Play To Earn Meaning

What is Play-to-Earn (P2E) in Crypto?

In contrast to conventional gaming models that depend on advertisements and in-game purchases for monetization, blockchain-based games allow players to accumulate value based on their time and skills through a “play-to-earn” model.  This new model falls under the umbrella of the GameFi ecosystem, which combines blockchain technology, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), finance, and gaming mechanics to offer players tangible value for their gaming experience. 

Play2Earn or Play-to-Earn (P2E) is a blockchain gaming concept where a gaming platform rewards players with crypto tokens for actively participating in the game. 

Rather than solely playing for fun, gamers can participate in certain activities or complete tasks within the game and earn in-game assets. The rewards come from generating NFTs, farming a game’s native currency, or staking. However, the potential to earn lies in factors such as the game mechanics, player skills, amount of time invested, and market demand for the acquired asset. 

Axie Infinity, an Ethereum-based gaming DApp inspired by the Pokemon game series, contributed to the popularity of P2E games by blending blockchain gameplay elements with video gaming. It features PvP contests, adventure modes, and tournaments. The players can collect and breed digital pets called Axies (which are NFTs), and battle them against other players to win rewards. Blockchain technology’s part in enabling secure ownership and transfer of digital assets is one of the fundamentals of this kind of gaming. For instance, blockchains offer P2E players verifiable ownership and complete control over their assets. The in-game assets range from cryptocurrencies to NFT assets in the form of characters, weapons, skins and cards. They can be traded in exchanges or NFT marketplaces and later swapped for fiat or other cryptocurrencies or used to enhance the gaming experience.