In Germany, too, the industry turned over more than 3.2 million euros last year alone just for in-game purchases, according to the industry association GAME – and the trend is rising. Accordingly, major publishers, such as Electronic Arts or Ubisoft, are busy when it comes to integrating NFTs into their games.

NFTs: Unique digital items with a gallery of owners

NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. These digital uniques are already very successful in the art trade, for example. They are protected as unique items by a technology similar to that used for cryptocurrencies. All previous owners of an NFT are traceable in the process. In addition to items in games, such as certain weapons, items of clothing or playing cards, digital movements or characters can also be designated and sold as NFTs. Even entire levels created by gamers in games, for example, can be protected and sold as NFTs.

Trade in digital items not new

For more than ten years now, there has been a buoyant trade mainly in items from games. The items are earned by playing for days, for example. The buyer saves that by paying for the earned item instead. However, these are not unique digital items, i.e., not NFTs.

Earn with every purchase

But why then does the game industry smell big business here? Since with NFTs all sales are recorded in a kind of owner’s ancestral gallery, studios and the game manufacturers can secure a commission on every sale, unlike the items that are mostly traded now. This is already established in the art trade. There, it’s currently about 10 percent. Transferred to the games industry, studios or publishers would therefore have a share of about 10 percent in the total trade in NFT items among players.

Gamers don’t want to foot the bill

And that in turn drives many gamers up the wall. Alarmed by the publishers’ profit expectations, they fear that the introduction of NFTs will mean they will have to pay more for their hobby.

NFTs the end of free gamer creativity?

In addition, NFTs might also be the end of free content created by gamers. For example, levels that are now still created for free by fans in games from “Little Big Planet” or “Mario Maker” to “Battlefield 2042” could be registered and sold as NFTs in the future. Gamers who have lovingly and painstakingly built a level could want to earn money with it in the future. And not only the creative gamers, but probably also the publishers would earn money from it.