As gaming has grown to become a $300 billion global industry, playing your favourite titles has become more than a popular leisure activity. More and more people are actually earning significant revenues from what was once considered a hobby at best – if not a waste of time. The rise of play-to-earn gaming, which integrates cryptocurrency and blockchain dynamics, provides even greater opportunities for more people to generate income.
For some, this can provide a lucrative second stream of cash, on top of their regular employment. Those who understand the blockchain gaming sector well enough can even make enough to live on, often with no more than an internet-connected device and a few hours of spare time a day. But there’s more than one way to earn. In fact, the opportunities are almost endless. Here are ten ways you can pick up some extra cash – or possibly start a new career – from play-to-earn games.
1. Just play!
The first one is obvious: jump into your favourite blockchain games, have fun, and earn some of the in-game crypto tokens they offer along the way! The emphasis here is on having fun. Any cash you happen to gain as a result of doing that is a bonus. The advantage of this approach is that you’ll learn as you go, and if you’re enjoying yourself then you won’t be putting yourself under pressure or see it as a ‘job’. When you’ve found your feet you can progress to higher-paying opportunities. Unsure where to start? Try something fun and popular like Axie Infinity.
2. Enter tournaments
If you know what you’re doing and have gained a good level of skill in the right game, you can start hunting around for competitions and tournaments, which offer prizes beyond the tokens you’ll earn by playing. Some are small, informal events, while others are big international competitions. There are also routine in-game tournaments, battles and competitions, and you may be able to gain access to more lucrative opportunities once you’ve reached a given level.
3. Develop your characters – or borrow better ones
Depending on the game, the longer you spend playing and the more you develop your character (typically represented by an NFT), the greater your earning opportunities become. For example, more experienced characters may be able to engage in higher-stakes battles. Of course, this process takes time. Fortunately, there’s a short-cut. You can often borrow valuable NFTs from other users in return for a proportion of the income you generate by using them – something known as a ‘scholarship’. (You can apply for these on LaborX.)
4. Lend NFTs
If you’re dedicated enough to have developed an NFT to the point where it’s valuable, then you have the option of lending it out and receiving a stream of passive income by being a scholarship provider. This is a great way of monetising assets in games you no longer play so often, especially if you’ve sunk significant time into them already. There are platforms that allow you to do this safely and securely (again, including LaborX), so you don’t have to transfer ownership of the assets to another blockchain wallet.
5. Sell NFTs
Alternatively, if you own a valuable character or an NFT for a desirable piece of equipment, then you can simply sell it on the secondary market. Most play-to-earn games have built-in marketplaces where users trade NFTs, so this is an easy way to convert assets you don’t need into cash – which can then be used to buy NFTs you do need, or else held as crypto or withdrawn to pay your bills.
6. Live stream
If you already have a following on Twitch or other similar platforms, then there are opportunities to earn from playing besides the tokens you’ll receive by progressing through different games. While it can be hard work building your audience, there’s nothing wrong with leveraging your existing fans to add another stream of income – and help others learn about the best play-to-earn games in the process.
7. Join a Guild
Initiatives like Crypto Gaming United enable gamers to pool resources, learn, find the best games, and earn additional income in the form of native platform tokens for helping out others. It’s win/win, since the entire idea is to generate mutual income for the community by increasing everyone’s earnings potential. There are opportunities for earnings beyond the games themselves here, too, as various activities that further the community will earn bonuses. Moreover, once you’ve received your rewards, you can stake them to generate passive income, gaining a share of the revenues that everyone creates together.
8. Write guides and teach others
One of the most useful ways of adding value to a community, whether independently or (ideally) within a guild like CGU, is to mentor other players. This requires that you have reached a certain level of experience and are knowledgeable about different games, processes, or technologies. But the good news is that there are lots of different opportunities. You might be a pro gamer, or you might have built up expertise around blockchain and crypto wallets, or even crypto trading (a useful auxiliary skill). But if you have talents that can help others, there are ways of monetising those, from writing blogs and articles for crypto media sites to providing content for the CGU DAO.
9. Get involved in development
Most of us love simply to play games, and the release of an exciting new title is something we await with something between anticipation and frustration. But this can actually be a golden window you can use to your advantage. Developers often need testers and feedback to help them refine the game in the weeks and months before it’s launched. If you are a developer yourself, or have other skills like graphic design, you may even be able to contribute more directly – especially if you can get involved at an early stage. Because blockchain games are often funded by crowd sales, they typically have large communities on Discord or other social media for many months before launch, giving you the chance to participate in a variety of ways. Get involved, talk to the team, and see what positions and bounties might be available.
10. Farm
Play-to-earn games aren’t just about playing. Some include opportunities to put your funds to work with integrated DeFi yield farming systems. For example, SafeHamsters – an augmented reality combat game now supported by CGU – includes the HamstersMill finance and investing area, where players can earn income from staking and liquidity provision. It’s a good way to learn about yield farming and pick up some extra income from your crypto earnings, which might otherwise be lying dormant in your account.
While these are some of the most popular ways to make money from blockchain games, there are others, with the play-to-earn space rapidly expanding and providing new opportunities every week. CGU tracks the market and screens players to match the best games to the right people, maximising earning power.
