Since the emergence of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the gaming industry has embarked a new phase of adventure and discovery. As a result, the gaming world has witnessed unprecedented technological advances and financial growth.
The total global market value of NFTs crossed the $40 billion mark in 2021, representing a notable boom for NFT game developers and gamers alike. But for those entirely new to the space, you may be left wondering: “what is so special about NFT games?
NFT games are entirely different from more “traditional” gaming experiences; they allow items or assets to be tokenized, collected/earned, and traded within, and even across different blockchain game titles for real money. These assets come in the forms of skins, characters, equipment, items, and more, and are mostly utilized in-game.
Sponsored
While the foregoing concept also serves as the basis for Play to Earn (P2E) games, with the two sometimes overlapping, NFT games create an incentivized economy for gamers.
With the basics now covered, the following piece will shed light on some of the top NFT games on the blockchain. But before we get straight to the list, it may be worth taking a moment to bookmark this article, especially if you’re a gamer hoping to enter the NFT space some time in the near future!
12. Wizardia
Based on the BSC with a bridge to the Solana blockchain, Wizardia is a Triple-A standard Play-to-Earn online role-playing strategy game (RPSG) with unique NFTs at its core.
Sponsored
Wizardia offers three gaming modes, among which players can choose, and peradventure specialize in one or all of them. The first is innovative turn-based combat, which allows players to engage in combat games with a fellow player (PvP) or other elements within the gaming environment (PvE).
Players who are interested in PvE combat can select either the challenger fights mode or the weekly challenge series, where they must defeat an AI opponent or complete the week’s most challenging mission, respectively.
Participating in PvP battles, on the other hand, means players engage one another in Duel Fights and Arena Tournaments. There is also a third PvP battle – Final Destruction – which is a worldwide tournament that awards the winning team a seven-figure prize paid in $WZRD, the protocol’s native currency.
The second mode is base-building and exploration, while the third is item crafting and research of crafting recipes, the two of which enable players to contribute to the evolution of the gaming ecosystem.
While these three game modes all have a sophisticated economy model at their core, they equally provide players with incentives at various levels.
Speaking of incentives, there is more than one way to earn within the game; either you are rewarded with $WZRD as a player, or you buy Genesis NFTs at prelaunch and hold them in return for a royalty cut from transactions within the battle arena.
11. Parallel
When it comes to visually stunning NFT games, Parallel stands out among its peers. Parallel is a sci-fi card game that explores the themes of different races coming together to find common truths, solving mysteries that can save the universe.
Different approaches to card collecting will yield different rewards, thanks to the release of the ‘PRIME’ token. The token opens the doorway to the ‘Echelon’ eco-system, through which the team and its partners intend to introduce a series of new projects.
While card game battlers already exist, Parallel is looking to redefine the crypto-based trading card genre with its great art, storytelling and decentralized finance (DeFi) mechanics.
10. Illuvium
Illuvium is an open-world exploration game in which players can travel through seven extraordinary alien landscapes and collect the unusual creatures they come across.
Termed ‘Illuvials’, these creatures possess unique abilities that can be upgraded as you train them, thereby improving their value. Players can sell or trade these Illuvials as NFTs on the marketplace along, with other NFT items and farmed materials.
Though it’s still in its Closed Beta stage, the Play to Earn game features stunning graphics, and allows players to earn crypto in the form of ILV tokens. These tokens are earned as in-game rewards simply by playing the game, participating in tournaments and events, completing PVE (player vs environment) quests, and unlocking special achievements.
9. Sorare
Sorare is an exciting fantasy soccer game that allows players to create their own teams, and compete for the most points in a season. Here, real-world players across more than 245 clubs are represented by digital NFT trading cards.
Released in 2022, the number of NFT cards available for each player is defined by rarity, and are divided as follows: 1,000 NFT cards for ‘Common’ rarity players, 100 copies of ‘Rare’ players, 10 copies of ‘Super Rare’ players, and just a single copy of each ‘Unique’ player.
Interestingly, Sorare features an open marketplace on which players can trade NFT cards. There are also weekly crypto-based prizes for the users whose fantasy teams score the most points.
8. Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained is a free to play strategy card game inspired by Magic: the Gathering Arena, Gwent, and Hearthstone. As such, the core gameplay involves players battling it out with custom-built decks.
The major difference between Gods Unchained and other games in the genre, is that each cards is an NFTs, allowing easy trading between players.
