Current Problems of GameFi
GameFi is a financial system in which users can earn money by participating in video games. These play-to-earn (P2E) games are powered by blockchain technology, allowing players to earn while they play.
See also: The Future of GameFi – Why are Firms Still Investing?
It sounds too good to be true, right? Earning money from playing video games? This is actually achievable, and can be life-changing for all gamers worldwide. However, the GameFi market has been bottlenecked by two main issues:
- The cost of entry is too high for most players. Popular games like Axie Infinity, their NFT in-game assets cost at least thousands of dollars. Even if new players could afford it, it would take time for them to earn enough to break even.
- GameFi is still a niche in the crypto market, let alone the gaming market. There is more emphasis on the “earning” aspect than the “playing” aspect. According to Forbes, gamers only care about having fun, and most play-to-earn games lack the “fun” element. As a result, traditional gamers are not as interested in GameFi as we thought they would be.
How can we find a solution to this issue? This is where crypto gaming guilds come in.
What is a Crypto Gaming Guild?
Gaming guilds have been around for a very long time. Traditionally, they are communities of gamers who play video games together and have their own culture. Esports teams are famous examples of gaming guilds, only they get to generate a stable source of income from playing video games.
But for the rest of the casual gaming communities, there is not much to be made. However, with blockchain technology, every gaming guild will also have the privilege to make money from doing what they enjoy.
A crypto gaming guild is an organization that is made up of gamers, investors, and managers. Their goal in the crypto market is twofold:
- They invest in promising web3 gaming projects, providing them funds and confidence to build a healthy play-to-earn ecosystem.
- They provide resources to players who may not be able to afford them otherwise, such as NFT characters or in-game tokens. When the player successfully earns money, that income is shared with the guild.
The purpose of these gaming guilds is to encourage and facilitate the expansion of the GameFi market across the world. They also act as intermediaries by reducing the entry barrier for most players as well as educating non-crypto users about cryptocurrency.
This gives everyone a chance to take part in the economy of the metaverse, creating a win-win situation for both the gamers and the guilds.
How do Crypto Gaming Guilds work?
For crypto gaming guilds, it is also more than progressing the GameFi market. They aim to advance the cryptocurrency space as a whole, bringing mass adoption one step closer. They have five main roles in the crypto space:
1. Community Connection with GameFi
The core of every gaming guild is its community. Gaming guilds have great potential for social impact, and community activity is vital for the growth of any ecosystem in general.
They operate under a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) structure in which funding comes from within the community of DAO token holders, in this case the DAO token issued by the guild. Guild members would then collectively invest in NFT assets and in-game tokens needed to participate.
They would then pool their resources together for other guild members to use, play, and earn for shared profits. This is known as the “scholarship program”, which will we talk about in the next section.
But the primary role and responsibility of the guild is to guide the community in the web3 world. Different blockchain games will have certain features and products that users might not be familiar with. Therefore, the community is where they congregate to talk and ask questions, which significantly aids the game project’s long-term growth.
2. Scholarship Programs for Players
The DAO model of guilds first emerged as a solution to the play-to-earn entry barrier. It is known as the “scholarship program.”
Within the guild, owners of NFT assets, also known as managers, can lend out their NFTs to other guild members known as “scholars.” Scholars can then use these digital assets to play and earn in the crypto game.
Afterwards, the profit is shared amongst the guild. The distribution of revenue varies depending on the guild. Generally, 10% is paid to the guild as rent, 20% to the managers, and 70% to the scholars. Other guilds split the profits in half.
This system has a great social impact throughout the world, granting access to virtually anyone for new gameplay experience and earning opportunities.
Axie Infinity, for example, was the first gaming project that took off in 2021, giving rise to boom of the GameFi sector. Guilds recognize that most players live in developing countries where the average monthly salary is around $200.
Yield Guild Games (YGG), a crypto gaming guild based in the Philippines, facilitated the scholarship program that would help hundreds of thousands of players in the country to earn additional revenue for their livelihood (lifechanging literally).
3. Quality Control for GameFi Projects
The GameFi sector became increasingly popular following the Axie Infinity boom in 2021. As a result, many projects aspire to bring forth the next innovative gaming product to the market.
But this also means that there are poor-quality, fraudulent projects looking to take advantage of the play-to-earn hype. It is the guild’s responsibility to prevent their members from being exposed to scams or rug pulls.
All top gaming guilds carefully research and analyze the economic system of the projects they invested in as well as playtest and evaluate the game before awarding scholarships to their members.
4. Bridge Between Traditional Gamers and Crypto
Blockchain-based games are different from traditional video games. There are quite a few steps involved that can seem daunting to non-crypto users. Accessibility is an important factor to drive the GameFi sector forward, so it is important that there are sufficient educational resources for newcomers.
As such, guilds play an indirect role in supporting non-crypto gamers to access the market, for example:
- How to create a crypto wallet such as Metamask to access the game and marketplace.
- How to deposit and withdraw funds on exchanges and DApps for trading.
- How to secure accounts and make transactions.
- Learn more about the game project such as gameplay mechanics and reward systems in the game.
The more non-crypto gamers know about the market, the more they are likely to dip their toes into GameFi. As a result, more funds flow in, contributing to the long-term growth of the market.
Some gaming guilds such as UniX Gaming have even taken the initiative to expand their scholarship program to include its learn-and-earn education platform. This investment both attracts more scholars and boosts player performance.
Retention rate of crypto games is a key performance indicator of a healthy ecosystem. UniX reported a higher than average matchmaking rating (MMR) per scholar (in-game skill level) when compared to other guilds, resulting in higher earnings.
5. Connect Investors with the GameFi Market
Crypto gaming guilds also functions as a venture capital for the GameFi sector. They would scout new crypto games and invest if they see potential.
Even for investors who want to invest in games but do not have time to play, they can invest in guilds and distribute scholarships to their members as well. This way guilds can help investors to indirectly invest in games through them without going through the hassle of doing research, managing accounts or operating the game.
Conclusion
Despite the bear market, the GameFi sector still shows a lot of potential in the future. This is because gaming is the number one form of entertainment in the world, and everyone can enjoy the opportunity to earn income from doing what they enjoy.
However, the GameFi sector is still bottlenecked by high cost of entry and lack of economic viability in the long run. This is where crypto gaming guilds come in. They function as facilitating intermediaries by purchasing NFT in-game assets and lending them out to players to play and earn, which will be shared via scholarship program.
Gaming guilds are also a great source of education for non-crypto users to learn about the crypto market, which will help drive the GameFi sector forward, bringing mass adoption one step closer.
Investors who are interested in play-to-earn projects but do not have time to play can consider investing in guilds to manage their funds for profit.
Frequently Asked Questions
A crypto gaming guild is a web3 organization that is made up of gamers, investors, and managers. Their main goal is to provide resources such as in-game NFTs to players who can’t afford them. The players will then use the NFTs in crypto games to play and earn tokens which will be shared with the guild.
Crypto gaming guilds operate under a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization) structure in which funding comes from within the community of DAO token holders, in this case the DAO token issued by the guild. Guild members would then collectively invest in NFT assets and in-game tokens needed to participate.
Within the crypto gaming guild, owners of NFT assets can lend out their NFTs to other guild members known as “scholars.” Scholars can then use these digital assets to play and earn in the crypto game.
The distribution of revenue varies depending on the guild. Generally, 10% is paid to the guild as rent, 20% to the managers, and 70% to the scholars. Other guilds split the profits in half.
Yes. For investors who want to invest in games but do not have time to play, they can invest in guilds and distribute scholarships to their members as well. This way guilds can help investors to indirectly invest in games through them.
