From the birth of the esports scene with First Person Shooter (FPS) games like Quake or a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game such as Starcraft, to the creation of a new genre called MOBAs (or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena,) where popular games like DOTA2 and League of Legends are under, games are ever-evolving, prize pools are increasing to dizzying heights, and participating in one to vie for the prize are manifesting from dreams to reality, as the rise of Play-to-Earn games and Guilds redefine how gaming is and how gamers are rewarded. Astra Guild Ventures or AGV, one of the fastest-growing gaming guilds, is banking on the rise of play-to-earn gaming, currently expanding over and beyond where it started.
Before the rise to popularity of Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn game that is built with the blockchain, one must be a professional competitive player to earn from winning games. Team franchises were found, where homegrown talents of their respective regions are nurtured, coached, and supported to take home the grand prize of any competitive game.
This takes a large sum of money to build a roster, and to be part of that roster of 5, one must have exceptional talent in the game, even putting in thousands of hours to build up the skill to be in the competitive scene.
Instead of team franchises, gaming guilds like AGV make it accessible to play and earn.
And of course, one doesn’t need a large sum of money to do so.
PLAY-TO-EARN and NFTs
Today, by simply playing, a player can be rewarded cryptocurrency for participating in the said game. Assets can be made within the game, which is either used to play the game, to grow one’s rewards or can even be sold at a profit. These are called NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens, and these tokens are assigned to a specific wallet to be put into play.
The cost to buy these NFTs vary from game to game. In Axie Infinity, one of these NFTs would cost at least USD 100, and you would need 3 of these to play. There is a caveat, though, that not everything at this price range will help you in winning games.
Winning in these games would give the players a constant reward in cryptocurrency. Those that play well enough can get to the top of the leaderboards, where the best of the best are rewarded for their hard work and skill. In Axie Infinity, a prize pool of around Php 15,000,000 will be awarded to the top 1000 players of Season 19.
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Of course, a lot of new play-to-earn games keep popping up. Most of them would require the procurement of NFTs to be able to play and earn. These give opportunities for players to get their ROI, or Return-of-Investment, in a month or so. Some games, though, are really set up for failure, and others, are too big to fail and are backed up by a lot of different and notable investors. Some developers want to make a quick buck, while other developers want to think of the community that would be created and nurtured, with the time horizon of several years to a decade.
GAMING GUILDS
This is where gaming guilds come into the picture. These play-to-earn games have redefined what guilds are, and that is to provide opportunities for others to play and earn. They are not in-game groups anymore, where players look out for each other only within the game. These guilds have become real communities that care for the well-being of each and every member.
For those that cannot access the game due to the large sum of money needed to start playing the said play-to-earn games, guilds, such AGV, raised money to be able to buy NFTs for respective games. They then lend these assets to players that either doesn’t want or can’t put up money to buy these assets. These players, or so-called scholars, play on their own time, reach daily quotas, and get a good percentage of the rewards. Big guilds, such as AGV, have around 2,000 Axie Scholars.
These guilds grow their own communities, and that really is the key in these NFTs and play-to-earn games. These provide the player base, growth, awareness, and even improvement of the game itself. There are games that invest in their own community to grow, and they have grown so big that there are several smaller communities born from it – those are the ones that are here to stay.
THE FUTURE OF GAMING
From single-player games, esports with generous prize pools, and now, play-to-earn games, the future of gaming is bright and it isn’t just for players alone. Players may be the core, but there are new ways to earn in games, be it a manager, a gaming guild, an in-game NFT breeder, a coach, an investor, a content creator, and so much more.
The gaming paradigm has shifted to being so much more by reaching out beyond the game itself, and is now evolving into a realm where one can thrive, and AGV definitely leads the pack.
For more information, you may check out their website at astraguild.io or their other social media accounts: @astraguild (Twitter) and Astra Guild Ventures (FB and Discord).
