These better not go Sword Art Online on us.
The term “metaverse” gained a lot of popularity after Facebook changed its name to Meta. While the concept can look new at first sight, gamers may realize that they have been interacting with a metaverse or two throughout their lives.
World of Warcraft, Fortnite, Pokémon, and even League of Legends have their own worlds, filled with lore and interactions. The main way players can interact with these worlds depends on the developer, however. WoW is an open-world experience, while League provides different ways for users to interact with its lore through side games and a TV show.
While companies like Meta work toward building a metaverse that’s focused more on real-life elements, the gaming world has a few up and running products with the help of blockchain technology.
Combining blockchain and the NFTs allows games to introduce true ownership and other features like play-to-earn. There hasn’t been a triple-A developer experimenting with these concepts yet, but there are still multiple titles players can try out to see the impacts of the metaverse and NFTs in video games.
Using the Ethereum blockchain, Axie Infinity is often considered the pioneer of gaming within the blockchain world. This mobile game allows players to breed and collect Axies, digital pets. Each pet is unique, thanks to NFTs, and players try to create the perfect Axie by trying different combinations.
Varying in weaknesses and strengths, Axis transfer their features to their offspring. Players can either spend their time breeding Axies to create the most powerful one or can also purchase an Axie from another player. Considering each Axie is an NFT, their ownership of them will automatically transfer to their new owners. Once you get your hands on a strong Axie, you can take it to the game’s PvP mode and see how it stacks up against the rest of the competition.
The Sandbox Game resembles Minecraft. The game’s set on voxels and allows pliers to create, monetize, and distribute digital assets inside its world. It’s one of the most active metaverse/NFT gaming projects, thanks to its marketplace.
Players get to create their own map, levels, and complete challenges in Sandbox, and earn SAND in the process, the game’s native currency. The game also had partnerships with Square Enix and Atari in the past as both companies acquired land in the Sandbox world to leave their digital footprint.
If the world we live in was a giant metaverse, space would be another one. The Star Atlas project focuses on space exploration, development, and mining. With the help of their starships and crew, players venture through space to complete challenges and craft valuable items.
The items in Star Atlas are tradable in the form of NFTs, allowing players to trade on the Solana blockchain. The game’s currently set for a 2022 release and players keep up with Star Atlas through its live roadmap.
Gods Unchained is a free-to-play card game. Winning PvP battles allow players to unlock more cards that can be bought or sold on the game’s marketplace. From a progression system to a ranked ladder, the game has the necessary tools to retain both casual and competitive players.
Gods Unchained’s dev team includes former Magic: The Gathering directors, and it has been one of the most dominant blockchain-based card games. The game backs each card with an ERC-721, and uses the native token, GODS, for all trading purposes.
Games like Stardew Valley, Terraria, and Animal Crossing captured the hearts of many gamers over the years. The chill and welcoming atmosphere in these titles can be a breath of fresh air for players who’ve never tried out farming/builder games. My Neighbor Alice looks to improve the same experience that these titles bring to players with the help of blockchain and NFTs.
Players can create and build their virtual lands, complete daily challenges, earn rewards, and interact with their neighbors in My Neighbor Alice. The game’s built on the Ethereum network and comes with its own NFT Marketplace. Players will be able to earn the game’s native currency ALICE, and use it to purchase goods, land, or other various items on the marketplace.
My Neighbor Alice will kick off its alpha tests in the second quarter of 2022, and it’ll be available on Steam.
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