How Blockchain Transforms the Gaming Industry

Computer games are not only for children. In 2020, the global gaming industry is expected to exceed $159 billion spent by over 2.7 billion active gamers. The reported CAGR of this industry is around 12%, and only within 2019, the market exhibited a steady and impressive growth by 9.3%. The scale of the gaming market expands rapidly, with the expectation of $200 billion in expenditures by players in 2023 quickly becoming a reality.

There are many contributors to such rapid and optimistic growth of the market. First, the mobile game segment is outperforming other sectors such as desktop and console gaming, with a 77+ billion share of the industry in 2020. Second, the COVID-19 pandemic that struck in spring 2019 urged billions of people to stay quarantined at home, which also boosted the demand for games among those who used to be passive, non-frequent gamers.

Experts believe that the growth of the gaming market comes mainly from the introduction of new technologies, such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and cloud gaming. Another innovation in the industry has been blockchain – the technology that has already won good fame in the sectors of Fintech, banking, cryptocurrencies, etc.

The key principles of blockchain – decentralization, advanced data security, and immutability of data written down into it – represent the key advantages for users, making blockchain systems fully secure. This benefit is also relevant to gaming, as players always strive for security and accessibility of their in-game assets. With blockchain, the issue of fairness is also dropped as no fraud or manipulation of data is possible.

Let’s have a closer look at how blockchain could redefine the gaming industry, examine the processes of blockchain integration into the gambling niche, and consider an example of our branded blockchain gaming platform – Hash Rush.

Benefits of blockchain in gaming

Gaming and blockchain suit each other perfectly, mainly due to the specifics of gaming as an industry and activity:

• Modern gaming is highly monetized, with players spending billions of dollars on assets, armor, and level access;
• Because of the financial transactions, both gamers and developers want a safe, secure, and protected environment for monetization and transfers;
• Most players play several games, so having a centralized profile is a huge relief to active gamers;
• Players possessing valuable in-game assets want secure storage for them, with low to no risks of fraud or account theft;
• Gamers want to take an active part in the life of their favorite game, offering useful additions and updates, as well as determining its future.

Blockchain can do all this, and here we’ll show you how.

Introduction to blockchain games

So, what is a blockchain game and how does it differ from conventional gambling games? Let’s clarify the differences. A blockchain game is a particular type of gambling game that uses blockchain tokens as its virtual currency ecosystem.

The benefits of tokens for gamers include their non-fungibility, exchangeability, inheritability, and independence on the service provider. Thus, players owning some items in the virtual world can easily transfer them, buy and sell them, keep them in the security of their private accounts, and even resell them with a premium once the token’s value rises.

Unlike usual games, the players of blockchain games should first register in the corresponding blockchain to get a specific address, which will function as the blockchain wallet later.

Besides, users’ operations with their virtual assets are written down into the blockchain system in the form of smart contracts. As a result, the data about all related transactions becomes transparent, shared, and immutable.

Examples of blockchain games

Though the concept of crypto-games is relatively young, there are still a number of best blockchain games users around the world love. Here is our rating of the top 5 best products in this niche:

1. Age of Rust

A futuristic, dark-themed anti-utopia presents you to the harsh world of 4424. Players participate in space missions, exploring various planets and collecting assets that they can exchange via a blockchain-based P2P system.

2. Gods Unchained

A beautifully animated game with a unique eSports-like genre, Gods Unchained has quickly spread among the global gaming community and won positive fame.

3. Crypto Wars

You can make purchases in CryptoWars with ETH by using a Metamask wallet. The plot of the game requires players to build their empires and to fight enemies challenging their territorial supremacy. Resources can be either mined in the process of local exploration or taken by force from the defeated enemies.

4. Hash Rush

The uniqueness of Hash Rush (as we’ll show you in detail a bit later) is that you don’t need any specific cryptocurrency to buy assets in this game. Instead, you can earn tokens by completing missions and quests. The tokens increase in value as the game rises in popularity and serve as a premium in-game currency.

5. Crypto Space Commander

Another space-themed game, Crypto Space Commander allows players to explore new planets, to fight monsters, and to build new colonies. The vibrant universe of this game contains 1,000 galaxies that every player can explore and tame. The game has a large, active gamer community exceeding 16,000 persons.

How can players benefit from blockchain?

