First coined in a 2020 tweet by Andre Cronje, the CEO of Yearn Finance, ‘GameFi’ combines the words ‘game’ and ‘finance’. It mixes blockchain technology, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and game mechanics to create a virtual environment for players.
Until recently, video games were housed on centralised servers, giving developers and publishers the rights to everything within their games, meaning players had no ownership or control over any digital items. With GameFi, players obtain in-game rewards by completing tasks and progressing through various game levels, and these rewards have measurable value outside the gaming ecosystem.
Almost all blockchain-based games are accompanied by a corresponding in-game currency, marketplace, and token economy. GameFi projects are usually managed and governed by the community, with players even able to participate in decision-making.
Although GameFi projects differ, there are a few commonalities, including blockchain technology, the play-to-earn (P2E) model, and asset ownership. With blockchain technology, GameFi projects run on a blockchain’s distributed ledger. This keeps track of player ownership while ensuring that all transactions are transparent.
The play-to-earn (P2E) model in GameFi games incentivises users to play and progress by offering rewards with measurable value outside the game. These usually come in the form of in-game cryptocurrencies or NFTs. Players also own their in-game tokenised items, ranging from a suit of armour to a plot of virtual land; these are tokenised on the blockchain.
Many GameFi projects may include decentralised finance (DeFi) elements, such as yield farming, liquidity mining, and staking. But it’s important to note that GameFi doesn’t come without risk, including potentially high initial costs that a player might lose or fail to recoup.
