In an age when the gaming industry is all about creators making the big bucks, the concept of play-to-earn (P2E) games — introduced to us by Xaya blockchain’s Huntercoin — was certainly a welcome development.
A lot has changed since then, and many players are now crypto investors looking to capitalize on the booming market and earn various rewards, from tokens to NFTs.
If you are interested in joining the P2E space, you’ve come to the right place, as today’s spotlight is on the best play-to-earn games on the market. I’ll give you our top picks to get you started and tell you about this gaming format so you know what to expect right off the bat.
Top Play-to-Earn Crypto Games to Play Now
My team and I have scoured the web looking for interesting P2E projects in an effort to find ones worthy of your time and effort. We’ve managed to single out ten games that stand out in terms of original gameplay elements, graphics, lucrative rewards, and more. Most importantly, however, they are fun to play.
Here’s an overview of the projects we think are the best play-to-earn games out there:
- The Meme Games — Olympic Games-inspired gamified project with the $MGMES token in the presale stage.
- PlayDoge — Mobile Tamagotchi-style P2E game with 2D retro graphics powered by the new $PLAY token.
- Axie Infinity — One of the most popular P2E games with NFT creatures that can duel each other.
- DeFi Kingdoms — Cross-chain fantasy RPG game with Hero NFTs and tokenized resources set in a colorful pixelated world.
- The Sandbox — Metaverse where players can build on digital land and monetize their experience through SAND tokens and LAND NFTs.
- Alien Worlds — Explore space, collect and trade digital items and NFTs, mine TLM tokens, complete quests, and fight in battles.
- Decentraland — Metaverse powered by a DAO, giving players complete control over the game.
- CryptoKitties — Among the oldest blockchain games with collectible and tradable NFT virtual cats.
- Illuvium — First Interoperable blockchain game that lets you explore an open world, build cities, and battle others.
- Gods Unchained — Award-winning tradable card P2E game where you get to create decks and battle opponents.
Reviewing the Best P2E Games
You’ve seen our top picks and what makes them interesting. However, I believe you will need much more information before deciding which game to devote your time, effort, and money to. Or perhaps you’re simply looking for the most rewarding P2E crypto games?
Whatever the case, it’s best to read our detailed reviews and find out what each game offers.
1. The Meme Games — Olympic Games-Inspired Gamified Project With the $MGMES Token in the Presale Stage
The Meme Games is a gamified meme project inspired by the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The project is poised to become the official meme token of the Olympic Games by the degen community.
With every $MGMES token purchase, users can choose their favorite meme athlete (Doge, Pepe, Wif, Brett, and Turbo). This enables participation in The Meme Games event — a 169-meter dash competition. The winner of the Meme Games will be rewarded with a 25% token bonus. This play-to-earn gamification element mixes the thrill and culture of the Olympics with crypto degen culture, making investing all the more fun and unpredictable.
The Meme Games presale will be open until the end of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It will then launch the Meme Games token on a DEX shortly after the closing ceremony. The project has already raised a little over $122k, with one $MGMES token being priced at $0.009 at the time of writing. Check out our The Meme Games price prediction to learn more about the potential of this project.
To learn more about The Meme Games, read the project’s whitepaper and check out the official site. You can also join their social media channels, including X (Twitter) and Telegram.
Some of the key features of The Meme Games are:
- Select your meme athlete and participate in the Meme Games for a 25% token bonus.
- $MGMES token is the native currency of The Meme Games, aiming to become the official meme coin of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- The token presale will end with the conclusion of the Olympic Games, with the project listing $MGMES on a DEX shortly after.
2. PlayDoge — Mobile Tamagotchi-Style P2E Game With 2D Retro Graphics Powered by the New $PLAY Token
PlayDoge is a retro 8-bit graphics online game inspired by virtual meme pets acting as your companions. As such, it’s similar to the old-school Tamagotchi devices beloved by millennials and Gen Zs.
Considering we’re all millennials here and have a soft spot for nostalgia, we just had to make PlayDoge our number-two pick while ranking play-to-earn games. Joking aside, the upgraded Tamagotchi premise lends itself well to modern devices, and the gameplay connects smoothly to standard P2E mechanics.
The game is primarily designed for mobile phones and works similarly to Tamagotchi devices, but it has many interesting play-to-earn features, too. In essence, the game requires you to care for your virtual companion pet by feeding it, playing with it, and much more.