Facilitating the trade of NFT cards is the ‘GODS’ token, the game’s native coin. Players earn GODS by playing the game and winning tournaments. Acquired GODS can then be used to craft new cards, buy chests and card packs, or staked to earn yield rewards.
7. Splinterlands
Launched in 2018 as ‘Steem Monsters‘, Splinterlands is a fun, Play to Earn crypto-based digital card game akin to Gods Unchained. Just as with other NFT card battlers, each card is an NFT on the Hive blockchain.
Players can make money by collecting, trading, buying, and selling these cards, which all provide real monetary value. Players then battle each other strategic matches which are easy to learn, but hard to master.
What sets Splinterlands apart is that it allows players to earn new cards just by playing matches. The game has been played tens of millions of times, and has become one of the most popular crypto games in the industry.
6. Defi Kingdoms
DeFi Kingdoms is an NFT game on the Harmony ONE blockchain that allows users to buy and sell heroes as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Heroes can be used in battle to earn rewards or sold for profit. The DeFi Kingdoms economy runs on the ‘Jewel Token’ (JEWEL), which can be earned either from playing the game, or purchased on the Harmony or AVAX blockchains.
In order to start earning passive income from DeFi Kingdoms, players are tasked with building a squad of 5 heroes, which can cost up to $1,000 USD each. The heroic squadrons can then be sent on passive quests that earn rewards and generate experience points with which to level them up.
5. Battle of Guardians
Battle of Guardians (BOG) is an exciting, real-time, multiplayer, NFT fighting game developed on the Unreal Engine, and built on the multichain Solana Network & Finance Smart Chain.
Players engage in fierce multi-realm battles in an expansive game world. The P2E BOG features a one v. one gamemode in which players are take on other players in an endless battle to earn more rewards.
Those that win their battles will earn ‘Fighting Points’ ($FP), which can be used to purchase items from the marketplace, or as a fee to enter tournaments for bigger prizes.
4. Decentraland
Released in 2020, Decentraland is a virtual world game that spiritually follows in the footsteps of Second Life and Active Worlds. Players can create their own avatars, explore the game world, participate in activities, trade with other players, and even contribute to the game with their designs and creations by using the game’s proprietary SDK.
Players can own virtual land in the form of NFT ‘Land’ deeds, the buying and selling of which represents the core of the game’s economy.
Players are also able to generate income through intelligent use of their virtual land, with in-game advertising being one of the most popular approaches to gaining a steady stream of revenue.
3. The Sandbox
The Sandbox is undoubtedly one of the most highly loved metaverse platforms for games. Players can create and animate their Voxel assets, which can be uploaded to the marketplace as NFTs. These NFTs are then integrated into the games created by users themselves on the platform.
Creators can freely monetize and market all of the games and associated assets they design, while anyone can earn rewards by simply playing games on the platform.
The Sandbox’s utility token, SAND, can be used to buy in-game items on the marketplace. Any players exploring, or looking to get into the metaverse have the opportunity to buy digital real estate in The Sandbox metaverse, called ‘LAND’, and populate it with the games and assets they see fit in order to build unique experiences
2. Silks
If you like racing games and you’ve always fantasized about winning the ‘Kentucky Derby’, then Silks might just be the NFT game for you. Silks allow players to experience the high-speed, high-stakes world of thoroughbred horse racing.
The game utilizes NFTs to represent both the horses and jockeys seen in the game, enabling players to buy, trade, and interact with horses.
Once players have chosen their avatars, they can purchase a virtual horse that directly corresponds to a racehorse found in the real world. Every time that horse wins a race in the real world, the player earns $SLK tokens.
1. Axie Infinity
On the top of the list is arguably one of the most, if not simply the most, commercially successful NFT games to date—Axie Infinity. Like Pokemon, ‘Axies’ are monster-bred pets that inherit traits from their ancestors, and also act as the game’s NFTs.
The more interesting and rare your Axies’ breeds are, the more money you’ll be able to earn from them. Players can trade Axies on a wide range of NFT marketplaces, as long as they are blockchain-registered.
The game features standard modes such as ‘Quests’, PVP (player vs player) battles, and ‘Adventure’, each of which enable players to earn ‘Smooth Love Potion’ (SLP), the game’s utility token, which is used to pay for the breeding of Axies.
More about NFT games:
India Ranks #1 in Global Adoption of Play-to-Earn and NFT Games
More about Play-to-earn NFT games:
Play-to-Earn NFT Games Gain Popularity in South America
