One of the main selling features of blockchain games is earning NFTs and cryptocurrencies and trading them in a marketplace. Platforms with such features are known as play-to-earn (P2E) NFT games. However, in most situations, players must first invest money before they can begin earning. Especially when the game has reached a certain degree of popularity. These blockchain games range from trading card games to RPGs, but you will usually need to acquire in-game assets to get started.
For example, Axie Infinity, one of the most popular NFT games, requires new players to purchase three Axies. i.e. the platform’s in-game NFT characters — which can range in price from hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on rarity and features.
Understandably, the initial expense of such games sometimes discourages new players.
Fortunately, there are P2E NFT platforms that do not require any upfront payment. In other words, you do not purchase NFTs to begin playing the game. Consider them free-to-play games with the extra benefit of generating revenue through NFT and blockchain technology.
As a result, free P2E games are in high demand, so we’ve compiled a list of the best options accessible right now. If free NFT games are your favorite option, here are some game titles to look at.
Top Free P2E NFT Games
Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained is a blockchain-based trading card game. All you have to do is compete against other players to increase the rankings and boost your chances of winning more high-quality cards. You can exchange in-game assets, which in this case are digital cards, just like in any other NFT game.
As a new player, you will be given a deck of cards that you can use to compete against other players with comparable rankings. However, players should note that the first sets of cards you will get are not yet live on the blockchain. First, you must win these player-versus-player matches to earn Flux. Use Flux to forge two replica trading cards and mint them on the Ethereum blockchain.
Significantly, gamers’ chances of winning matchups depend on the strategy utilized by the player and the unique traits of his cards. Interestingly, God’s Unchained has opted for a design that establishes some level of fairness. The websites ensure that only players with similar rankings are matched together. This is different from what we have in most P2E platforms, where players who can buy the rarest and most powerful cards, avatars or weapons get to win at the expense of average players.
Splinterlands
Splinterlands is yet another card trading NFT platform where players with similar rankings are paired up for a chance at glory. The winner receives more sets of cards, which he can then sell on an NFT marketplace for cryptocurrency. Splinterlands, unlike Gods Unchained, is not built on the Ethereum Blockchain. Instead, all of its cards are stored on the Hive blockchain.
Because Splinterlands is free to play, all new players are given a set of base cards. Alternatively, more powerful cards can be obtained by purchasing booster packs or from a willing card seller on the marketplace.
A third way is to win matches, daily missions, or seasonal incentives to earn and unlock cards. It is also possible to level the cards by combining many identical cards. There are no consequences for losing rated matchups, which relieves inexperienced players. In other words, when new players first enter the game, they do not have anything at stake.
Chainmonsters
Chainmonsters is a pokemon-themed MMORPG featuring a free-to-play version perfect for individuals looking for games with a low barrier to entry. Although the game is still under production, the alpha version has attracted thousands of users. It has beautiful graphics, primarily regarded as one of its most robust characteristics.
There are even plans to release the game on the Playstation and Xbox. It’s worth noting that Chainmosters is built on the Flow Blockchain. Chainmons, costumes, and other in-game assets can be earned and trained by players.
Axie Infinity Scholarship
Although the decision to include Axie Infinity in our top free P2E list may appear contradictory at first. This is because the cost of owning Axies ranges in hundreds of dollars and the market cap of AXS reaches over $8.4 billion. You should note that some Axie Infinity players have discovered a way to avoid the upfront cost of owning Axies.
These players approach Axies users and strike an agreement that elevates them to the position of asset manager. In essence, these people play on behalf of Axies owners in exchange for a cut of the profits. Typically, this pattern involves some level of trust between the researcher and the NFT owners.
Players should note that the platform officially sanctions this activity. As a result, any risks associated with such endeavours are permanent.
This arrangement gives the NFT owner the chance to earn passive revenue. Alternatively, the scholar sees it as a strategy for generating active revenue.
Notably, the strong demand for Axie Infinity has impacted the scholarship system’s profitability. Typically, more scholars are competing for the attention and trust of Axies owners. Scholars generally are from underdeveloped countries, particularly the Philippines.
Coin Hunt World
Coin Hunt World is a Pokémon Go-themed game where players scour the world for Bitcoin and Ethereum. It would be best to walk about your city using a computerized map to look for keys here.
Once you’ve accumulated a sufficient number of keys, you can store them in vaults. Following that, you’re asked to answer a trivia question. You’re paid with BTC and ETH if you provide the correct answer. In other words, Coin Hunt World is not a game that you will play while staying at home.
Another feature that distinguishes this game is its reward system. Unlike the other games mentioned thus far, Coin Hunt World is the only one that does not award NFTs to players. The prizes are instead denominated in BTC and ETH.
The only disadvantage is that the earnings may not be as lucrative as in an NFT-based game. You may have to devote a substantial amount of energy and time before you can make a significant sum of cryptocurrency on Coin Hunt World.
The SandBox
The SandBox is an Ethereum-based virtual metaverse. It allows players to create assets, monetize them, and engage in immersive game experiences. The goal is to encourage user-generated content and gameplay by establishing a reward system. Prompting players to keep the right to share or sell their inventions (often in-world objects) and digital real estate (also known as LANDS).
Three essential components fuel this virtual environment. The first is VoxEdit, which allows users to create and animate 3D objects in-game. The SandBox Marketplace will enable you to buy and sell NFTs and game items made by other users. The final component is the SandBox Game Maker, a free system for creating 3D games within the virtual metaverse.
Benefits of Free P2E NFT Games
The NFT field has seen tremendous growth in such a short period, with the gaming industry, in particular, emerging as one of the current NFT movement’s frontiers. As stated in this post, the availability of an extensive range of free-to-play NFT games demonstrates that blockchain game apps are not only for the wealthy.
Free-to-play P2E games level the playing field and introduce the ordinary person to the rapidly increasing NFT game economy.
With more mainstream institutions, such as professional sports leagues, jumping on the NFT bandwagon, the game industry has already taken notice of this trend. It’s no surprise that prominent game companies like Epic Games, the creators of titles like Fortnite, have expressed interest in blockchain games.
In contrast, Ubisoft, the home of popular video games like Assassin’s Creed, has already revealed plans to incorporate play-to-earn capabilities into its products.
In their most recent earnings call, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot summed it up best.
“As you see, this industry is changing regularly with lots of new revolutions happening. We consider blockchain one of those revolutions. It will imply more play-to-earn that will enable more players to actually earn content, own content, and we think it’s going to grow the industry quite a lot.”
On the other side, some companies, such as Valve, have blocked all blockchain-based games from their gaming platform, Steam.
With the sector still in its infancy, it’s anyone’s guess where the following tiers will lead. However, it is a frontier that we must continue to explore. While the platforms described above are among the best top free P2E games, it is critical to conduct your research and make an informed selection before acquiring any in-game goods or currencies.
