Six Things Blockchain Can Do For Gaming

Since their foundation in the 1970s and 80s, video games have moved from fringe interest to a major media staple. The industry has enjoyed huge revenues from dedicated fans, especially over the past few months, and the growth shows no sign of slowing down.

Gaming is also an industry renowned for its commitment to innovation, adopting technological developments and spawning a fair few of its own. Chief amongst technological developments over the last decade has been blockchain technology, the new system of trading and ownership built on transparency and decentralization, the standard-bearer of which is the digital currency.

True to gaming’s kinship with technology, the industry is finding new and exciting ways to implement blockchain technology and improve the security, value, and efficiency of in-game worlds. Here are 6 things that blockchain is doing right now to revolutionize the gaming industry.

Secure Marketplaces

Managing digital assets in games is almost a larger market than game sales themselves. Sales of virtual goods to be used in games regularly reach into the multiple billions of dollars, and with the expanding market for video games, that figure is only going up.

However, there’s a threat to this wonderfully solvent market in cybercrime. Under the current model, gamers have their credit card or bank account information linked to their profiles and buy virtual items with real-world currency. This puts the burden of protection on the game company, and a security breach can put all players at risk of fraud.

Alternatively, by having a blockchain currency in a game, players can exchange in-game currency for in-game items, reducing the number of real-world currency interactions, thus reducing opportunities for cyber attackers.

Boost In-Game Value

As well as improving safety, applying blockchain technology to the buying and selling of in-game items can help boost the value of these transactions. Apart from security, the largest hurdle to a game’s marketplace value is ownership.

Tim KEY, a fintech blogger at Writinity and LastMinuteWriting, explains:

“Those who buy virtual goods in games don’t actually own them. They’re still technically the property of the company who made the game, so they can dictate how these items can be transferred to other players. So, as you can imagine, gamers are much less likely to spend lots of money on an item they can’t actually own.”

With distributed ledger technology, however, each purchased item can be distinguished by unique markers across the blockchain.

Distribute In-Game Assets Safely

Francois BENEGET, a blockchain expert at DraftBeyond and Researchpapersuk, explains another security benefit of blockchain in gaming.

“A decentralized system of asset storage is a much better way to safeguard your in-game purchases. Traditionally, all in-game assets are stored in a game’s centralized server. All it takes is one hacker to breach one set of defenses and they have access to all player assets. With a decentralized system, a hacker doesn’t have this opportunity.”

Prove Scarcity

Scarcity is the bedrock of any asset economy. This world supply of this asset is finite, so there is value in having some; it’s the very foundation of currency. Being able to prove this asset scarcity will encourage traders to invest in gaining some of the assets.

Blockchain is proof of in-game asset scarcity. By signaling ownership, distributed ledger technology makes it clear where a certain asset is and how finite it is, creating a system of verification that can be tied to value.

Customize Virtual Items

Blockchain distributed ledgers also open up the potential for gamers to customize their in-game purchases, making them even more unique and, therefore, even more valuable. Combined with the enhanced ownership principles discussed above, this could allow gamers to operate in-game businesses by making, reselling or enhancing in-game items.

Save On Payments

Finally, the decentralized nature of the blockchain could help ease the flow of payments to gaming companies. Due to the speed, safety, and reliability of distributed ledger payment networks, both the buyer and the credit card company could save on transaction fees with in-game and subscription purchases. These savings eventually add up to great value to all parties involved.

About the author

Ashley is a startup marketing specialist at LuckyAssignments and GumEssays. Over the past 5 years she has worked directly with game developers to determine their brand visions. In her spare time she enjoys reading, writing and learning innovative marketing tricks.

Image courtesy of The Currency Analytics