3 Ways Blockchain Will Change Gaming Forever

“Blockchain” is a buzzword you might be tired of hearing about. The truth is that the possibilities of this new technology have barely been utilized or even explored. The gaming industry is working to change that. Check out 3 ways blockchain will change gaming forever.

The effect can be felt everywhere, from literal blockchain games to new ways of buying and selling. In this blog, we will tackle three huge impacts that the blockchain will have on our industry.

Wait, what’s “blockchain” again?

via GIPHY

Many readers may already be aware that the blockchain is essentially just a distributed (or you might hear the term ‘decentralized’) method to keep a ledger of financial transaction data.

In short, it’s a super secure way to keep records of ownership. The most recognized use is the ownership of Bitcoin. But it can keep records for any type of transition of ownership, video games included (more on that later.)

Okay, great. Now you’re a blockchain expert.

1. Blockchain-based Games

The first real impact that blockchain had on the gaming industry resulted in, well, a blockchain-game.

You may have heard of Cryptokitties. Released in 2017, it’s essentially a game in which players can purchase, collect, breed and sell various types of virtual cats. This is thought to be one of the first applications of blockchain for purely recreational purposes. Each cat contains unique DNA which can be passed to its offspring by breeding. The blockchain keeps a record of each unique Kitty bred, traded, or sold.

This early use of blockchain led to much speculation about the future, leading many to believe that it would open a whole new subset of games. This actually feels pretty unlikely, as the use of blockchain has far more uses within a game that it has as the game itself.

However, one genre which could see a profound impact is online gambling. Managing director of emerging technology training and education company Binary District, Alena Burdock:

“Currently, ‘the house’ has an incredible amount of power. Individual gambling companies provide little to no transparency to their players. Developing blockchain-based gambling games would add some much-needed certainty and safety. This is the most likely avenue of development for blockchain in gaming and something we will see fully realized within a very short time frame,”

2. Ownership (Reselling Digital Games)

The greatest benefit of the blockchain is the ability to track ownership. This means that if you purchase something like Bitcoin (a digital currency) the blockchain can keep a secure record that you own that specific amount of currency, despite the fact that it’s not physical possession.

This is NOT how your downloaded PC games currently work. When you purchase a game from a popular gaming marketplace, you are actually purchasing a lease to access that bit of code. Access, not ownership.

This is a big (and understated) problem with digital games. In the past, when you spent hard-earned money on a game, that copy became your copy. You owned that copy, and you could do whatever you wanted with it, including reselling. But with a digital purchase, reselling your game would be like trying to sell a car you have on lease. It’s just not yours to sell.

The blockchain can change this giving content creators the comfort to know that the rights are being transferred appropriately upon a sale. Which in turn, allows you to resell them.

And that’s exactly where Robot Cache comes in!

Robot Cache is the first gaming marketplace built entirely on the blockchain. With Robot Cache you can buy, play, and then sell our entire library of PC games. For the first time, your digital downloads will retain their value and be worth serious cache (couldn’t resist.)

And while we are beyond exciting for our upcoming launch, it’s really just the tip of the iceberg in what the blockchain can offer…

3. In-Game Transactions (cosmetics, accounts, etc.)

The Gaming Industry is relying more and more on in-game purchases. Cosmetics like skins, badges, stat trackers and more, are quickly becoming the money-maker for mainstream titles. But these items are rarely being traded outside of the game – mostly because of a lack of security. The blockchain can (and will) change this.

“There is a huge market for the sale of characters, weapons and other augmentations in multiplayer and RPGs. Underpinning this market with blockchain could add enhanced transparency and security — making cheating much harder — and also potentially open the door to inter-game trading and transfers,”

This could have a huge impact on the economy of video games. Imagine leveling-up a character, just to sell it for a profit later. Because the blockchain keeps a record of ownership, we could do that and more. In fact, it could allow for the birth of an entirely new type of marketplace: a storefront for skins, characters, badges, almost anything. All legal, trackable, transfers of goods.

The blockchain is about to change everything we know about digital transactions. And in the process, it’s going to make PC gaming a whole lot easier.