Many analysts say that the gaming industry is a perfect match with blockchain, especially in terms of the benefits it brings to the players. Here are some key advantages every gamer will appreciate:

• More comfortable in-game purchasing process. The process of buying assets in a game is not that simple for some players as they need to figure out deposit methods, verify their details with payment intermediaries, and incur some commissions for transactions and exchanges. Blockchain makes the crypto-transactions quick and easy, with minimal commissions and instant transactions.
• A financially safe environment. Blockchain possesses advanced security of all financial assets due to its decentralization and immutability of information written down into it. So, even hesitant gamers may start purchasing assets, knowing that their identity and sensitive financial data are totally secure in a blockchain system. Besides, any crypto game is absolutely fraud-proof, which is a plus for both developers and users.
• Easier asset transactions. In the past, gamers were reluctant to involve in in-game transactions with other players because they were unsure about the fidelity of their customers. In the digital world, falling prey to some fraudsters is so easy. But with blockchain, the transactions are performed with the help of gaming cryptocurrency, adding confidence to gamers regarding the honesty of their partners and giving them guarantees of money back in case anything goes wrong.
• Interoperable user profiles. A fantastic opportunity enabled by blockchain is the creation of interoperable user profiles allowing one user to play numerous games online with one profile. Most dedicated gamers have more than one game they regularly play, so keeping all the login data, financial details, and accounts in mind may be tiring. Blockchain simplifies things by gathering all the data in one place.
• True asset ownership. The illusion of asset ownership has always been a downside to virtual gaming. While gamers spend real money on their purchases, they never really own the assets their profiles include, and any breach of the rules or theft of login details may quickly deprive a user of their assets. With blockchain, it is impossible as the users own their assets in the full sense of this word due to tokenization.
• Advanced game control for players. As blockchain is a decentralized system, all users become owners of the game, which gives a sense of ownership and builds a strong, active community around the game. Such ownership allows users to take part in the destiny-shaping decisions about the game, including its closure or continuation.

• A new market niche for developers. While gaming is already a booming, multi-billion-dollar business, all innovations offer a fertile new ground for gaining (or maintaining) a competitive advantage in the industry. Thus, forward-looking businesses capturing the potential of crypto gaming are sure to expand their market share by offering crypto game products.

Hash Rush: a new word in the gaming world

Hash Rush is an intriguing gaming solution that many dedicated gamers will love. It is a fictional Hermeian galaxy in which the users can create their small settlements, fight monsters and creatures coming from distant corners of the universe, and build up their own fortune in the form of assets and items.

The game is set in a galaxy destroyed by the Crystal Storm, urging the players to rebuild the normal way of life, while at the same time addressing the challenges of reconstruction and numerous external threats and attacks.

The primary evil here is Crystal Scourge, the force that attempts to destroy the galaxy and annihilate all living beings in it. Thus, the players face a tough mission of building settlements, discovering the valuable resources their planets conceal, and devising strategies for achieving the ultimate goal – defeating the Crystal Scourge.

The most valuable asset all users look for are Crypto Crystals – the tokenized blockchain rewards for which one can buy something, gain a competitive advantage in the game, unlock new levels, and advance their armor. Its principal features include:

• Elements of combat: users have to fight the Crystal Scourge – a fuzzy force corrupting everything on the players’ planet in the form of flora and fauna deterioration;
• Building and crafting: players are encouraged to create and strengthen their own settlements for survival, resource-gathering, and struggle against space monsters;
• Space exploration: players are given one week for their planet’s exploration, with things getting gradually worse and the winner being determined by the length of survival;

Competitive leaderboards: players are awarded special Galaxy points for their successes in the game, ranked in the general leaderboard based on the number of those points)

RUSH – the blockchain token of Hash Rush

The token on which the blockchain game Hash Rush operates is the RUSH crypto coin based on the Ethereum blockchain. Users wishing to try the game’s premium cryptocurrency may either buy it in the specialized stores or earn the tokens by going through challenges, completing in-game milestones, or winning in the game’s quests.

By promoting such a system, Hash Rush creators encourage the “play to earn” philosophy of gaming, making the process of game exploration not only exciting but also profitable.

The most interesting thing about RUSH is that the game’s policy does not imply its mandatory use. Thus, players with no interest in cryptocurrencies may ignore it as a currency option, opting for classical money transfers instead to exchange for the in-game currency with a more familiar format.

Besides, the creators of Hash Rush have reserved the right for players to do whatever they want with RUSH as the game’s premium currency. Thus, users can now trade RUSH, exchange in-game items for RUSH, and other in-game currencies, as well as pay in USD for assets or crypto tokens they need.

Creators of Hash Rush also present RUSH as a wonderful opportunity for laypersons to get acquainted with the benefits of the crypto-world and blockchain in a fun, enjoyable way.

By means of trading items between players and transferring RUSH between wallets, players can get a firm grasp of how blockchain functions. This is all done in a highly user-friendly and user-centered way, making tokens a flexible and attractive option for game developers.

What to expect from Hash Rush and blockchain?

As you can see, blockchain gaming is firmly gaining momentum, offering numerous benefits to all stakeholders. Users love it for the increased accessibility, transparency, and privacy it guarantees, which are crucial aspects of service quality. Service providers also adopt it willingly as a way to attract new customers and to interact with them in a whole new way.

The success and impressive functionality of Hash Rush shows that the technology is in high demand. Thus, we can surely say that blockchain is here to stay, transforming the gaming routines for the better and expanding the horizons of this vibrant industry even further.