After finding success in every field—including finance ,agriculture and geospatial areas – blockchain, the decentralized technology developed by anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, is now making an entry into gaming space. In fact, some believe that the gaming industry is the first to see the next generation using blockchain technology.

Walkthrough of the gaming industry

Since ancient days games have been an eternal part of human culture for social interaction. Back then we didn’t have access to technology, and games were limited to the real world. Later with advancements in technology, the era of video games was introduced, following which we had games that could be played on PCs and mobile phones.
Earlier, these games were mostly limited to one player or another player sitting next to us. All of this changed as game developers brought massively multiplayer online (MMO) games – games that allow several players on the same server. Now they are trying to shift their focus towards blockchain technology.

The gaming industry today

Gaming industry is fascinating for users as well as developers and investors. However, it still has some pain points. Let us introduce you to some of these, so you know how can blockchain can resolve this issues.

Different regions need separate servers

In an MMO role- playing game, there are separate servers for different regions. In fact, many sub- severs are required to form the whole system. So, if there are players from different regions multiple servers are used. Also if one server crashes, a large area loses connectivity.

Constant fear of losing digital assets

Some of spend a lot of time and, sometimes, money to acquire precious assets in a game. But, there is always fear that we can lose these any time. There can be several scenarios can result in this outcome. The game creator might go out of business, or some central authority might ban us from playing games. These happens several times as we so not own these digital valuables. Rather, these are on a centralized server.

Digital assets of one game have no value in another

Suppose, you have spent a lot of time and money to obtain guns and costumes in one game (suppose PUBG). You complete the game and want to move on next one. You cannot use these items in the new game, as it does not belong to you (even though you spent time and money acquiring it). You cannot exchange it for something else in another game, either.

Micro- transaction is a myth

Free to play games are based on the strategy to offer low-cost items, which are upgraded step-by-step by paying an almost negligible amount. Gradually, this small amount may add up to a large amount.

For example, a game may offer a sword of US$ 15 and then upgrade it to next level for 0.25$. Game developers can add, say, 100 upgraded features. We, as players, do not think too much before buying something worth 0.25$, Hence, more of us end up buying an item and upgrading it without knowing how much we end up spending on it.

However, traditional payment methods do not allow these micro-transactions. Payment channels like PayPal charge 0.35$ + 2.5 % of transaction amount. Thereby, true micro-transaction is a myth in the gaming industry right now

Developers are cheated

Credit card companies, especially in western countries, are extremely good in protecting their customer rights. If you have any issues regarding a purchase on your card, you are free to raise a dispute and ask for your back. In that case, there is very little game developer can do.

In addition, game developers have to pay a penalty for every disputed transaction. Because of this, the gaming industry loses millions of dollars in customer support each year.

Blockchain to rescue

Blockchain technology has potential to end all the above problems. Games based on blockchain technology offer solutions for game developers as well as players. There are infinite possibilities that blockchain has to offer. Some benefits are given below.

End need of sub-servers

Blockchain technology in MMO role-playing games ends the need to have different servers, or sub-servers for a different region. Hence, there can be no blackout in a particular region due to failure in the server of that or another region.

Uniformity in virtual assets of different games

Design of blockchain games is fundamentally different from traditional ones. These games do not allow in-game currency to get generated infinitely. Presently, in some games, gold coins can be generated by killing a monster, while in others, these might be a scarce resource. Blockchain can end this infinite generation of coins in a game.

True ownership of virtual assets

In blockchain games, virtual assets belong to you, since you bought these. Creators too cannot take these assets away. These virtual assets may be stored in the form of tokens in your digital wallet. The tokens can be fungible or non-fungible. With blockchain games, you do not lose your digital assets, even if you get banned from, or quit, a game, or the company shuts down.

Inter-game compatibility

Since characters, items or karma of the games are stored on blockchain, it allows you to see your existing characters or items on a completely unrelated game. This could open a new era of gaming where characters from different game genres could play together in one game.

In case you are building your own game, instead of building your new characters, you can use assets of an existing game or invite players from large game communities to instantly jump into your game with the characters they already have. This is one coolest feature of blockchain technology.

Cheap and secure trading of virtual assets

Blockchain allows you to convert your virtual assets into tokens, making these free for buying, selling and trading at will. A record of all transactions is present on the blockchain itself, eliminating threat of fraudulent activities.
Game characters, items and the like can be managed through smart contracts, as has been done in Cryptokitties — a game that created much hype in the blockchain industry.

Blockchain technology even has the potential to offer micro-transactions involving cryptocurrency in transactions.