Play-to-earn (P2E) crypto games are revolutionizing the world of gaming. These blockchain-based games allow players to earn real rewards in cryptocurrency just by playing.
As the P2E gaming industry continues its meteoric rise, more high-quality games are emerging that blend crypto incentives with enjoyable gameplay. But with new games launching all the time in this fast-paced sector, it can be hard discerning the true standouts.
That’s why we’ve compiled a definitive list of the top 10 play-to-earn crypto games on the market right now. We’ll give you an in-depth look at how each one works, the opportunities they provide, and everything else you need to decide if it‘s right for you.
What Are Play-to-Earn Crypto Games?
Play-to-earn games build economic incentives and true ownership into the gaming experience through cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. Players can earn tokens and NFTs by competing in tournaments, selling in-game assets, breeding rare collectibles, and more.
The games themselves run the gamut of genres and styles. Some simulate the real world with virtual real estate and economies. Others feature battling monsters and mythical creatures.
What they all have in common is letting players profit directly from their gaming activities. Instead of game developers reaping all the rewards, play-to-earn mechanics let the players capture value too.
This aligns incentives between builders and users, creating sustainable economies where both prosper. It also enables true digital ownership of in-game assets as NFTs instead of being locked into a closed system.
The growing popularity of play-to-earn gaming coincides with the rise of the metaverse. As virtual worlds become more immersive and interconnected, open economies are crucial to linking these experiences together into a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Now let’s explore the top play-to-earn crypto games leading this revolution.
10. Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained brings the intensely popular trading card game (TCG) genre to Web3. Often described as “Hearthstone on the blockchain,” Gods Unchained lets you build decks packed with mythical creatures and battle other players in intense PvP showdowns.
You can earn the ERC-20 token $GODS in several ways:
- Competing in ranked matches
- Selling cards on the marketplace
- Staking your holdings to earn yield
- Reaching certain ranks each season
$GODS has value both within and outside the game. You can use it to buy card packs and battle passes for perks and upgrades. As an Ethereum token, $GODS can also be traded on decentralized exchanges like Uniswap.
One standout feature is the Forge. Here you can burn unwanted cards for “flux” to create rarer cards. You may even craft a unique Genesis mythic card, the rarest tier with only a few hundred in existence.
With highly strategic gameplay plus plenty of ways to earn, it’s easy to see why Gods Unchained is among the top play-to-earn blockchain TCGs.
9. Summoners Arena
Summoners Arena brings together two red-hot crypto gaming trends: play-to-earn mechanics and auto battler gameplay. The basic premise will be familiar to anyone who’s played games like Dota Auto Chess or Teamfight Tactics.
You assemble a team of Heroes, level them up over time, and watch them duke it out with other players’ teams on the battlefield. Instead of direct control, the Auto Battler genre has automated fights play out based on your team composition and upgrades.
In Summoners Arena, you can earn the SAE token through:
- Competing in ranked PvP seasons
- Upgrading and selling Heroes as NFTs
- Staking SAE to earn more tokens over time
- Controlling in-game buildings and taxing other players
Summoners Arena launched in 2021 on both Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain. This gives you flexibility in how you access the game and transact within it.
With highly addictive auto battler gameplay plus crypto rewards, Summoners Arena brings together some of the best elements of modern gaming.
8. Illuvium
Illuvium combines decentralized finance with an open-world RPG adventure. It’s essentially an AAA blockchain game, fusing deep lore and rich visuals with compelling gameplay.
The premise is you’re exploring a shattered landscape of alien creatures called Illuvials. You can capture defeated Illuvials and enter them into arena battles against other players. Or embark on quests and defeat epic bosses guarding treasure troves.
Illuvials themselves are highly complex NFTs with numerous traits and capabilities. You can level them up to increase battle stats, or fuse two together into a more powerful version.
Earning opportunities in Illuvium include:
- Selling Illuvials and other NFTs on the marketplace
- Staking $ILV governance tokens to earn yield
- Competing in ranked PvP leagues
- Taking on world bosses and raid events
With gorgeous 3D graphics built on the Unity engine, plus deep lore and backstory, Illuvium aims to push blockchain gaming into the gaming mainstream. It‘s currently in open beta, with the full launch slated for 2023 across PC, Mac and mobile.
7. Splinterlands
Splinterlands brings the addictive fun of collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering to Web3. As you might expect from a blockchain-based game, every card in Splinterlands is an NFT that you truly own.
Matches see you pit a hand of monster cards against other players in turn-based battles. You earn Dark Energy Crystals ($DEC) and collecting Edition cards along the way, which can be sold for profit or used to gain advantages in future matches.
Earning opportunities include:
- Completing daily quests
- Winning ranked matches to climb leagues
- Flipping cards for profit on the marketplace
- Controlling land and taxing other players
Launched in 2018, Splinterlands is played through any web browser like Chrome or Brave. This makes it easily accessible for both blockchain gamers and newbies alike.
With fast-paced CCG battles fueled by great art direction and deep strategy, it’s easy to lose hours at a time playing Splinterlands. And now you can profit while having all that fun!
6. Decentraland
Decentraland is one of the most prominent early examples of a blockchain-based virtual world. The core premise is simple: Users can buy LAND NFTs representing virtual real estate parcels. You‘re then free to develop that LAND into anything you want.
The majority of activity happens around the various themed districts. You can visit 3D buildings like casinos and music venues, shop for avatar clothing and accessories, or hang out with groups sharing your interests. It’s like a fusion of Second Life and early-days VRChat running on Ethereum.
