The video games that are part of the GameFi world use blockchain technology. The prizes won by gamers, such as NFTs and cryptocurrencies, are real assets that can be monetized.
Earning real money playing video games? A dream for many, which is becoming possible thanks to the GameFi world. This term comes from the merger between Game and Finance, i.e. game and finance.
Based on the blockchain technology, the games of the GameFi world allow you to earn thanks to the "play-to-earn" model or even more simply P2E and allow you to earn NFTs, i.e. non-fungible token and cryptocurrencies, which can be traded on the blockchain to obtain real money.
In practical terms a player can, for example, decide to sell and exchange cryptocurrencies, but he can also do the same with a particular skill assigned to a character he possesses which, probably, can guarantee him to be stronger and therefore to earn more money.
The games within the GameFi can also be free.
It is therefore necessary to pay attention: if you play a free game, unless you decide to invest money spontaneously, there is no risk of loss.
In the event that an initial investment is required, it is important to do the necessary research, maintaining the awareness that there is the risk of losing one’s invested capital.
One of the most famous games in GameFi is Axie Infinity. Based on the Ethereum blockchain, the game allows you to earn NFT by passing daily trials and defeating your opponents.
This very game was the protagonist of a theft of cryptocurrencies during 2022, in which a hacker embezzled 625 million dollars thanks to a mistake by a programmer .
Another dynamic feature of these video games can be found in Sandbox, a game that takes place in the metaverse where players can buy a portion of land and use it to build properties .
Once built, creators can earn money by charging people who want to enter, to organize events or parties.
There are also some games that are not controlled by a central authority, but are managed by the community of players.
This is possible thanks to the Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO), which allow players who invest in the blockchain to have a say in the game development process.
This is the case, for example, in Decentraland, a game where players can lock their tokens in the DAO and gain decision power.
Once you are aware of how these games work, getting started is very simple, in fact you just need to register and connect your wallet, which is essential for carrying out transactions of cryptocurrencies.
GameFi: what are the risks
Unless an initial capital is invested to play a GameFi game, the risk of losing one’s own money does not exist since, in the worst case scenario, one would go back to zero, having started from zero.
If, on the other hand, you decide to invest to play, for example in a NFT, it is essential to find out whether the person who made the game is a company or person in good faith, or you risk falling victim to cheating.
In general, whenever a new technology that proves to be profitable is discovered and enters the public domain there are many people who try to use it correctly to make money, just as there are many who they use to cheat the next, it is therefore always necessary to pay the utmost attention.
With regard to the risks associated with GameFi and the game mode P2E, the position of Phil Spencer, director of XBox, the platform owned by Microsoft. He expressed concern regarding the P2E game model, in fact he stated that there is a risk that gamers will submit to extremely humble "work" requests in order to be able to earn cryptocurrencies.
The degeneration of this phenomenon could lead to the creation of an army of underpaid workers willing to be exploited in order to achieve their goal: to earn prizes on P2E games.
The Microsoft manager also pointed out that the metaverse is nothing new, but that it has been around for decades, referring to this technology with XBox games like "Halo", in which players can move to interior of an open space with an avatar and can communicate with each other.
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2022-08-29 09:27:00. Original title: GameFi: significato, come funziona, quanto si guadagna
