rival the internal properties of well-known traditional publishers such as E.A. Games, Activision-Blizzard, Rockstar Games, and Bethesda Softworks.
ChainPlay discovered vital insights that make up the current state of GameFi. According to their discovery, here are some of the negatives:
- “58% of investors worldwide stated that ‘Poor In-game Economy Design’ is the number one reason for declining GameFi profits”.
- “Investors worldwide spent an average of 2.5 hours per day participating in GameFi, which is down 43% compared to 2021 (4.4 hours)”
- “73% of the respondents shy away from GameFi investments because they are afraid of rug pulls, Ponzi schemes, and pyramid schemes projects.”
- “51% of respondents stated that profits are their number one reason when joining GameFi”.
Additionally, three out of four investors entered the crypto world because of blockchain gaming. However, 51% said they only joined for the profits. Yet, even if the reason was for profits, 81% of them want to make GameFi fun than just tools for earning money.
Critical Solution to Make GameFi the Norm for Existing Gamers
44% of the investors agree that if the most prominent players in the gaming industry collaborate with GameFi, the sector will significantly boost. However, there have been attempts to do so, and most are just considering it, while others completely reject it.
Here are some events that involved high-profile gaming companies:
- Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is interested in NFTs but doesn’t want them in Fortnite.
- Mojang initially allowed NFTs in Minecraft but suddenly wanted them out.
- All blockchain and NFT games on Steam were removed.
- Xbox Game Studios CEO Phil Spencer said gamers were already living in the metaverse for years.
- Square Enix is in full support of NFTs.
- Ubisoft released a video of NFT inclusion in their games but was quickly slammed by gamers.
- Ukrainian game developer GSC Game World supposedly wanted to add NFTs to the upcoming S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 game but immediately removed them.
- Activision Blizzard and Sony surveyed their communities on NFT feedback.
However, some argue that it will not be enough to push the market even if publishers get involved with blockchain gaming. For example, most gamers continue to criticize E.A. Games for their recent mediocre releases. Rockstar Games, generally loved by its fans, had its share of backlash after the lackluster release of Grand Theft Auto Remastered for its terrible visuals and awful game performance.
GameFi Just Needs to Make High-Quality Games
According to traditional gamers’ feedback, the surefire solution is to create a genuinely fun game where players can spend hours on end without realizing they are making money off it.
Smash hits such as Dark Souls, Grand Theft Auto V, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim are some of the favorites for years because of the breathtaking visuals, high replayability, profound lore, and hours’ worth of discoveries.
Existing blockchain games lack all these aspects. Although if proposed ideas for games like Age of Rust, Space Misfits, and Meta Ops can naturally fit P2E elements while delivering what gamers crave, then GameFi will surely stay for the long term for decades.
