A niche of developers in blockchain gaming produced the top play-to-earn games in 2022. These games use the blockchain to store in-game assets and reward players via cryptocurrency or non-fungible tokens (NFTs). As such, blockchain gaming offers not only a unique gaming experience but also implements a new form of a decentralized monetary system. Sounds interesting? If so, follow along in this article as we look closer at games in the Web3 realm worthy of a spot on the 2022 leaderboard. However, before we look at our list of the top play-to-earn games, we’ll briefly explore the mechanics of P2E games.
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Play-to-Earn Game Mechanics
Top play-to-earn games use different mechanics for players to earn through playing. Player rewards can come in cryptocurrency, NFTs, or a value increase of the NFT the player already owns. Moreover, in some cases, players can stake the tokens they earn. Also, these “staked” tokens can provide governance rights. In turn, players can vote on proposals that can change or modify parameters within a game.
Some games require players to hold a specific NFT or cryptocurrency to play the game, while other games are free to play (F2P). However, there is generally a minimum investment involved for those who desire financial returns.
Play-to-earn games are another step on the evolutionary path of gaming, and the genre looks to become an integral part of the metaverse. Various play-to-earn games are available, and this article will cover some of the most popular ones in 2022. We’ll also interchangeably use the terms “play-to-earn” and “P2E”. But first, let’s look at some essentials to picking the best P2E games.
Before Finding and Diving Into the Top Crypto Games of 2022
Before a player ventures into P2E, it’s helpful to identify the genre of games they like. After all, whether playing to earn or not, it’s still a game and still needs to be fun. So, if playing the game is dull or feels like work, it’s probably not a suitable game for you.
P2E gaming is still relatively new, so the choices may seem scant at this time. However, the sector is growing, and new titles emerge quite frequently. For those new to blockchain gaming, starting with a F2P game is the safest bet before buying in-game assets to earn a profit. Also, playing for free is an excellent way to test game mechanics to see if it’s the right fit.
However, once you’re ready to invest in a game, you’ll need a crypto wallet such as MetaMask and some cryptocurrency in it to get started. For more info, check out our MetaMask tutorial. Now, without further ado, let’s look at some of the top play-to-earn games in 2022!
Top Play-to-Earn Games in 2022 – Axie Infinity
Axie is one of the top P2E games in 2022 in terms of most games played. It’s in the “creature battler” genre and uses NFTs called “Axies”. Players can collect these fascinating creatures like pets. Further, they can breed them and battle them against other players in their quest to explore the virtual world of “Lunacia”. There, they can build kingdoms for their Axies to dwell.
There are various types of Axies from which to choose and endless customization options. Further, when a player defeats another in battle, they earn love potions that they can sell for AXS – Axie Infinity’s native token. There are roughly 61 million AXS in circulation. That equals approximately 23% of the total supply, and a single AXS goes for $22 at writing.
About Axie Infinity
Many consider Axie Infinity an important P2E game on the blockchain. It has over eight million registered players, with approximately one million who play daily. This activity has added fuel to the digital economy, particularly in Southeast Asia, where the game is enormously popular. Asia notwithstanding, discover where the top five crypto-friendly countries are in one of our latest articles!
The Axie Infinity team amassed millions of players worldwide, with their target market being third-world countries. These countries house people who could lift themselves from poverty by engaging in top play-to-earn games such as Axie Infinity. The marketplace made millions of dollars in sales each day during peak times, and Axie creatures sold for thousands of dollars.
Furthermore, Axie’s team, Sky Mavis, built the game on the Ronin sidechain to eliminate the massive gas fees on Ethereum. Such costs would have made the game unplayable. Axie continues to innovate, deploying new ways to burn Axies in exchange for in-game items. It’s also enabling more people to play by creating more scholarships.
Are you an aspiring blockchain developer with some JavaScript proficiency who wants to dive into blockchain gaming? If so, learn how to build a play-to-earn (P2E) game at Moralis!
Top Blockchain Games in 2022 – The Sandbox
The Sandbox is a blockchain game in the metaverse genre. It offers thousands of plots of land of various sizes. With a game builder, landowners can make unique creations on their plots in this virtual world. Further, owners can create things such as social hubs, games, or whatever they can imagine.
About The Sandbox
The Sandbox started in 2012 as a mobile game. In 2018, Animoca Brands acquired The Sandbox and developed it into a Web3 version on the blockchain that we’re familiar with today. The Sandbox next began selling land in December of 2019. Most plots come with special NFTs inspired by high-profile partners such as Snoop Dogg. Furthermore, the Sandbox is moving to the Polygon blockchain and is encouraging owners to migrate their lands.
The Sandbox’s native token is SAND and is available on Polygon and Ethereum. However, Polygon and Ethereum aren’t the only blockchains to build games on. Learn more about Rust & Solana at Moralis Academy!
The Sandbox P2E Mechanics
While The Sandbox may not be known as a top play-to-earn game platform, there are earning opportunities for landowners who create P2E game mechanics on their plots. The Sandbox’s P2E rewards will vary on each parcel of land because each game will have its own earning experience.
Furthermore, The Sandbox is conducting special events to offer SAND token rewards to those with “alpha” passes. These passes have to do with the alpha tests the team is performing. In addition, the issued rewards are in a lottery format, with prizes going to those who finish more quests or are more engaged on social media.
Initial investment
The Sandbox is F2P to an extent. However, to own land, users have to invest in cryptocurrency. The least expensive land plots reside on the secondary markets, but they are already quite expensive. There are also plans to allow landowners to rent out their property to other creators.
