When it comes to gaming, there is no doubt that esports is the thing that creates the most hype around games, and it probably brings most people into gaming if it is entertaining and easy enough to watch for those not yet invested in the gaming universe. With the introduction of NFTs, blockchain esports is becoming a thing, and this niche is rising in popularity rapidly.

Blockchain Esports

© Mmoexaminer

What is blockchain gaming?

The easiest way to explain blockchain gaming is to say that it is a video game that includes elements of traditional games and also cryptography-based blockchain technologies. These games often operate on the use of cryptocurrency or non-fungible tokens, also known as NFTs, and they allow people to either play together or against each other in order to earn more cryptocurrency or NFTs while playing.

You may be surprised, but blockchain gaming projects have been around all the way since 2017, when a company called Dapper Labs introduced a game called CryptoKitties. That’s right, it was one of the first play to earn titles out there that revolved around crypto-related gameplay and NFTs. Of course, it was not really a  game that had a lot of esports potential.

How are blockchain technologies evolving in esports?

Something that is very important when it comes to esports blockchain projects, is that it does not necessarily take a crypto p2e game for blockchain technology to be related to esports. The best example is the cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX, which has partnered with LEC(The League of Legends European Championship esports league run by Riot Games).

There are many other instances where a crypto exchange platform partnered with someone, like Astralis and Navi with Bybit, BIG with Coinbase, Fnatic with Crpyto.com, and many more. NFTs are even becoming so big that even bigger titles like Final Fantasy are considering to put them as a core piece of their game.

What are the blockchain esports companies to look out for?

Of course, at the end of the day, the idea behind big esports blockchain projects is to essentially create video games where people can not embrace only the P2E ideology, but also compete in esports. The following blockchain gaming companies are so far the leading contenders for this to happen.

  • Dapper Labs

There would be no first mention of the original creators of the blockchain gaming trend. As mentioned, they created the first successful NFT games CryptoKitties, and that is not where they stopped with development. They have since then created Cheeze Wizards and Top Shot.

  • Sky Mavis

If you have read anything about NFTs, then you have certainly heard about Sky Mavis, as they are the creators of one of the most popular esports crypto games out there, which is Axie Infinity. Whenever you ask something about P2E games, they will probably use Axie Infinity as an example, and the same can be said for blockchain esports.

  • OpenSea

While not necessarily having any games of their own, the importance of this platform is huge. It is a platform where users can buy and sell their NFTs, which opens up a plethora of options for a rise of various esports crypto games. Since the platform generates an absurd amount of money every day, it is quite a big contributor to the growth of blockchain esports.

PVP blockchain games

@ ChiUniSport

What are the most popular PVP blockchain games?

There is one thing that makes esports games stand out more than others, and that is when it contains elements of PvP(Player vs Player). While watching players compete in a PvE(Player vs Environment) game can be entertaining, it cannot be compared when players can play against each other.

  • Axie Infinity

By far the most popular game when it comes to PVP blockchain games is Axie Infinity. We already mentioned it earlier in the article. It is a game where players make a team of 3 monsters and fight against each other.

  • Splinterlands

This is a card game on a Hive blockchain. Players can level up in this game and earn rewards by creating a deck from various available cards in the game. They can mint certain ones as NFTs on the blockchain, and they can also earn NFTs by climbing the ranked ladder.

  • War of Ants

If you have played a game called Clash of Clans, then you will have no trouble getting into the War of Ants. It is a real-time strategy game where each player can summon ants in order to take down their opponent.