Of all the industries that have seized on the technological innovations that the technology powering cryptocurrencies opens up, there are arguably few that have done so quite as enthusiastically as the gaming sector has.
The result of this enthusiastic embrace of blockchain technology is that the gaming sector has found a wide variety of uses for cryptocurrency, with everything from collectible NFTs to ‘play-to-earn’ cryptocurrencies perfectly illustrating the innovations that cryptos can potentially unlock.
At the heart of this productive relationship between cryptocurrencies and video games are the benefits to the user experience that this collaboration brings. For video game developers looking to provide a more seamless playing experience, there are few technologies out there with such potential.
In this short article, we will take a look at some of the ways in which cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in general can help to improve the user experiences of video games.
This is a particularly important topic to look at, given that the focus in this world is often on the OKX cryptocurrency prices. By focusing on this topic, we will hopefully get a better sense of the many exciting ways that cryptocurrencies are being put to use!
Instant, seamless transactions
Perhaps one of the most obvious ways that cryptocurrencies can improve the user experience of video games relates to their ability to carry out transactions.
As is well known, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin were developed with the aim of making transactions and payments online more efficient and secure. For this reason, one of the main focuses in the crypto development community has been on improving their uses for online transactions.
Cryptocurrencies are particularly useful as in theory they eliminate the need for third parties to process transactions, as transactions can be verified on the ‘blockchain’ network itself. This significantly speeds up the time it takes to fully process transactions, while also increasing the security of the financial information involved.
For video game developers and publishers, this has the obvious function of enabling transactions, particularly in-game micro-transactions. Blockchain could allow these developers to process nano-payments instantly, without the need for expensive third-party payment processors.
Ownership of in-game assets
Another interesting use for cryptocurrencies and blockchain tech in the gaming industry relates to the ownership of in-game assets.
In-game assets have become particularly popular in online games, which includes everything from graphics, background music, objects, maps, unique environments and any other items that exist in a specific game world.
While some of these assets might be used to enhance a player’s power in a game over other players, often they are simply fashion items that are used to express an individual’s identity.
In addition to cryptocurrencies facilitating the purchase of these in-game assets, blockchain tech can also be used to facilitate the transfer of ownership of them. This could include a developer-to-player or a player-to-player transfer of an in-game asset.
We have seen this most recently with the rise of NFTs in video games, which have received a lot of attention within the industry recently.
Community building
One interesting benefit that cryptocurrencies could have for the gaming industry, is how digital currencies can be used to create communities of gamers.
The video game world is in many respects uniquely tribal. Much like the sporting world, players of certain video games — particularly online games — tend to be passionate, bordering on obsessive, when it comes to extolling the virtues of their game of choice.
For this reason, micro-communities tend to form quite organically around a particular game, with fans coming together on social media platforms.
Video game developers can use cryptocurrencies to help develop these community building aspects of video games by ‘minting’ coins that include in-game benefits. NFTs are a great application for this kind of project, where digital assets can be used to gain admission into gaming communities.
Video game developers can also use cryptocurrencies and NFTs in the run-up to a release date as a way of drumming up interest in the game. Here, developers can mint coins or NFTs to gift players an exclusive in-game asset in return for pre-ordering an upcoming release.
These are just a few examples of potential use cases, with the range of possible applications being endless!