Blockchain-powered games offer an entirely new economic dimension to the gaming experience. GameFi ā alternatively referred to as āplay-to-earnā ā is the union of gaming and blockchain-based monetisation. GameFi enables gamers to earn digital goods for their in-game activities via missions, trade, and other techniques. Although traditional games typically encourage players to accumulate and exchange digital assets, the value of these ā sometimes scarce ā items are seldom allowed to be actively traded for real-world currency. That said, in the world of GameFi, valuable in-game items are saved as assets on the blockchain and trading them for crypto (which can be exchanged for Fiat!) is actively encouraged, enabling users to earn tangible rewards for their time invested.
Recent trends in gaming and the GameFi sectors range from massive acquisitions and increased investments to the acceleration of cloud gaming and the emergence of idle hardware monetisation. Here we look at five of the hottest trends threatening to shake up GameFi in the coming months.
Learn more: Cudo Compute at the edge: combining the strengths of blockchain and decentralised architectures
Big Acquisitions
January saw a sharp rise in significant studio acquisitions across the traditional gaming space, with Microsoftās $69B takeover of Activision Blizzard stealing headlines recently. That deal, effectively the biggest acquisition in gaming history, came off the heels of Take-Twoās $13B purchase of US-based social game developer Zynga. The January acquisition spree has prompted speculations about a Metaverse race among top gaming companies, with Meta especially active in the VR takeovers.
Significant investments
In the blockchain segment, crypto exchange FTX raised $400M in a Series C funding round. The platform, which has leaned heavily on sports and gaming, recently established a $2B fund to invest in GameFi start-ups. Following the trend, Venture Capital firms BITKRAFT and Galaxy interactive separately announced over $400M in investment funds specifically targeting the GameFi space. Increased funding emphasises the widespread anticipation of explosive gr owth in the sector in the future.
NFTs and the Metaverse
NFTs are primed to become the economic lifeblood of GameFi. Between in-game purchases and the unique digital ownership rights conferred by NFTs, there is an indelible link between both burgeoning sectors that is certain to accelerate. The growth in metaverse start-ups and funding has created a tripartite relationship, with each segment bolstering the others. Metaverse games utilise VR and AR devices to create immersive 3D spaces where gamers can buy/sell NFTs and earn cryptos.
Learn more: Cudos partners with play-to-earn platform Cornucopias on dynamic NFTs
Cloud gaming hitting new highs
In a previous post, we alluded to gamingās ongoing migration to the cloud, and that trend has only accelerated since then. After its beta launch last year, Nvidia recently announced its GeForce Now app for LG TVs, letting users stream games directly to their TVs off dedicated Nvidia servers. Our Cudocompute platform is gearing up for its pilot test Alpha-phase in the coming weeks. In addition, the platform will provide a distributed low latency network for various compute solutions, including the infrastructure bedrock for play-to-earn ecosystems.
Idle hardware monetisation
With the recent announcement of the AMD supported Cudos-GOATi partnership, leasing idle hardware for compute tasks represents a novel opportunity for gamers.
By joining their hardware to the cloud, gamers using the Cudos software can redistribute their idle compute power and earn rewards. The possibilities with this new initiative are near-limitless. Statistics show the global weekly hours spent playing games is in single digits, meaning that idle hardware monetisation could potentially rival play-to-earn in terms of revenue for gamers in the future.
Thereās more!
Source: Bloomberg
The number of blockchain-based gaming dApps continues to multiply. In 2021 alone, that number tripled, bringing increased innovation, funding, and excitement to the space. Collectively, these trends indicate a quickly evolving and up-trending ecosystem.
Join our pilot phase
The Cudocompute pilot test will enable you to test your device compatibility to sell compute on our platform when we deploy. As a buyer, youāll be getting free compute for a determined period in return for helping us improve the platform before launch later this year. You can support our initiatives by partnering with us. Our ecosystem continues to grow at an astonishing pace, and whether your interest is in buying or selling compute, you are welcome to work with us.
Alternatively, if you are a developer or want to be a validator, you can also get involved with the final phase of our testnet right away by following the links below:
- Join Cudosā Discord server
- Join Cudosā Telegram community
- Buy CUDOS
- Become a Cudosā ambassador
About Cudos
Cudos is powering the metaverse bringing together DeFi, NFTs, and gaming experiences to realise the vision of a decentralised Web 3.0, enabling all users to benefit from the growth of the network. Weāre an interoperable, open platform launchpad that will provide the infrastructure required to meet the 1000x higher computing needs for the creation of fully immersive, gamified digital realities. Cudos is a Layer 1 blockchain and Layer 2 community-governed compute network, designed to ensure decentralised, permissionless access to high-performance computing at scale. Our native utility token CUDOS is the lifeblood of our network and offers an attractive annual yield and liquidity for stakers and holders.
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Originally published at https://www.cudos.org.
