Play-To-Earn (P2E) Games Are Failing & The Metaverse Can’t Save Them

You probably know that play-to-earn games, which are video games in which players can gain rewards that have value in the real world, were touted as being the next big thing but that they are now quickly falling by the wayside.

While it is true that P2E games initially enjoyed a spike in popularity, most gamers – and even industry experts – believe their time has abruptly come to an end.

Even the metaverse, which seems to be where the future of gaming is heading, appears unlikely that it will save play-to-earn games.

Why P2E Games Are Failing

Being able to earn real-world-value rewards from playing games sounded like a great idea. 

Indeed, as recently as 2022, P2E games were connected to more than 1.13 million unique active wallets – and industry experts were predicting the P2E sector could be worth $38 billion by the time we get to 2028.

But if games do not deliver, the gaming community will soon be turned off – and that is precisely what happened with P2E games, over a short period of time. When games are lacking quality and player needs are not met, people will soon stop playing them.

With P2E games, the developers seemed to focus much more on the earning elements than they did the gameplay.

And when players do not feel engaged, entertained, or challenged, the desire to play simply will not be there – even if gamers have the opportunity to earn rewards with real-world value.

Couple poor user experience with poor game quality and you will get even fewer gamers. Many P2E games quickly became renowned for their clumsy interfaces, slow loading times, and frequent glitches.

So, it really should be no surprise that P2E games are failing big time. But there are even more reasons, besides the lack of quality and the poor user experience, that have contributed to the downfall of P2E games. 

Rich Gamers Have Been Exploiting Low-Earning Players

Gamers who are rich in NFTs, and even some of the P2E gaming platforms, have been exploiting low-earning P2E players who are dependent on the tokenomics of games and not always able to extract or transfer rewards to receive real-world value. 

P2E Games Have No Strong Community Behind Them 

For any type of game to be successful in this modern age, it needs to have a strong community. But the community for P2E games simply is not there. In turn, that means it is highly challenging for P2E platforms to retain repeat players. 

The Economy of P2E Games Is Unbalanced 

It was initially thought that games that were closely tied to the real-world economy would work well, but there was a problem: the tie that P2E games have with the real-world economy has led to problems like in-game inflation and deflation.

With inflation and deflation rates highly fluctuating, it has led to players being turned off. A huge number of people who tried P2E games now do not play them at all. And the unbalanced economy is one of the reasons behind that. 

Can the Metaverse Save P2E Games? 

As more and more games become available in the new metaverse, including P2E games, some believe that the metaverse may be able to save pay-to-earn games from extinction. 

However, the same problems as those outlined above continue within the metaverse just as much as they do on online P2E gaming platforms. So, it looks unlikely that the metaverse can save P2E games.

Having said that, P2E games could yet transform. If problems like an unbalanced economy, poor-quality gaming, and poor-quality user experiences can be overcome, there is a chance that P2E games could survive.

And seeing as the metaverse is in such early stages, it could yet develop in ways that enable better P2E gaming.

Though, it is more likely that P2E metaverse games will evolve into something else. The idea that a player can earn rewards that are exchangeable for real-world-value items or even cash is still appealing in concept, after all.

Indeed, online gambling is starting to make headway in the metaverse. Many experts foresee popular metaverse games will include casino games, for instance.

Just think – instead of sitting at your laptop playing a game like Blackjack, you could enter a virtual casino and engage with the croupiers and other players in the same way as you would at a brick-and-mortar casino.

It is likely that casino games and other types of games that have yet to be invented will replace P2E games in the metaverse. So, there will still be the opportunity to receive real-world-value rewards, but players will probably not gain them in the same way that they do playing P2E games.

Having said that, online gambling is still illegal in many states and countries, so legal matters will need to change as well if we want to see a metaverse that is full of casino games and other games that enable players to earn.

Many people hope the legalization of online gambling will occur in states that currently do not allow the activity and follow states where online gambling is permitted, such as Michigan – where both online casinos and poker are now legal, but still awaiting launch.

You can find out more about online and offline gambling in Michigan at michigangambling.org. 

Final Thoughts

As we have seen, P2E games were loaded with various problems from the start, so it is no wonder that gamers have quickly abandoned them – for great games like Garena Free Fire and Grand Theft Auto, for instance.

Even if developers can solve problems like gameplay and user experience, it is unlikely that gamers will return to P2E games in great numbers. Quite simply, play-to-earn games are failing. Furthermore, the metaverse probably cannot save them.

However, stick around! New trends in gaming and emerging technologies may yet mean that gamers have the opportunity to earn real-world-value rewards through online gaming. But it is not likely that those games will resemble the P2E games of today.