It may surprise many people to learn that online gaming has been around since the early days of packet-based computer networking back in the 1970’s, although it’s popularity never really came to the fore until the availability of the internet in the 1990’s.
Today we see massive multiplayer games such as World of Warcraft, where the time spent by a player in the actual game has an enormous bearing on the success of their in-game character.
One facet of online gaming that many players don’t take into consideration is that more often than not, the players themselves don’t own their creation.
Players spend a great deal of time cultivating and perfecting a character that doesn’t actually belong to them. The characters have no value outside the parameters of the game and players are only allowed to make use of as long as their subscription is valid and at the developer's discretion.
The reason for this? The technology used makes it a requirement for asset ownership to be centrally controlled by the developer.
It’s just a case of how things have always been in the online gaming industry. Until now.
Blockchain technology is completely changing the way the world works, and gaming is no exception to that, with an estimated two billion users and growth levels projected to be around $128 billion by 2020, it’s an industry that is thriving.
The question is, how will blockchain technology revolutionize the gaming industry?
Safer and More Secure Storage
Possibly not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of how blockchain will help the gaming industry, but it is one of the most important.
The introduction of encrypted blockchain ledgers will significantly increase the secure storage of gaming items, and pretty much bring an end to hacker’s opportunities to hold to ransom your hard-earned virtual items.
Instances where we see hackers such as Manfred, the hacker who has made a living from exploiting flaws in games such as Wildstar Online, would become a thing of the past.
The Introduction of Parallel Gaming Environments
Considered by many gamers to be the holy grail, being able to use characters and virtual items from one gaming environment in several other games would be a dream come true.
How is this possible, I hear you ask?
Well, your data will be verified by way of smart contracts, with blockchain “copyrighting” your data. Your characters and items will belong to you, not the game developer, as is the case today in online gaming in general.
Reduction in Lost Revenue and Fraud
Losing revenue to fraud has been one of the most prominent thorns in the side of online gaming companies since day one it seems, but blockchain technology could go a long way to eradicating this problem, potentially saving the online gaming industry billions of dollars on an annual basis.
Taking Education Through Gaming to the Next Level
We’ve all seen the vast number of online educational games aimed at children, but what if you could provide a gaming environment that allowed them to save money and learn the basics of finance as well? Pigzbe is a hand-held piggy wallet that aims to enable children to save money while playing games that teach them the basics of economics.
Blockchain technology could change the face of educational gaming as we know it, and with the likes of Wirex adding the Wollo token that runs the Pigzbe device to their list of crypto wallets such as Bitcoin and XRP, and making them spendable through the Wirex Visa card, it appears that some of the bigger players in the industry are starting to take notice.
Lessen the Cost of Payment Processing
Anyone who has played an online game will know that paid add-ons are the bread and butter of the industry, but with those add-ons come fees that are imposed by credit and debit card companies.
Blockchain technology will allow a user to make a payment without involving those credit companies, and decentralization will mean greatly reduced fees.
Your payment information will also be close to impossible to steal, so the threat of scammers is decreased.
Proof of Scarcity
With blockchain being open-source, game developers are given the opportunity to create or customize rare assets to make them more desirable and valuable to players.
For an example of this type of benefit in action look no further than the wildly popular Crypto Kitties blockchain game.
This game, which provides users with the chance to create and store cute cats, has seen millions of USD spent in transactions, with the “Genesis Cat” selling for a whopping $115,000!
Limited supply increases demand.
The implementation of blockchain technology is a “game changer” for the gaming world, and many of the benefits aren’t even know at this point.
As blockchain technology evolves, so will the gaming industry, which means as a gamer, things are going to get a whole lot more exciting in the near future.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is sponsored and does not represent the opinions of Finance Magnates.
