NFTs have come a long way. What started out as simple digital collectibles have turned into a vast multi-billion dollar industry. By now, most people have heard of NFTs. Whether it’s from their favorite celebrity, brand, or that one friend who’s been bothering you about crypto for years now, NFTs have entered the mainstream. And with that, NFTs are changing. NFTs were first born on Ethereum, yet many have been priced out of the market because of transaction fees, which has led to a vibrant layer 2 and sidechain ecosystem. This is especially pertinent for NFT-based games; players can’t be expected to pay a month’s rent just to interact with a game on-chain! In this article, we will explore how NFTs have evolved from digital ownership of simple images to where it is today.
Gaming is one of the most logical uses of NFTs. Many gamers are already accustomed to purchasing in-game items, whether they are purely aesthetic such as skins, or enhancements to their game or character.
These players stand to benefit if their often very expensive in-game item purchases could be later sold down the line, as do game developers who can earn a commission on the sales. Furthermore, in games such as Axie Infinity, players can not only benefit from being able to trade their characters, but also from play-to-earn mechanics. Players earn AXS and SLP in battles, which can be later used in the marketplace, sold, or used to breed more Axies. As the game grows more popular, so too does the demand for AXS and SLP, which has created a full-fledged ecosystem and multi-billion dollar game.
Somewhat related to gaming are the metaverse and other land based NFTs. The metaverse is a broad topic, but we will describe it as an ownership-based interactive digital world here to avoid appeasing the corporate overlords who wish to change that definition. Despite being extremely new still, these metaverse properties hold tons of utility, allowing users to design their own digital space for others to interact with — and of course derive income from. Think clubs, immersive games, digital events, conferences, and more. Notable projects such as The Sandbox and Decentraland have seen their metaverse properties soar in value along with user engagement.
However, gaming and the metaverse are not the only places where utility has been developed for NFTs.
There are a number of NFT-based DAOs that are aiming to build experiences — either in the metaverse or in real life — for their members. ConstitutionDAO, LinksDAO, and BlockbusterDAO are just a few that come to mind. While ConstitutionDAO eventually failed to purchase the constitution of the United States at auction, the mere fact that it existed in the first place essentially proved the collaborative power that DAOs create.
By now you should understand that NFTs are not simple profile pictures that can be right-click saved by critics. No, the NFT landscape has developed significantly, with NFTs now bestowing certain utilities upon their holders that certainly cannot be right-click saved, which brings us to where GamiFi fits into all of this. GamiFi is a chain-agnostic IDO launchpad that is optimized for blockchain-based games. The GamiFi platform also features our own utility NFT — the Golden Ticket — that grants access to three IDOs or three months for users. Golden Tickets are non-transferrable and minted every three months, ensuring that holders stay at the forefront of blockchain gaming. While some blockchain-based games have risen in popularity, it is still an undisputed fact that we are still early, and that future iterations of blockchain-based games will leave the early 2000s browser-based game image in the past where it belongs. GamiFi guides launchpad participants through the use of strategic partnerships to help them develop good games period — not just good blockchain-based games.
