At this point, we all understand blockchain is a database technology that allows transparent information sharing within the network. It was a very big word only a few years ago, almost like AI is today. And it surely holds true that the blockchain still retained enough of the transformative momentum to be a major force in the world of technology. We just slightly “forgot” about it now that AI is all the rage. But we haven’t forgot how useful it is.
How Blockchain Technology Fits with Gaming
Blockchain technology and online games cross paths in more ways than one. We know people care about their privacy and security in video games, especially if we consider many online games have online transactions as part of the core service. Then there are the digital trinkets like NFTs and skins, which players can own or trade as rare collector’s items. Everything is recorded on the blockchain ledger, making the whole gaming experience very transparent and secure.
Metaverse as the Ideal Real-World Case Study
Metaverse games are like digital playgrounds built around crypto-economies. You drop into the metaverse as a character, moving through 3D worlds where every interaction happens in real-time with other players. Some games allow for more immersion by using VR tech. The best example would be Decentraland. Built on Ethereum, it’s almost like a digital social experiment with property rights. Players use tokens to craft avatars, buy digital plots of land, and even host things like art shows or concerts for others to wander through. You can sell that digital land, too, or rent it out. But here’s the twist: Decentraland’s whole system is run by a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), so if you want your vote to be heard, you’ve got to buy MANA, the in-game currency. This same MANA doubles as your ticket to NFT-backed parcels of “land.” It’s a real economy, but it’s also a bit of a game about who can call the shots in a place that doesn’t technically exist.
How Blockchain Could Make Online Games Even More Transparent and Secure
Blockchain has already helped with transparency and security in many real-world applications, but there’s still room for improvement.
One sub-genre of online gaming that comes to mind is online casinos. These platforms have already gone to great extents to make sure games are provably fair and have completely random outcomes. Most online slot games for example, like Gates of Olympus (https://casinodays.com/ca/game/gates-of-olympus), use advanced RNG technology to provide these provably fair outcomes. However, blockchain technology would take this a step further by allowing players to independently verify game results. This way, an additional layer of transparency would be created, which would benefit both the players and casinos. How does it work? A provably fair system might generate a cryptographic hash to lock in the game’s outcome. The hash is unchangeable once stamped — so even if someone felt like getting clever after the fact, it wouldn’t matter. Players can check this hash after the game ends, comparing it to the result to see if everything lines up. There is no room for “oops” or “that’s odd” moments. The casino, in this case, doesn’t get to pull any behind-the-scenes switches. At least, that’s the idea.
Why You Should Care About Blockchain in Gaming
In traditional gaming, the developer holds all the cards. Data, servers, everything wrapped up in a system that only they control. If they pull the plug on a game, that’s it. Players are left with memories and maybe a few screenshots. But blockchain gaming is exactly the opposite. Here, assets and game data live on the blockchain, not some company’s server. It’s like moving from renting to owning, except your “property” is a collection of digital swords, skins, or whatever else the game trades in. Unlike the old model where you pay for items that vanish with the game, blockchain lets you actually keep them. And not just keep them, but perhaps even carry them into other games and other worlds.
That shift from temporary access to permanent ownership gives players a kind of pull they never had before. Some call it revolutionary. Others think it’s overhyped. But the simple fact is that owning something feels better than borrowing it. And we hope this is the future of gaming.
