A comparison between two blockbuster NFT games Axie Infinity Vs. CryptoBlades with an overview of the top NFT games dominating the market. Are NFT games worth the investment?
Blockchain-based gaming has taken over the crypto world. NFT games have flooded the market, and it seems like a new NFT game is launched every week. Blockchain games consists of many genres, which the most popular being trading cards and role playing games (RPG).
NFT games offer their users a unique gaming experience and ecosystem, mainly because players have a chance to earn various cryptocurrencies by interacting with the in-game content. In blockchain play-to-earn games, players literally earn money by buying tokens from marketplaces, teaming up with other players, forming clans/factions and competing against other teams in the game. NFTs have been dramatically growing in popularity over the years, but a sharp increase in their worldwide adoption has taken place during the coronavirus pandemic. In the first half of 2021, the volume of NFT trading increased to $2.5 billion.
While NFTs as in-games items are usually intended to aid in the creation of a distinct personality (custom character) like an avatar or character (Mario or Princess Peach, anyone?), many people see game assets as a sound investment that will pay off handsomely in the future, leading to the explosive growth in the GameFi sector.
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Axie Infinity & CryptoBlades Take the Lead in Crypto Games
While many NFT games have launched in 2021, the top two that have truly made their mark in the NFT gaming industry are CryptoBlades (SKILL) and Axie Infinity (AXS). Both digital games have seen massive growth in their popularity and as a result, their token values have flown through the roof.
CryptoBlades (SKILL) is currently trading at $40.88 and Axie Infinity (AXS) is standing at $77.46, as of Aug. 23, 2021.
Despite the big differences in gameplay, both Axie Infinity and CryptoBlades have a large user base of active gamers.
In this article, we’ll dive into the gameplay of both games, their unique features, future potential and many other aspects which make these two games better than one another. We’ll also brush up on several other popular NFT games in the market.
Axie Infinity (AXS)
Axie Infinity, a game that was first released three years ago, is developed by Sky Mavis, a Vietnamese gaming firm. It is a play-to-earn game as well as a complete NFT-based economy. Axie Infinity (AXS) is one of the few cryptocurrencies that has seen a significant increase in price in recent months to such a level that the game has crossed $1 billion in trades with its crypto-based virtual economy. Due to its popularity and high revenue, investors from all over the world are looking to invest in this NFT game.
Play-to-earn (play2earn) is a relatively new notion in online gaming, but it's gaining traction worldwide. Players in these games earn cryptocurrency tokens, which they can sell for real money on decentralized markets.
According to their official website, Axie Infinity has more than 250,000+ active players daily. The game's popularity, particularly in the developing world, stems from its earning potential. It's because of this high involvement from players that Axie's income sources are so outstanding. Axie made more money in June 2021 than large decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and Aave. Also, in July 2021, Axie Infinity raked in more protocol revenue than the two cryptocurrency giants, Bitcoin and Ethereum. The ongoing pandemic has fueled the popularity of Axie Infinity, as people who have lost their jobs or ended up with lower-paying jobs are now playing this game full-time. Players from countries like Vietnam and the Philippines have given up on their day jobs to play Axie Infinity as the average player can earn more than $1,500 per month — a huge amount of money in many parts of the world.
What Are Axies?
Axies are adorable animals, similar to CryptoKitties (collectible digital kittens that arguably started the NFT frenzy), and each one is distinctive. An Axie is a non-fungible token (NFT), meaning it is a one-of-a-kind digital collectible. Axies can be bred and battled, as well as sent on quests for resource farming. The cheapest Axies on the market today costs approximately $200, while the most expensive one went for 300 ETH (one ETH = $3,331.53, as of Aug. 23, 2021).
In-Game Tokens
Smooth Love Potion (SLP) and Axie Infinity Shard are in-game tokens in Axie, the Pokémon-like game with a virtual economy. These tokens can be used to buy land, farm or raise Axies, just like any other in-game currency.
