5 Best Blockchain Games in 2024

Crypto gaming is gaining popularity despite the skepticism that surrounds it from many players and developers. While the latter are shunning blockchain with suspicion, others are rapidly churning out blockchain games, with over 400 released in 2021. The competition in the market is increasing, and the play-to-earn mechanic is attracting more and more players who are looking to turn their passion into a source of income.

Oddly enough, players can actually make money in such games by completing game tasks and missions, reselling their assets or renting them to other players. Thus, they receive some kind of in-game currency, which can later be used to purchase NFTs or transferred directly to a cryptocurrency wallet. Players then have the option to sell or exchange it for tokens or the currency used for real payments.

We are here to break down the features of 5 blockchain games that are currently considered the best in terms of the number of players and the total value of assets in Dapp’s smart contracts. What is Dapp you can learn from our previous article about the creation of NFT games.

Top 5 Blockchain Games: Best Titles In the Spotlight

So, in no particular order, here are 5 best blockchain games in the play-to-earn format that cause the most buzz in the gaming community. We will consider the number of players and the value of assets over the last 30 days to get more stable and objective information.

Axie Infinity

One can’t simply ignore Axie Infinity. Originating from CryptoKitties and Pokémon, this game remains the leader among the top blockchain games in terms of the number of players and the total amount of incoming value to dapp’s smart contracts. In August 2021, Axie Infinity reached one million daily active players. Two months later, that figure approached the two million mark.

Here, players breed cute little creatures called Axies and take part in battles against other players or the game’s AI. The game requires an initial investment – one needs to buy 3 Axies to start playing. In dollar terms, it will be about $75 for one creature.

Winning battles and daily quests allow players to get Small Love Potions (SLPs). These are the utility tokens of the game, which can then be used to breed more Axies and sell them to other players.

What affects Axie prices? The price of Axies may be determined by their in-game power, usefulness, and demand from players. Axies created in the early days of the game are more expensive. In addition, there are the mythical Axies, which look more colorful and are especially rare. As a rule, the rarer attributes also provide the most utility in the game and result in a high price. With the rise of Axie Infinity, the creature market is now influenced not only by players, but also by NFT collectors.

How to get Axie for free? One can receive scholarships from other players who are looking for someone willing to temporarily take over the management of their Axies. Formally, we are talking about rent: the renter is actually developing someone else’s account, receiving part of the profit for it. Note that only the owner of Axies, i.e. the sponsor of the scholarship, can claim the SLP tokens the renter mines. Thet latter get his or her share from this sponsor. In most cases, income is divided in half.

Gods Unchained

The best blockchain games of 2022 include card games without fail. Gods Unchained is a fantasy collectible card game with colorful graphics and a catchy style. Its first major advantage is that there is no initial investment. The essence of the game is the battle of two players in the arena. Each player initially has a deck of thirty cards. When players win a battle, they take their opponent’s deck. Every card in Gods Unchained is an NFT, so players own their cards and can sell them on the secondary market. The native token of Gods Unchained is GODS.

What is Immutable X? The game is made by the same team behind the Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution called Immutable X. This means the game is powered by Ethereum and uses Immutable X where Dapps can trade peer-to-peer without fees and process up to 9,000 transactions per second. Immutable X launched its marketplace in 2021, and today it serves as a gas-free trading hub for Gods Unchained cards, as well as a number of other NFT projects.

How to get unique cards? Players have basic cards that they earn for free just by playing the game. Also, even before the launch of the game, there were special card sets on sale that players could buy to avoid grinding. Now they are no longer produced. But they can be bought from other players on the Immutable X marketplace.

Splinterlands

Since the release of Splinterlands in 2021, it hasn’t left the top positions of the best blockchain games list on DappRadar. Splinterlands is a turn-based card game with fast-paced and easy-to-learn gameplay. Each card is an NFT with power and rarity attributes to determine its value. Unlike other card games with long, sometimes overextended battles, those in Splinterlands only last a few minutes. The rules are simple, so even beginners can quickly figure them out.