Game Maker and VoxEdit
The Sandbox feels like Minecraft as its game assets are “voxel-based”. Therefore, the terrain comes in blocks. Editing scenery in The Sandbox Game Maker is not too difficult, though. For designers and creators, VoxEdit is also easy to learn. Scripting, on the other hand, can get more complicated. So, users will typically need to watch some instructional videos beforehand.
The Sandbox comes with tutorials, and the team at Sandbox also hosts regular streams on Twitch, where they provide live feedback to creators. The best way to learn is to jump in and start playing! Are you ready to learn how to build your top play-to-earn games? Visit Moralis Academy and check out their catalog of blockchain game courses. Ethereum Game Programming is an excellent course to start with if you have some coding skills.
Top P2E Games – Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained is a trading card play-to-earn game built on the IMX blockchain. The good news is it’s easy to get started, and it’s F2P. In this game, two players square off in a battle arena to determine the strongest. Furthermore, they can use deception, death, war, nature, light, or magic in their fight. The way to win is for the player to reduce their opponent’s god’s health to zero.
First, each player takes their deck of thirty cards and chooses neutral cards and those that align with their god. In addition, there are other rules that the game follows.
While playing, users can collect NFT cards to compete against each other. As its name implies, this game uses “gods”, powerful beings who possess a unique ability. Winning players get paid in GODS coin. It is the in-game currency also used to buy cards.
Nearly 24 million GODS coins are in circulation, and this amount accounts for about 5% of the total supply. With the dip in the market, one GODS token is now worth 69 cents.
The team developed Gods Unchained on Immutable X, a layer-2 solution for Ethereum. This move helped curb high gas fees that would otherwise make card transactions prohibitively expensive.
Splinterlands
Splinterlands is a P2E trading card game that belongs to the “auto-battler” genre. Players can earn rewards paid in cards or tokens just by playing. They can also sell or trade packs of cards. Moreover, each card is an NFT. In Splinterlands, players engage in one-on-one battles. So, once a match starts, the players will want cards that work well together in countering their opponent. However, this is not as easy as it sounds.
Splinterlands features guilds, weekly tournaments, daily quests, and rewards every two weeks. Also, it has an in-game marketplace. Players can also join guilds and participate in weekly competitions against other guilds for prizes.
Splinterlands is F2P. However, one must spend about $10 to purchase a “summoner’s spellbook”. This spellbook, however, is not a tradeable NFT. So, although it’s not entirely F2P, Splinterlands has a low entry point level and gives players P2E opportunities rather quickly for active players.
Pegaxy
Pegaxy launched in beta at the end of 2021. This P2E horse racing game allows players to buy horses as NFTs and race them, breed them, or rent them out to others. Each race has twelve horses competing, and the top three horses get rewards. The game shows some good early growth based on new users and earning capabilities.
The game was recently launched in beta and is currently in its version one (V1) stage, which is 2D. But it will move to a more eye-pleasing 3D version with extra skill and strategy-based elements. Once V2 launches, horse breeding will become more critical in getting better attributes for a horse through purer bloodlines.
How to Play and Earn on Pegaxy
There are multiple ways to participate and earn in Pegaxy. Below are a few examples:
1. Spend money on an NFT horse to race yourself
2. Rent a racehorse
3. Race someone else’s horse for a percentage of the profits
4. Breed horses and race their offspring
5. Breed horses and trade their offspring
In the Pegaxy system, four bloodlines range from rare to common:
1. Hoz (most rare)
2. Campona (rare)
3. Klin (uncommon)
4. Zan (common)
The five breed types are:
1. Founding
2. Legendary
3. Epic
4. Rare
5. Pacer
Players can breed up to seven generations, with the chances of breeding a male or female being random. Further, Pegaxy uses two tokens, PGX and VIS. PGX is Pegaxy’s governance token, and VIS is the game reward token. All you need is a crypto wallet to transact on Polygon to get started.
Other Top P2E Games in 2022
Star Atlas
This play-to-earn game should appeal to those who like astronomy since players can trade planets and stars as NFTs. In addition, players can zoom around this virtual galaxy at warp speed. Lastly, Star Atlas uses POLIS as its governance token and ATLAS as its utility token.
Zed Run
Here is another P2E horse racing game. In Zed Run, users can curate different horses as NFTs. They can also buy, sell, trade, or breed horses on this platform. Other horses have different strengths and weaknesses, and players can upgrade them to enhance their chances of winning. Players earn their rewards by racing their horses or placing bets on other horses.
Blankos Block Party
Blankos Block Party is a team game where players can have fun and get NFTs with special in-game abilities. Users can play mini-games and complete quests to earn MLA – Blankos’ in-game currency. Players can also use their credit cards to buy “Blanko bucks” on this multiplayer party platform. In addition, they can buy, sell and exchange their Blankos for different perks.
Top Play-to-Earn Games in 2022 – Takeaway
P2E gaming enables not just professional players to earn income but provides earning potential to anyone with a Web3 wallet and an internet connection. In this article, we explored some of the top play-to-earn games in 2022, including Axie Infinity, The Sandbox, and Gods Unchained, just to name a few. Moreover, play-to-earn games could be the future of online gaming. Even if P2E remains a niche in the larger gaming context, there are still multiple options available for avid gamers looking to have fun earning some digital cash!
Isn’t it time for you to cash in on Web3? The blockchain needs developers, and you can learn to be one by enrolling in Moralis Academy! Or, if you have a business and you need to get your team up to speed on Web3, sign up for our Blockchain for Business courses. Enroll today!