Within the game, there is a whole economy (a world called Lunacia). In Lunacia, players can acquire property, produce or breed Axies using their in-game tokens, Smooth Love Potion (SLP-ETH) and Axie Infinity Shard (AXS-ETH). Because the tokens are valuable, players can also use them to pay for things like rent or food in real life.
How to Play Axie Infinity (AXS)
To play Axie Infinity, players need to set up a few things — call them prerequisites if you may:
1. Axie Infinity (AXS) runs on Ethereum, so naturally, players require either an ETH wallet or need to buy Ethereum with their current wallet, such as Binance, Metamask, and so on.
2. After the wallet step is completed, users need to sign up for an account on the official Axie Infinity marketplace. Bonus Tip: Players who have created an Ethereum wallet via Metamask will be able to log into the NFT game directly.
3. The next step is to download the “Ronin Wallet” browser extension. It can be installed in a variety of web browsers, including Firefox, Google Chrome, etc.
4. From the marketplace dashboard in your Axie user account, attach the Ronin wallet to your account.
5. Use the Ronin bridge to deposit ETH from your main wallet to the Ronin wallet.
6. The last step is to buy Axies by using the Axies Infinity marketplace and start playing the game on Windows, iOS, Android or macOS.
Future Axie Prediction
Many investors in the crypto world are debating whether investing in the AXS token is worth it, given the token (which was priced less than $5 in May 2021) is now trading more at $70+, showing a large amount of volatility.
However, many keen investors are interested in this project owing to the massive involvement of players that participate in this game daily and Axie Infinity topping the NFT game charts, not once but many times in recent weeks.
CryptoBlades (SKILL)
For hard-core gamers in the PC or PS5 industry, role-playing games are not new. From Skyrim and Fallout, to Witcher, Dark Souls and Dragon Hunt, the list is endless.
CryptoBlades is a perfect arena for these gamers, as it is a web-based NFT roleplaying play-to-earn game which offers in-game challenges for a chance to win SKILL tokens. In July 2021, CryptoBlades enjoyed a 380% increase in their platform users with $580,000 traded during in-game transactions. CryptoBlades, a Binance Smart Chain combat game, is currently ranked at #1 in the BSC Portfolio Tracker list, followed by CryptoDrakeBall and X World Games in the 2nd and 3rd position respectively.
An Immersive Role-Playing Experience
When players complete in-game raids and kill formidable opponents, they will earn SKILL tokens. Furthermore, gamers can enhance their gameplay experience by gaining extra tokens. Players can hire extra characters and create special weaponry to get an advantage over their opponents.Players may also improve weaponry, boost overall power and exchange characters and weapons using CryptoBlade's unique system. Holders of SKILL tokens can also stake their SKILL tokens to increase their earnings.
Essentially, the CryptoBlades gameplay is quite straightforward. Fire, Earth, Lightning and Water are the four main components — and an element is allocated to each character, weapon, attribute and enemy. Several factors might enhance or reduce the likelihood of victory in combat as players employ unique strategies to win against their opponents.
How To Play CryptoBlades
To play CryptoBlades, you need an active character, which needs to be bought for SKILL and .001 BNB for gas. An additional fee of .0015 BNB will also be required to participate in the initial battles.
Follow these steps to start playing CryptoBlades:
1. Buy Binance Coin (BNB) from crypto exchanges.
2. Acquire SKILL tokens through ApeSwap. 3. Create a character to start playing CryptoBlades. Watch the official video on crafting your character here.
Future CryptoBlades Prediction
The role-playing feature of CryptoBlades has allowed it to maintain a favorable position in the top three blockchain-based games in the world.
The token price of CryptoBlades reached an all-time high of $184.46 on July 24, 2021. After that, the price of SKILL tokens has experienced a downward trend. However, this does not discount it from being a worthy investment, as the popularity of CryptoBlades is only going upwards. Many crypto analysts believe that this NFT game may prove to be a long-term investment for many players who love role-playing games.