You can earn MANA tokens in Decentraland by:
- Buying undeveloped land and later reselling or renting
- Creating unique 3D scenes that attract other players
- Charging access fees for special content or events
- Selling avatar clothing, accessories and wearables
With total freedom to build anything, Decentraland taps directly into human creativity and self-expression. This has fostered a thriving community with plenty of ways to earn.
5. Aavegotchi
Aavegotchi brings the addictive fun of Tamagotchi virtual pets to decentralized finance. Each Gotchi is an ERC-721 NFT tied to a unique personality trait profile. Just like with real pets, it’s your responsibility to care for and nurture your Aavegotchi to thrive.
You can play mini-games with your Gotchi while exploring Portals, the Citadel, and other virtual spaces. Or take a more passive approach via “rarity farming,” where accumulating yield over time increases your NFT value.
Earning opportunities include:
- Selling Gotchis and other NFTs in the Baazaar marketplace
- Staking GHST governance tokens to earn yield
- Renting out Portals
- Lending Gotchis to other players
With cute 8-bit visuals paired with deep crypto-economic incentives, Aavegotchi scratches that nostalgic itch while letting you earn yield on your NFTs.
4. Thetan Arena
Thetan Arena brings esports-style PvP action to Web3 in one of the highest quality blockchain games out there. It’s a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game, with 3V3 matches seeing two teams duking it out for supremacy.
You start by choosing one of three Hero classes: Assassin, Marksman, or Tank. Each has their own play style, abilities, strengths and weaknesses. You then battle it out in 5-minute matches set in sci-fi-themed locales.
Thetan Arena really stands out for polish and depth of gameplay. Matches are truly intense, forcing you to balance offense and defense on the fly as any good MOBA should.
You can earn the native $THG token by:
- Competing in ranked seasons
- Selling NFT cosmetics and other items
- Staking $THG to earn yield over time
With AAA-quality visuals and sound plus truly skill-based PvP combat, Thetan Arena offers a glimpse at the future of competitive esports gaming on the blockchain.
3. The Sandbox
The Sandbox presents a voxel-based metaverse that’s essentially blockchain Minecraft. You can buy LAND NFTs and develop them as you see fit. Want to build a medieval castle? Go for it. Prefer a cyberpunk disco dance hall? You do you.
In addition to LAND, you can use the native SAND token to buy ASSET NFTs. These are 3D models and animations to decorate your creations. You can also craft unique ASSETs yourself using the VoxEdit editor.
The Sandbox makes it easy for creators by supporting both free-form building and a zero-code Game Maker tool. This means you don’t need advanced technical skills to build wildly imaginative 3D games and experiences.
You can earn SAND tokens by:
- Developing and selling or renting out LAND
- Crafting and selling custom ASSET NFTs
- Earning royalties when your ASSETs are used by other creators
With plenty of tools tailored for creators plus great social features, it’s no wonder The Sandbox has become a hub for the open metaverse.
2. CryptoKitties
No list of blockchain games would be complete without CryptoKitties, one of the pioneering hits that helped kick off the NFT revolution back in 2017.
The concept is simple: You can buy, collect, breed, and sell unique virtual cats. Each CryptoKitty is an ERC-721 NFT with distinct visual traits mapped to its underlying genome. Breed two cats together and their offspring will inherit a mix of those genetic traits.
Rarer traits like fancy fur patterns make a CryptoKitty more prestigious and valuable on the open marketplace. This creates incentivizes for selective breeding as you grow and diversify your clowder.
You can earn ETH by:
- Breeding rare and exclusive cats
- Selling CryptoKitties on the marketplace
- Uncovering historical "Fancy Cats" to claim limited edition badges
While newer games now outshine CryptoKitties in terms of advanced features, you still can’t overstate its historical significance in making NFT-based gaming a reality.
1. Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity dominates as the breakout hit of blockchain gaming, with a peak of over 2.5 million daily active players and nearly 1 billion dollars in NFT trading volume… per day.
Axies are cute Pokémon-esque digital pets that battle against each other in exciting PvP matches. You can also complete PvE quests and challenges within the Lunacia kingdom home realm.
Axies themselves are NFTs with genes determining battle stats and visual traits. Breed Axies together and their offspring will inherit genetic traits in unpredictable ways. This creates significant earning potential from breeding rare or high-performance specimens.
You can earn tokens playing Axie Infinity by:
- Winning ranked Adventure and Arena battles
- Breeding and selling Axies as NFTs
- Flipping Axie items on the marketplace
- Completing daily quests and achievements
While the barrier to entry is higher than other games since you need to buy at least 3 starter Axies, the playtime-to-earnings ratio makes it accessible even for players in less wealthy nations (hence the “play to earn” moniker).
With extremely viral growth plus plenty of depth, Axie Infinity sits firmly atop the play-to-earn crypto gaming throne… for now at least!
Conclusion
Play-to-earn gaming turns the standard business model of gaming upside down. Instead of developers trying to monetize players, blockchain mechanics let the players capture value from their in-game activities. This creates stronger long-term incentives and sustainability than the traditional approach.
However, this nascent industry still has its fair share of volatility and uncertainty. When assessing any play-to-earn crypto game, be sure to take a close look at the:
- Game design elements
- Tokenomics
- Governance structure
- Business model risks
For some, play-to-earn gaming offers an exciting glimpse into the future of digital economies and game worlds that blur reality. For others, sticking to traditional gaming still makes more sense.
How about you – ready to make some money playing blockchain games, or sticking to old school hits? Let us know which way you lean in the comments below!
