10 Best Play-To-Earn Games Right Now

Have you heard the hype on play-to-earn games? Do you want to get paid to play? In this post, we’ve highlighted ten of the best play-to-earn games you can play right now.

The gaming industry has skyrocketed over the last few decades. What was once a fledgling sector consisting of visionary programmers has transformed into a dominant form of entertainment for the masses. Today, there are over 2.7 billion gamers worldwide, and this figure is only expected to soar further over the coming years.

And like any industry experiencing massive growth and expansion, gaming continues to shift and evolve. So, while first-person shooters (FPS), massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBAs), and Battle Royales all had their time in the limelight, today, it’s all about play-to-earn crypto games.

Sitting around playing NFT games for a living might sound too good to be true, but in 2022, it’s not. So with this in mind, let’s look at the best play-to-earn games you can get started with today.

What Are Play-To-Earn Games?

Before we get started, it’s essential to clarify what we mean by play-to-earn games. Luckily, the definition is relatively straightforward. Play-to-earn games are precisely what they sound like—a business model where gamers get to play a game and earn cryptocurrency at the same time. It’s a model that combines entertainment with making money so that players get more from their gaming experience.

In play-to-earn games, players earn rewards by completing tasks or winning battles. Critically, these rewards have real-world and virtual value. For example, a gamer might acquire certain in-game assets. Unlike conventional games, the player actually owns these assets in play-to-earn games. These rewards (assets) are typically non-fungible tokens (NFTs), cryptographically unique tokens that prove ownership.

NFTs can appreciate in value over time and be traded for other in-game assets or sold on NFT marketplaces.

The 10 Best Play-To-Earn Crypto Games Today

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Axie Infinity

Without a doubt the most popular play-to-earn crypto game out there, Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based game where players buy adorable NFT monsters and battle them against each other. The game takes inspiration from games like Pokémon and Tamagotchi and has even been dubbed “crypto-meets-Pokémon.”

But how does Axie Infinity work? Essentially, players collect, breed, raise, and battle NFT creatures called Axies. Each Axie has its own sets of strengths and characteristics, and players can funnel energy into upgrading their Axies for battle or selling them on Axie Infinity marketplace for cold hard crypto.

Axie Infinity has two native cryptocurrencies, the main one being Axie Infinity Shards (AXS), which has increased in value +3,401.74% over the last year at the time of writing. The second native cryptocurrency is called Small Love Potion (SLP), which players earn by spending time in the game and can be used to breed new Axies.

The Sandbox

The Sandbox is a blockchain-based virtual metaverse where players can build, create, purchase, and sell a variety of in-game assets. It’s community-driven and open world, meaning players are responsible for creating a thriving virtual world full of buildings, landscapes, objects, and characters. Players own their creations in the form of NFTs and can profit off them in the in-game ecosystem.

There are two types of crypto tokens in The Sandbox—SAND and LAND. SAND is an Ethereum-based utility token that enables transactions and interactions within the game. It’s also finite—there are a total of three billion SAND tokens. The other token, LAND, is essentially a piece of digital real estate that allows designers to build multiplayer experiences, host games, and create housing and other assets. LAND is an NFT, and a total of 166,464 LANDs are up for grabs.

Decentraland

Decentraland is an Ethereum based virtual world that allows players to buy and sell digital real estate, explore, and play games. Essentially, Decentraland users can buy plots of virtual land to create their own micro-worlds complete with anything they want. These assets could be something simple like trees or fully-fledged transport systems, movie theaters, and so on (if you can find it in the real world, you can find it in Decentraland). If you were a fan of Second Life, Decentraland might be the play-to-earn crypto game for you.

Much like The Sandbox, Decentraland has two tokens active in the game—LAND and MANA. LAND is an NFT used to denote ownership of land parcels (digital real estate), while MANA is a cryptocurrency that facilitates the purchase of LAND and virtual goods within the game.

