Axie Infinity Against NFT Gaming Cryptocurrencies

Axie Infinity shattered expectations of what’s possible with blockchain gaming, merging enjoyment and profitability through Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and crypto.

But success creates competition. As new NFT games emerge, Axie must prove it can stay atop its industry.

We will analyze how Axie maintains dominance against new entrants in the play-to-earn space.

What Makes Axie Infinity Unique

Axie Infinity is a notable virtual game that helped kickstart the NFT craze. Here are the reasons why it attracted millions of players worldwide:

1. True Ownership of NFT Assets

The Axies are ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum that players entirely own. This gives them tangible value, unlike items in traditional games.

Players can buy, sell, and trade Axies through the Axie Marketplace.

2. Scholarship Program

Since Axies costs money, Axie introduced a “scholarship” program. Experienced players can lend Axies to new players and then earn a cut of the rewards, improving accessibility.

3. Play-to-earn Model

Axie has a robust play-to-earn element. Players earn tokens through game activity, breeding, and competing in PvP battles, creating a virtual economy.

4. Community-driven Ecosystem

Axie started relatively small in 2018. But in 2021, it exploded because of community adoption and word-of-mouth growth. The Axie economy now has hundreds of thousands of daily users.

5. Cross-platform Gameplay

Axie Infinity is easily accessible on PCs, iOS, and Android. Players can enjoy the game on multiple devices, anywhere and anytime.

These elements of ownership, accessibility, monetization, and community have driven Axie Infinity to become the dominant player in NFT gaming. It currently has a market cap of over $1 billion.

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Axie Infinity and Popular Gaming Cryptos

While Axie Infinity is the most established NFT game so far, several competing projects are trying to claim a share of the gaming crypto market.

Here’s how AXS stacks up against some other top gaming cryptocurrencies:

The Sandbox (SAND)

The Sandbox is a virtual world where players can build, own, and monetize pixelated assets and gaming experiences. Users can buy digital land as NFTs, creating environments and assets to sell or rent.

Well-known brands like Snoop Dogg NFTs and Adidas have bought virtual land in The Sandbox metaverse.

Like Axie, The Sandbox has its native token, SAND, which fuels transactions in the game ecosystem. While The Sandbox has attracted big-name partners, it doesn’t have the same level of daily active users or gameplay depth as Axie. Axie Infinity remains the market leader in blockchain gaming.

Decentraland (MANA)

Like The Sandbox, Decentraland is a 3D virtual world where users can explore, interact, and purchase plots of land. These spaces can be used to build games, applications, and custom content.

Decentraland is like a blockchain-based alternative to virtual worlds like Second Life. MANA is the native cryptocurrency used for purchases, transactions, and governance. Decentraland exploded in 2021 along with the NFT and metaverse hype but has cooled since then.

Regarding gameplay and economic activity, Axie Infinity remains far ahead of Decentraland.

Enjin (ENJ)

Enjin is an ecosystem for creating blockchain games and NFTs. The Enjin platform allows developers to build games with ENJ tokens seamlessly integrated. ENJ is used across many games, creating over 20 million ENJ wallets.

Unlike the previous examples, Enjin is more of a multiplayer gaming infrastructure than a single virtual world. While Enjin powers many popular games, none have reached the scale and scope of Axie Infinity yet.

Gala Games (GALA)

Gala Games’ goal is similar to Enjin’s - to provide tools and infrastructure for blockchain game development. It was co-founded by Eric Schiermeyer, one of the co-creators of FarmVille and Zynga.

Developers can use the Gala Games SDK to create games with NFT integration and earn GALA tokens. While Gala funds the development of dozens of blockchain games, Axie Infinity still dominates in terms of active players and revenue.

WAX (WAXP)

Finally, WAX is a blockchain platform built for trading NFTs and virtual goods.

The Worldwide Asset eXchange utilizes “Delegated Proof of Stake” and enables users to develop dApps involving digital items.

WAX is used by several NFT-based games and marketplaces for collectables and other virtual assets. However, WAX hasn’t yet had a single breakout gaming hit like Axie Infinity.

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The Appeal of Play-to-Earn Gaming

Axie Infinity is the current giant in the play-to-earn gaming model, which is a big part of its appeal. Play-to-earn introduces new incentives and value propositions for players:

• Players can monetize their time through token rewards, NFT sales, staking, and more. Axie creates new income opportunities.
• True ownership of in-game assets as NFTs allows players to sell or trade items. This gives gaming items real-world value.
• Players are rewarded for their loyalty and participation. The more you play Axie, the more you earn.
• Players get voting rights through decentralized governance tokens like AXS. They have a say in the game’s future direction.
• Accessibility is improved through the scholarship program, allowing new users to get started more quickly.

This combination of monetization, ownership, participation incentives, and accessibility is highly compelling. No wonder Axie has grown so quickly with this model.

Use Cases Beyond Gaming

While Axie Infinity excels as a game, its ecosystem has grown beyond gaming and has some interesting secondary use cases, including:

• Avatar NFTs - The cute Axie characters work as avatar pictures and identities online across social media, forums, and websites.
• DAOs - The Axie community has formed decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to help govern ecosystem funds.
• DeFi - Users can provide liquidity and yield farms with their tokens using DeFi protocols like Uniswap and SushiSwap.
• Scholarships - The scholarship program provides income opportunities and educational benefits, according to Sky Mavis. Players can learn about crypto while earning.

So, while Axie shines as a game, its ecosystem also offers avatars, communities, educational opportunities, and more benefits.

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 Final Analysis

Axie Infinity was the first successful play-to-earn gaming crypto, but now it faces increasing competition from projects like The Sandbox, Decentraland, Enjin, Gala Games, and WAX.

Each offers unique capabilities for NFT gaming and metaverse experiences. Nonetheless, Axie remains the leader in active user base, revenue, gameplay depth, and adoption.

For now, Axie stands head and shoulders above rivals as the highest-profile example of how cryptocurrencies and NFTs can transform gaming.

Traders evaluating investments should thoroughly compare projects on fundamentals to determine which has the greatest potential in this rapidly evolving blockchain ecosystem.

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