Currently, the prevalent model in the video game industry is free-to-play. This model attracts new users by allowing them to enter the game completely free of charge, generating a large amount of attention for the content, and causing a change in monetization systems. Under this model, users only pay if they want to enhance or expand their gaming experience.
However, a significant paradigm shift has occurred in recent years. With Web3, the "play to earn” (P2E) model has gained popularity by promising users the ability to earn money, even if the games using this model aren't necessarily fun.
We have found solutions to the problems that have prevented other P2E games from successfully integrating the F2P model. Here are our solutions:
Where most P2E games have failed is in the sustainable economy. We have generated a system that we have called “Proof of Skills,” in which players will be rewarded for their skill. If the player is able to occupy the best positions in the ranking, he will get tokens and NFTs that he can later exchange. The rest of the players will have to keep improving to try to achieve success. Therefore, we have managed to merge the economy of free-to-play (soft and hard currency) with the current NFTs, making users not feel exploited as they can monetize their time and skill investment.
This system CAN’T be copied; if some other competitor wanted to copy it, they would have to extract all our metagame entirely, which is nearly impossible.
A game as such must have intrinsic motivations such as making the user interested in overcoming the difficulties posed, satisfaction for the progress within the game (achievements), skill improvement as a result of progress in the game, fulfillment of challenges within the game that are attractive, etc. Without these premises, a user will end up leaving the game since it is not a challenge. This is what we learn from the current P2E games: increasing the challenge with extrinsic motivations such as prizes and rewards. Rewarding the player for performing activities includes awarding medals and, of course, the most striking one, being able to win tokens or exclusive NFTs.
Thanks to the blockchain, players will have ownership rights over in-game items or digital assets. Before, when users bought an in-game item, they knew that they could never get their investment back, as this item would always stay in their inventory. Now, using NFTs (non-fungible tokens), players will have the item in their possession and will be able to trade it with another player in a marketplace, exchanging it for another in-game item or for fiat money. The final goal player get an economic reward for his efforts or investment inside the game.
F2P Car Card NFT Car Card
In many free-to-play games, we have seen how the trend is to sell many similar items, achieving a great result. We believe that we should follow these steps, but add an extra one: the scarcity of some of them, making them exclusive. In this way, users can have a unique item and increase their personal status. In addition, this object can be revalued in the future for its exclusivity.
We eliminate one of the biggest barriers to entry that Play to Earn games have by making the user feel comfortable and letting them play without being on the blockchain. If in the future you want to trade NFTs or get game tokens, it will always be easier for you to build a wallet by doing simple tutorials integrated with a link in our game, making the process more enjoyable.
Due to the extrinsic motivation of earning money, Play to Earn keeps its users active for much longer. On the contrary, in the F2P model, since there is a massive influx of users, it is more difficult to maintain them. Analyzing both models, we have an opportunity to achieve both high user retention (P2E) and attract many players (F2P), thus increasing our potential income.