Mines of Dalarnia

Mines of Dalarnia is an action-adventure play-to-earn game that runs on the Chromia blockchain. What makes it special? The player base is divided into two cooperating factions called miners and landowners, who keep Mines of Dalarnia running. Miners explore four types of terrain, Ice, Lava, Terra, and Darkness, to find precious resources. They also battle monsters and complete quests along the way. And landowners provide land and resources.

The default currency in the game is Dalarnia (DAR) tokens, which players can earn by completing quests, defeating monsters, and simply playing the game. Players can also use DAR to cast votes on how the game evolves.

My Neighbor Alice

If you consider yourself a regular gamer who is curious about NFT trading, My Neighbor Alice could be the game for you. My Neighbor Alice is a beginner-friendly multiplayer builder game where players can buy and own virtual islands, interact with neighbors, perform activities, and earn rewards. What activities? Things like fishing, farming, beekeeping, and bug catching.

The native currency in the game is called ALICE. ALICE token holders can purchase in-game assets like land or cosmetics for their avatar, stake rewards, and engage in the decentralized governance process that decides on the game’s direction.

Illuvium

Illuvium is a hotly anticipated open-world NFT game determined to be the first AAA blockchain title the world has seen. Lofty ambitions, but they just might do it. Illuvium is a fantasy role-playing game developed on the Ethereum blockchain, where players are plunged into a 3D open world to explore and capture Illuvials. Illuvials are God-like creatures that roam the planet and belong to different classes with different affinities. Once captured and nursed back to health, Illuvials become the player’s loyal companion and can be used to battle other adventurers. The game encourages players to think strategically, building teams of Illuvials with a potent mix of abilities that can down enemies.

Illuvials are presented on the blockchain as NFTs. Players can also win ether by winning battles against other players. So, when can you expect to play Illuvium? The game is set to go into open beta in Q1 of 2022 (any day now).

Wolf Game

Enjoy a riskier game? Look no further than Wolf Game. The game revolves around wolves and sheep, both of which are mintable NFTs living on the Ethereum blockchain. Here’s where the risk comes in—when players mint their characters, they have a 90% chance of getting a sheep and a 10% chance of getting a wolf. Sheep can be staked to accumulate up to 10,000 $WOOL tokens daily. You can also sheer the sheep in your barn to earn $WOOL. However, $WOOL can be stolen by wolves when you go to cash out. Additionally, a “wolf tax” means that 20% of the money earned from selling $WOOL goes to wolf holders.

Blankos Block Party

Blankos Block Party is an open-world multiplayer party universe owned and built by players. Set in a stylized and vibrant online world, players collect and create custom characters called “Blankos”, which are based on toy figurines. Blankos are NFTs that can be heavily customized and or decorated with items earned in-game and then sold on the marketplace. They’re also playable, meaning you can take part in various activities like tag, dancing at block parties, racing against other players, and more.

Thetan Arena

Thetan Arena is a blockchain-based esport game where you can team up with friends and use your skills to battle enemy teams. And, of course, earn money while you’re doing it. Thetan Arena has MOBA and Battle Royale modes and revolves around a combination of personal skills and teamwork. You collect heroes (NFTs), which you can trade or sell for cryptocurrency on the marketplace. If you’re looking for a fast-paced play-to-earn game you can play with friends, Thetan Arena is an excellent choice.

Gods Unchained

Gods Unchained is a fantasy-based digital trading card game that gives players true ownership over their in-game items. The game is simple; players collect rare cards, build up their decks, fight opponents, and sell their cards to other players. The goal is to create the perfect deck for your playstyle. It’s a tactical game, meaning players need to strategically outsmart their enemies by curating decks that can counter a wide variety of tactics. Crucially, players can trade or sell their cards freely, as if they were real-world tangible cards.

Gods Unchained is decentralized, running on the Ethereum network, and genuinely community-focused. The developers have clearly put a lot of work into this game, learning lessons from similar projects like Hearthstone and Faeria to create a fun and state-of-the-art blockchain-based game.