A blockchain game (also known as a NFT game or a crypto game) is a video game that includes elements that use blockchain technologies, including cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These games allow players to buy, sell, or trade in-game items with other players, with the game publisher taking a fee from each transaction as a form of monetization. A subset of these games are also known as play-to-earn games because they include systems that allow players to earn cryptocurrency through gameplay.

Blockchain games have existed since 2017, gaining more wide-spread attention from the video game industry in 2021. Several AAA publishers have expressed intent to include this technology in the future. The use of blockchain in video games has received wide-spread criticism from players, developers, and companies within the game industry for being exploitative, environmentally unsustainable, and unnecessary.

Concept

Blockchain technology, such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs, are potential monetization routes for video games. Many live-service games offer in-game customization options, such as character skins or other in-game items, which the players can earn and trade with other players using in-game currency. Some games also allow for trading of virtual items using real-world currency, but this may be illegal in some countries where video games are seen as akin to gambling. This has led to gray market issues such as skin gambling, and so publishers typically have shied away from allowing players to earn real-world funds from games. Blockchain games typically allow players to trade in-game items for cryptocurrency, which can then be exchanged for money, which may sidestep some problems associated with gray markets due to blockchain’s traceability.