How to earn tokens? The game token, SPS, is used to buy, trade, and rent cards for battle. There is also a secondary token, DEC (Dark Energy Crystals), which allows players to purchase various in-game items and power-ups. Players earn these tokens by completing tasks and daily quests, challenging other players in ranked games, or participating in tournaments. Cards can be combined to level them up for better stats and additional abilities. If desired, everyone can convert their cards into cryptocurrency at any time.

What is the main feature of the game? Unlike other games, Splinterlands often receives updates and additions, thus attracting more and more new players. For example, recent updates have brought new rare cards to the game. Splinterlands runs on the Hive blockchain, but thanks to the cross-chain functionality, tokens can also be traded on Wax and Ethereum.

Alien Worlds

Alien Worlds is the fastest growing blockchain game and one of the most popular decentralized applications on the market. Its players explore other planets by cooperating and competing with each other for land and resources, mine the in-game TLM token, and receive in-game items in the form of NFTs. The game is evolving: in the future, the developers plan to add the possibility of battles for the right to rule the planets and the organization of political alliances and planetary authorities.

To date, Alien Worlds is the only blockchain game that runs on multiple networks at once: Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and WAX. Its TLM tokens are available on all three networks, but all settlement transactions and game maintenance go through WAX.

What is DAO? Each planet is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that receives TLM daily through smart contracts. The token is needed to participate in the DAO activities of the selected planet, as well as to purchase in-game items, complete quests, and simply earn interest. TLM and NFT can be sold on the secondary market. There are 7 planets in the Alien Worlds universe, but, according to the developers, more will be added later. Each planet is a separate DAO competing with others.

What is LAND? Planets are made up of plots (LAND). Each plot is an NFT with a unique set of parameters (such as the amount and speed of TLM mining) and a price. Players with a large amount of TLM can buy LAND on planets and rent it out to other players, receiving a daily stable income.

Decentraland

No list of best blockchain games would be complete without Decentraland. Decentraland is a virtual world like a metaverse. Virtual characters and their upgrades, skills, clothes, land and other in-game items are presented here in the form of NFTs, creating a self-sufficient unique market powered by the MANA token.

The entire Decentraland metaverse is made up of 90,601 individual plots of LAND, each of which is 100 square meters and is a separate NFT. Players can develop them as they wish. Since Decentraland is a decentralized autonomous organization, MANA token holders have a say in the governance of the project and the metaverse.

To buy LAND, a player must first purchase MANA on cryptocurrency platforms. Prices for land plots in Decentraland are sometimes not less than the cost of real-world plots. For example, the most expensive plot at the moment is worth a whopping $3.5 million in MANA. Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton also bought plots, sharply increasing the value of adjacent LANDs While the game is still in its early stages of development, it has huge potential to become the most influential metaverse of play-to-earn games.

How to get income? Players generate income in the form of MANA tokens by trading their NFTs, renting out their digital properties, selling ad space, etc.

Can Decentraland be played for free? With no initial investment, players can simply explore the world, customize their avatar, and interact with other users. But they will not be able to receive daily rewards, earn MANA, buy land, participate in events, or play certain games.

Future of Crypto Gaming

Now there are many projects in development that can take their place among the top blockchain games of 2022. If they really have weight, we will definitely return to their consideration. But it’s already obvious that blockchain games have firmly established themselves in their niche. A bunch of new games are in development. The Kevuru Games team is working simultaneously on several NFT projects slated for release in 2022 (Guild of Guardians), 2023 (Gooniez Gang) and 2024 (MechaChain). Characteristically, the waiting lists of these games number hundreds of thousands of future players, and the first NFTs are sold out in the first hours.

The combination of blockchain and gaming should prove to be a win-win for gamers and developers alike. Players will have more control over their assets and a chance to earn money from their efforts. Developers will be able to earn a percentage of resold tokens and create more buzz around their new projects. Everyone wins. So welcome to blockchain.

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