What Are Play-to-Earn Games? 9 Best Crypto NFT Games of 2022

Play-to-earn games reward participants with digital cash or non-fungible tokens. In recent years, these blockchain-backed games — also known as P2E — have gone mainstream, becoming a core component of nearly every metaverse out there, with each platform boasting its own form of cryptocurrency to pay online gamers for their time commitment.

Earning currency that has real-world value while having fun is one of the main reasons why play-to-earn games, like Axie Infinity, have become so popular. Creating NFTs that can become a profitable asset is another.

9 Best Crypto NFT Games of 2022

There are a variety of play-to-earn games available in 2022. Here’s a closer look at nine of the best ones.

1. Axie Infinity

This trade-and-battle, play-to-earn game is based on “Axies” — Ethereum-minted NFTs that players can collect, breed, raise, battle against and trade with other online users. There are many different types of Axies to choose from, and the possibilities for customization are endless. When a player battle other users and win, they earn love potions that can be sold for AXS tokens.

Axie Infinity boasts more than eight million registered players, and around a million of them play it daily. To show how lucrative this game has gotten, Axie Infinity has been fueling a digital economy based on crypto assets in Southeast Asia, specifically in the Philippines and Vietnam.

Roughly 60.9 million AXS — 23% of the total supply — are in circulation as of April 1, 2022, while a single share of AXS is valued at about $66.

2. Decentraland

Decentraland is a virtual reality platform that allows players to construct their own 3D world, buying land and developing it into whatever they want within the platform. Once a player buys land, they can create anything they want with it — from building a separate game to opening an online store that’s open for business. A player can also pay other users to keep their land secure while they’re offline.

To get started with Decentraland, a player needs to have an Ethereum wallet to be able to buy and store the platform’s MANA currency. They can then begin participating on the platform.

Around 1.8 billion MANA coins are in circulation as of April 1, 2022, and a single share of MANA is valued at a little more than $2.66.

3. Alien Worlds

Alien Worlds is a futuristic sci-fi adventure play-to-earn game with a simple premise: play, mine and upgrade to create an immersive gaming experience. It revolves around NFT alien species that a player can capture and use to mine or find different items. The more a player upgrades, the greater the odds of winning.

Trillium is the official cryptocurrency of Alien Worlds. A player can use the TLM token to trade NFTs with other players or win battles and missions. Players will also need mining tools, land and TLM deposits to get started.

A single share of TLM is valued at around $0.14 as of April 1, 2022, with only 9% of the total supply of TLM coins — roughly 914 million — in circulation.

4. The Sandbox

This blockchain-based game lets users build, craft and survive in its blocky metaverse. Users playing The Sandbox can buy LAND — an NFT — to build a house or a castle or to go on quests to earn in-game currency, which is the SAND token. Combining creativity, strategy and survival skills, The Sandbox encourages players to actively participate on the platform, buying and selling NFTs. The more items players build, after all, the higher the level they can reach.

Roughly 1.2 billion SAND –36% of the total supply– are in circulation as of April 1, 2022, while a single share of SAND is valued at around $3.53.

5. Zed Run

Zed Run is a horse racing play-to-earn game that allows users to curate different horses — as NFTs — that they can buy, sell and trade with other players on the platform. Users can also breed new horses or upgrade them to make them stronger.

In this play-to-earn game, users race their horses to earn rewards. Each horse has their strengths and weaknesses, and players can upgrade them to make it easier to win races. They can also bet on other players to earn money.

Zed Run does not have its own crypto coin. Instead, it’s backed by the Ethereum blockchain, meaning all game-related winnings and sales are paid in Ether.

Takeaway

Play-to-earn games are the future of online gaming. There are myriad options available today for the avid online gamer looking to capitalize on this trend and earn some digital cash.

6. Blankos Block Party

Blankos Block Party is a multiplayer party platform where users can play mini-games and complete quests to collect Moola, or MLA, the in-game currency. Users can also buy Blanko Bucks with a credit card.

In this game, participants create unique assets, which are NFTs that offer special in-game abilities. Players can then buy, sell and trade their Blankos for different perks. Considered one of the best “earn games,” Blankos Block Party allows users to earn NFTs while having fun, allowing them to trade their coins for other cryptos through external exchanges.

While there’s a total supply of 740,000 MLA coins available, there is no information on how many of them were in circulation as of April 1, 2022. A single share of MLA was valued at half a cent.

7. Gods Unchained

This blockchain-based play-to-earn game allows users to collect NFT cards to compete against each other. The game revolves around powerful beings known as “Gods,” each of whom possesses a unique ability. The in-game currency GODS can be used to buy these cards and can be earned by defeating other players in battle.

Roughly 23.7 million GODS coins, which is about 5% of the total supply, are in circulation as of April 2022, while a single share of GODS is valued at around $1.58.

8. My DeFi Pet

My DeFi Pet is a play-to-earn game where users raise their virtual pets. They can buy, sell, and trade these pets on the game’s blockchain-based marketplace. They can also create unique NFTs of their pets by customizing pet features, including color, fur patterns, eyes, monogram style, head shape and wings. This game operates on KardiaChain and Binance Smart Chain.

The in-game currency, DPET, can be used to buy items on the game’s official website or to trade NFTs. The DPET coin can also be used to buy clothes, food and other items for virtual pets in the marketplace.

A single share of DPET was valued at $0.38 as of April 1, 2022, with around 6.9 million DPET coins in circulation.

9. Star Atlas

Star Atlas is an astronomy-based, play-to-earn game where users can explore space and trade NFTs of planets, stars and other items. Each planet or star has unique features, making them all different from one another in the game. Players can also discover new worlds by traveling at warp speed around this virtual galaxy.

This blockchain-backed game relies on two tokens: the ATLAS, which is used in the game as a utility token, and the POLIS, which is a governance token. The greater the amount of ATLAS a user owns, the more POLIS they generate.

Roughly 2.2 billion ATLAS coins, which is about 6% of the total supply, are in circulation as of April 1, 2022, while a single share of AXS was valued at around $0.03. Around 21.6 million POLIS coins, which is about 6% of the total supply, as well, were in circulation during the same period, with a single POLIS share valued at $2.09.

Information is accurate as of April 1, 2022.