OpenSea, a major NFT Marketplace, recorded an all-time high trading volume of $3.7 billion in January 2022.
According to Statista, in 2021 there were a recorded 473 million eSports fans (including both enthusiasts and occasional viewers). To put this in context, there are an estimated 405 million Rugby fans worldwide.
NFTs and eSports are becoming part of our everyday lives, gaining popularity to match mainstream equivalents.
But how are NFTs impacting eSports? These two technologies go hand in hand. They complement each other well and as we see one grow, we will surely see the other boom as well.
In this post, we are going to look at how NFTs are impacting eSports and all the creative ways they are being used to improve the eSports experience for both players and developers.
Partnerships between the worlds of NFTs and eSports are continuing to emerge and fuel growth for both sides.
For example, two leading esports giants, BOOM and Fact Revolution, joined in partnership with Yieldly.
Yieldly is a DeFi platform, and the partnership has allowed these esports brands to explore the world of NFTs.
The partnership gives advantages to all involved. The eSports brands can create unique, esports-centred NFTs and Yieldly gains access to a new audience.
The fans and players also win as they get new exciting rewards and merchandise in the form of NFTs.
NFTs are being embraced within the eSports community. They provide so many opportunities for gaming that developers, players, and fans are all welcoming them into the eSports arena with open arms.
Some of the major ways that NFTs are impacting eSports include:
There are also great advantages to NFTs such as increased fan engagement and community building. However, for this post, we are going to stick with how NFTs are impacting revenue in eSports.
There are two main ways that NFTs are impacting how publishers and players make money from eSports.
Fans can take ownership of virtual assets that connect them with other fans, players and teams. They can identify themselves as fans of different eSports teams and as a part of that community of fans.
Fans also have the opportunity to sell or trade their NFTs. A lot of money that is being generated from NFTs in eSports right now comes from buying and selling virtual items such as player skins
They can sell these assets on secondary markets for money or trade them for other NFTs from other players or teams. In fact, a lot of the money spent on esports today goes towards buying virtual items like player skins.
This presents opportunities for players to make money from the games that they love playing, and further incentivises them to spend more time playing these games.
Developers have caught on to this opportunity and are meeting the demand of players. Many games now create digital assets for avatars within their games that represent real-world items. For example, creating a piece of virtual clothing such as a pair of Nike sneakers.
If we take a look at the game Fortnite, players are able to buy skins that change their characters’ appearance.
Some are rare which in turn increases their value. And NFTs provide added security for players who are purchasing high-value skins. If an account is hacked or deleted, due to the nature of the blockchain that NFTs are created on, there is hope for recovery.
NFTs are greatly impacting how game developers and players are making money from eSports. It is possible in the future this could eliminate traditional revenue streams.
See inspirations here:
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