Blockchain is transforming the gaming industry by integrating decentralized technologies like NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and smart contracts. While traditional game studios are beginning to explore this space, the real innovation seems to be happening within blockchain-based decentralized applications (DApps). This guide will explore the fundamentals of blockchain gaming and how to find the best gaming DApps in 2024.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
➤ Blockchain gaming allows players to own in-game assets, which can be traded in real-world marketplaces.
➤ DApps in gaming integrate smart contracts, enabling decentralized economies and player-driven decision-making models.
➤ Platforms like DappRadar offer detailed analytics on gaming DApps, helping users track performance and activity.
Where to find web3 gaming DApps?
When you want to find the latest game for your PlayStation, you go to the PlayStation Store or read the reviews on Metacritic. Consumer decisions in traditional gaming are often based on qualitative research, like star ratings and user reviews. However, thanks to blockchain technology, a more quantitative measurement comes into play.
Instead of relying on reviews, users can rely on blockchain data to add an extra layer to their decision-making. In web3, you can discover how many users a gaming DApp has. You can see how often they interact with the DApp, how much value moves through the ecosystem, or how much the NFTs will cost.
On a platform like DappRadar, users can find all the gaming DApps that are live on the market. The platform provides quantitative measurements that help users to make informed decisions. Unique Active Wallets or UAW sorts the game rankings.
In addition, gamers can find the NFTs required for a game through the NFT Explorer. Simply type the game’s name in the search bar to find the digital assets. DappRadar provides insights into the total trading volume, the rarity of individual digital assets, their trading history, and their valuation.
Finding the best gaming DApps step-by-step
Here’s a step-by-step guide to using DappRadar to find blockchain gaming DApps. While this example uses DappRadar, you may also try out other similar platforms with comparable features.
1. Create an account
- Go to the DappRadar website and select “Connect.”
- Pick a sign-up method, such as using a crypto wallet, social media, or email.
- Follow the verification instructions provided.
- If you sign up using an email or social media, you may need to link a supported wallet for full access to all features.
2. Find trending gaming DApps
In the main menu towards the top of the interface, click on “Rankings” and then on “Games.”
You will be taken to the dashboard highlighting the trending/top-ranked gaming DApps, as shown in the image below. Here, you can search for specific games using the search box towards the top of the interface. You can also filter games based on the blockchain on which they are based.
3. Sort games by key metrics
DappRadar ranks gaming DApps based on several important metrics:
- Unique Active Wallets (UAW): Track how many wallets interact with the DApp.
- Volume: See the total value of transactions happening within the DApp.
- Transactions: View how many transactions have taken place within the DApp. Sorting by these metrics allows you to discover the most active or valuable DApps in the ecosystem.
What is blockchain gaming?
Blockchain games are video games that use cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, and NFTs to power their mechanics. Sometimes people call it web3 gaming, play-to-earn (P2E) gaming, or crypto gaming. There’s lots of talk about semantics surrounding the gaming phenomenon, mostly for marketing reasons.
A blockchain game can only use NFTs for its game items and nothing else. But it can also embrace an in-game economy powered by a cryptocurrency. Essentially, at the core of blockchain gaming lies the element of ownership.
Players own the in-game assets or game currencies, which they can trade on exchanges and marketplaces. These game assets can be skins, tools, services, weapons, and currencies within the game.
As players have ownership over their digital items, there’s also an element of composability. Companies can give players a say over the game’s future by adding governance models, while third-party developers can develop services on top of the existing game.
What is a decentralized application (DApp)?
Ethereum was the first programmable blockchain, allowing developers to launch software on top of the blockchain. We call these smart contracts. For example, to build a decentralized exchange, you would need one contract to create liquidity pools and another contract to determine the rules of functionalities. One or more smart contracts combined can form a decentralized application or DApp.
In gaming, developers can use a DApp to distribute game items to users. This would be one of the most simple ways to add web3 elements into a game. However, DApps can also deal with more complex rules, adding an economy or even determining the rules of a game. Nine Chronicles is an example of a game running entirely on its own blockchain, while the management game Soccerverse uses Xaya’s custom blockchain.
A short history of blockchain gaming
Blockchain games or web3 gaming is nothing new. Back in 2017, the mobile game Spells of Genesis was the first to introduce non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to its players. This was a time when the ERC-721 token standard didn’t exist yet, and these non-fungible tokens existed on Counterparty, a layer-2 network on top of the Bitcoin blockchain.
The ERC-721 token standard was launched in 2018, and the idea for NFTs took off. But it’s only a number of years later that we’re seeing the release of games that approach the quality traditional gamers are used to.
More importantly, the onboarding mechanics have changed. Instead of messing around with private keys and MetaMask, gamers can now simply create an account. In the background, games can create a wallet, never giving gamers the idea that blockchain technology powers their experience.
In the coming years, mainstream gaming companies like Sega, Square Enix, and Ubisoft will likely release blockchain-powered games. Meanwhile, web3 native companies like Gala Games, Mythical Games, and Animoca Brands will cement strongholds as part of the next generation of gaming.
What are unique active wallets?
The key metric on DappRadar is Unique Active Wallets (UAW), which counts the number of wallets that have interacted with a smart contract. What this means in practice is different for each of the games.
For example, in the tactical battle game Axie Infinity, a smart contract interaction means that someone claims a reward, while in Splinterlands, playing a match, lending a game card, or claiming rewards count as interactions.
If these two games had an equal number of players, then the UAW numbers for Splinterlands would still be higher. This is simply because the game uses more smart contracts to build its game mechanics.
Are gaming DApps good investments?
While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to this, the general rule of thumb is that don’t look at gaming DApps as short-term investments. This isn’t about trend analysis, and none of the above is investment advice. However, gaming is likely to become a major catalyst for the adoption of web3. It will introduce many concepts of digital ownership, crypto, and NFTs.
Promising projects may deliver returns in the long run, but for every successful project, there will be projects that fail. Therefore, doing your own research is always important, and consider market conditions before seriously investing in crypto, NFTs, or network nodes.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.
Frequently asked questions
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About the author
Robert Hoogendoorn is the Head of Content at DappRadar. He has been in content creation since 2004, working in the video games industry with and for game companies, press agencies, video production companies, and magazines. Emigrating to Turkey introduced him to crypto, while gaming brought him into Web3. Big believer in digital ownership, self-custody, interoperability, and digital identities.
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