Some common mechanics of p2e games deploy rewards to their fans with monetary incentives. These include native game tokens issued on blockchain networks, integration of decentralized finance concepts, and the use of NFTs as fundamental components of the gameplay and the game economies.
Let’s dive deeper into how p2e mechanics work.
Tokenomics plays a central role in p2e mechanics
P2E games issue their own tokens and build the games’ economies around them. Usually, one of these tokens is the utility token, meaning that players use it to buy in-game assets or pay for the transaction fees and other paid game activities. The second token type is the governance token that provides the holders with voting rights. Depending on the project, the same token can function as the utility and the governance tokens. The team may also opt for distributing the p2e rewards with the same token.
Usually, however, p2e games deploy a dual-token economy. An example is Space Marvel. In this game, while the p2e rewards are distributed as SVX tokens, another token, SVE, functions as the utility and the governance tokens.
Some games issue more than two tokens. For example, Mirandus by Gala Games has a triple-token economy. Players can buy NFTs using Gala tokens and make in-game purchases by spending Materium. And there’s a separate coin, VOXcoin, to distribute rewards to gamers.
Collecting in-game tokens
One of the primary p2e mechanics is to share revenues with the community by letting the gamers collect tokens in various game activities. These activities can include completing daily quests or tasks, winning battles, or mining.
Take, for example, Alien Worlds’ mining process. In the world of this game, there are six planets rich with the material Trillium (the game’s token). Players go on adventures to mine this precious resource; what they actually do is wait for the algorithm to finish the process and distribute tokens as rewards.
Daily tasks can be as simple as logging into the game every day. Or, as in the case of the farming simulation game Town Star, they may include gameplay-related activities like shipping a specific number of some good.
Integration of Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
Players can convert the tokens they collected into real-world value by swapping them on centralized or decentralized crypto exchanges (DEXs).
Most p2e projects are at very early stages. They mostly offer DEX options for swapping the game’s currency for a more established currency like Ethereum. For instance, you can exchange Planet IX’s IXT token on Quickswap. On the other hand, some of these p2e tokens are much more popular than the others; that’s why you can trade them even on big exchanges like Binance, for example, Alien World’s Trillium (TLM).
In addition to swapping, other DeFi concepts like yield farming and staking are also integral parts of p2e mechanics.
Almost every p2e game enables the staking of one of the game’s tokens. Some examples are:
- SolChick’s CHICKs token yield farming on Raydium or Orca.
- Illuvium has its own native staking platform for ILV tokens.
- Core Pool by Syn City to stake SYNR tokens.
NFT Staking
It’s also very common to combine DeFi concepts with NFTs. Just like you can stake a cryptocurrency, you can also stake NFT assets. They can include in-game items like weapons, skins, or heroes. For instance, Samurai Saga has its own NFT staking platform.
Some P2E mechanics also deploy staking Land NFTs. Vulcanverse is a game where landlords can stake their lands, for example.
Renting and Leasing NFTs
The common practice to earn from NFTs is to trade them on dedicated NFT marketplaces. Some games, however, also provide the option of renting and leasing.
This is the case with many metaverse projects that include land parcels. For example, in My Neighbour Alice, landowners can rent the lands to other players to build their own experiences.
You can lease Warena NFTs from the game’s own marketplace. DeFi Warriors is another p2e game that allows lending NFTs to other players.
Community Events
Another common p2e mechanics practice is community events. These include special occasions where the team hosts raffles to distribute tokens or NFT assets. Sometimes the teams release mini-games or tournaments where players compete for special prizes. The team can also distribute tokens and NFTs as airdrops.
In such events, it’s usual to reward the early supporters of the game project. That’s why active community members or NFT owners often receive the airdrops.
