Blockchain games have hit the headlines for rewarding players with cryptocurrency based on their performance and the level of effort they put into playing games.

It’s an emerging niche within the crypto industry that undoubtedly has huge potential, but it’s also one that has struggled to gain popularity with traditional gamers. Many play-to-earn games struggle to effectively engage their communities, which lowers the value of the incentives they offer.

One of the main reasons for this lack of engagement is the “grind-like” experience of many blockchain games, which feel more like a chore than an enjoyable hobby. Games are meant to be entertaining, but when players have to grind through repeated battles or challenges, it can quickly become a source of frustration, causing a loss of interest.

Another problem is the unsustainable economic models found in many blockchain games. The issue is one of tokenomics. Games developers are generally experts in creating games, but they’re not always so hot in terms of designing an economy. For a game’s crypto rewards to accrue value, they need to provide utility for their in-game tokens to establish demand. This means building a crypto payments infrastructure that can support a vibrant economy, enabling players to spend their rewards and recycle value throughout the game.

But without user engagement, it’s almost impossible to create this kind of flourishing economy, and this is an area where many games fall short. Because the games are less entertaining and more about grinding, there’s little excitement within the game’s community.

How to engage gaming audiences?

The challenge for blockchain game developers then is to create an entertaining game complete with rewarding experiences that are accessible to every player. In doing so, this can help to foster a more lively community that’s much more engaged, with vibrant forums and social media discussions and multiple ways to put the rewards they earn into practice. Doing this requires developers to think outside of the box about the ways they can grab and then keep the attention of players.

Some ideas include making games more equitable and inclusive, perhaps by distributing rewards based on the player’s skills and achievements, as opposed to the time they invest in the game. This can ensure that the best players are rewarded for striving to up their game. In doing this, developers can foster discussions among the community, rewarding the best players for sharing hints and tips with others to improve their performance.

To further stimulate attention and brand loyalty, blockchain games can tap into external platforms such as Azarus, the live streaming platform for video games. The best players can livestream their gameplay via Azarus and interact with their audiences during gameplay to create more excitement. The great thing about Azarus is that it rewards players for sharing their gameplay experiences, meaning players gain additional incentives.

Players also have a way to use their rewards on Azarus. The company recently announced support for crypto payments in the Azarus store, enabling players to spend both their AZA rewards and their in-game rewards on items such as Netflix gift cards and new video game titles such as Homeworld 3 and Hellblade 2.

To further encourage a vibrant in-game economy, developers need to look at incorporating GameFi elements into their games. A good example of this is Eldarune, an immersive RPG game built on ChainStack that not only offers in-game rewards, but also tons of passive income earning opportunities, such as the ability to stake ELDA tokens, loan NFTs to other players, engage in yield farming, provide liquidity and more. Eldarune has created an extensive crypto payments infrastructure to support these GameFi activities.

By providing these kinds of opportunities, developers will generate interest that expands beyond the actual gameplay to encompass all of the financial activities that make their in-game economies go round. It also serves to boost engagement and help create a more sustainable environment for growing the real-world value of their in-game assets.

Engagement drives in-game economies

Blockchain games have the potential to transform the gaming industry by introducing economic opportunities for gamers, effectively giving something back to their communities of players. However, building a game on the blockchain and integrating crypto payments is not a magic bullet. Developers must focus on building an engaging platform together with a sustainable economy players to engage in financial interactions.

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Vested Interest Disclosure: This author is an independent contributor publishing via our business blogging program. HackerNoon has reviewed the report for quality, but the claims herein belong to the author. #DYOR.