Axie Infinity Vs CryptoBlades Blockchain Games
The difference in gameplay is apparent — however, in terms of revenue, both Axie Infinity and CryptoBlades have raked in impressive revenue for their investors. While CryptoBlades (SKILL) token is seen as accumulating its price to reach or even break its all-time high of $184.46, Axie Infinity (AXS) is enjoying a bullish period as it stands on $77.46 with its eyes set on the $100-mark.
Axie Infinity is riding the popularity wave of the Pokémon gaming genre where players capture Pokémons, breed them and compete against other players. This might be a big reason for its current success among other features.
CryptoBlades, on the other hand, is a role-playing NFT game that attracts players that are already familiar with the role-playing genre where custom characters, weapons, and armor are built to compete against other players. The popularity of CryptoBlades seems set to always rise, as new role-playing games on PC and PS5 come out regularly.
Both Axie Infinity and CryptoBlades are topping the NFT game-charts, boasting 200K-300K+ active users daily and millions in revenue. The two games are unique in their sense and preferring one over the other comes down to the personal choice and taste of the user. Both blockchain-based games have huge potential of dominating the NFT gaming scene for years to come - unless other NFT games attract more players in the long run.
Popular NFT Games With Huge Potential
Axie Infinity and CryptoBlades aren’t the only NFT games that are popular in the blockchain-based gaming world. There are other online games as well, some with possibly even more potential than Axie Infinity and CryptoBlades!
Here are the top five NFT games to look out for:
1. Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained is a free-to-play game that can be described as a traditional card trading game genre mixed with NFT features. Players acquire cards by either buying rare cards from other players or winning PVP battles. Every card can be backed up by an ERC-721 token, which can be traded in-game using the native coin $GODS.
2. Alien Worlds
Alien Worlds is one of the largest blockchain games by users and an all-encompassing digital gaming and collectibles environment, with over 13,000 players and 20 million in-game transactions. Users are encouraged to construct on top of various systems as a way to compete and gain prizes in Alien Worlds. The game is an NFT DeFi metaverse that encourages both economic competitiveness and player collaboration. Trilium or $TLM is rewarded in the game, and players can buy and build a variety of NFTs to suit their needs.
3. Splinterlands
Splinterlands is a collectible trading card game based on the Hive Blockchain. If you're a fan of "Magic the Gathering," then this NFT adventure game is for you. Splinterlands is a talent-based competitive game in which participants are paired with opponents of similar ability levels.
Players can choose from a variety of randomly generated battle settings, ensuring that each encounter is unique! Preparing your deck ahead of time can assist you in developing strategies and adapting to the situation during the combat. The in-game cryptocurrency is $SPS, and players can merge cards to increase their power or sell them for more $SPS.
4. CryptoKitties
CryptoKitties is a fun game based on the Ethereum platform. Players must collect a variety of cats, which you can then breed to acquire more. There are optional tasks here, such as puzzle solving, that will assist players in progressing much further in the game. CryptoKitties can be termed as a Pokémon-style gaming approach to the NFTs in-game. Due to its widespread appeal and as the early establishment of the notion of unique digital asset trading and blockchain systems to the general public, it is often regarded as the godfather of most NFT-based titles.
The game's popularity and player appeal have progressively diminished as a result of the increased attention (and gas fees!). The attraction and excess supply of kittens drove the market out of whack and made the game undesirable to many, as the media frenzy rushed to cover CryptoKitties and the unique techniques it employs.
However, it remains one of the prettiest and coolest blockchain-based games available, and with time this game has the potential to dominate the market once again.
5. Sorare
Sorare is based on the idea of fantasy football, and can be considered as one of the top five NFT games right now. Like any other fantasy football game, you create a squad based on your favorite players and are rewarded based on how they perform in real-life games.
The distinction for Sorare is that instead of choosing NFTs, your team is represented by them, which makes this one an NFT game with a unique flavor.
Sorare works like Axie Infinity, where collection and storing are the main elements on which the game is based. Players must find and collect the cards for their desired players and earn rewards as those players perform in real-life games.
The list doesn’t end here. There are hundreds of other NFT games, some honorable mentions include:
- Battle Racers
- The Sandbox 3D
- Evolution Land
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