The exciting part is that your actions have tangible results. Not only will you get a happy doge, but you’ll also receive $PLAY tokens — one of the high-potential new cryptocurrencies to invest in. The designers have ensured that the gameplay is well interwoven with the P2E elements so that skillful players are adequately rewarded.
The game’s token is currently in the presale stage, and you can buy it at a discounted price. The goal is to sell half of the 9.4 billion tokens. Before you take part, visit the official site, read the whitepaper to learn more, or check the project’s X (Twitter) and Telegram channels.
Some of the key features of PlayDoge are:
- Acquire additional $PLAY tokens as rewards for interacting with other players’ pets and completing missions while keeping your pet fed and happy.
- Leaderboard rewards will be given to the top players with the most experience.
- Besides being tied to the game, $PLAY is also designed to be part of the crypto market, meaning you can buy $PLAY but also trade and stake it.
3. Axie Infinity — One of the Most Popular P2E Games With NFT Creatures That Can Duel Each Other
Axie Infinity is likely the most recognizable game in the P2E space. This Pokemon lookalike boasted 2.7 million daily active users in August 2022. At the core of the P2E title are Axies, virtual NFT monster pets you can breed, upgrade, and use in battles against other beasts.
Sky Mavis launched the game in March 2018, and it’s available on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices.
This strategy and PvP title runs on the Ronin Network, an Ethereum sidechain from Sky Mavis. Naturally, there’s also a digital currency behind the whole thing — Axie Infinity Shard or Token (AXS). Unlike many other P2E tokens, its price has been steady, between $4 and $13 in the last year.
New players get free Axies to get started, but you can buy the token or earn it through the game to acquire better monsters or upgrade your current ones. So, yes, it’s pretty much like the many Pokemon games out there, except you get to earn tokens with real value.
Some of the key features of Axie Infinity are:
- Adventure mode lets you take down the evil Chimeras or visit the Arena to battle other players.
- Create and run a village populated by your Axies, which can build, harvest, and craft things.
- Get access to the Axie marketplace with millions of Axies and sell or buy your own. The biggest ones tend to be worth several hundred or several thousand dollars.
4. DeFi Kingdoms — Cross-Chain Fantasy RPG Game With Hero NFTs and Tokenized Resources Set in a Colorful Pixelated World
DeFi Kingdoms is a charming RPG fantasy game featuring pixel art throughout. This delightful style is one of the main reasons it had to be included on our list. Naturally, that’s not all — the high-quality P2E release has been on the market since August 2021. Over the years, it has garnered a massive pool of players who have collectively created over 700,000 heroes.
The game takes place in a fantasy world where you can create and command heroes, battle other players, explore two open worlds, gather resources, craft items, and much more. All of this is connected to Web3 and P2E functions made possible by JEWEL, the project’s native token.
After being valued at $20+ during the initial craze, the JEWEL token now typically trades below $1, which is still quite a bit for a P2E game token. Some players even state that they can earn several hundred dollars daily from it just by being active.
Naturally, you’ll need to invest money and time to get started, as earning in this game is a long-term project. Think of it as World of Warcraft, where players gain experience and achievements by being dedicated grinders.
Some of the key features of DeFi Kingdoms are:
- Create NFT heroes with full RPG characteristics and take them on adventures, quests, battles, and resource collection.
- Experience DFK duels or player vs player battles where you take your hero to combat. You can also participate in tournament battles to get rewards.
- Go on adventures that include challenges, dungeons, and even time-limited events.
5. The Sandbox — Metaverse for Players to Build on Digital Land and Monetize Their Experience Through SAND Tokens and LAND NFTs
One of the best play-to-earn crypto games, The Sandbox, is an Ethereum-based metaverse with digital land heavily inspired by Minecraft. The goal is to build and explore, but as in every blockchain game, there’s the added monetization element.
In this case, monetization is done through two elements — LAND (NFTs) and SAND (game’s native token).
Game Maker, VoxEdit, and the Sandbox Shop NFT marketplace make up the bulk of the game. VoxEdit is the primary tool, as it allows you to create and animate voxel models that come in the shape of NFTs. You can then use them to play games or trade them on the marketplace.
The Game Maker lets you do much more by allowing you to create your own games using simple drag-and-drop features and other players’ creations.
The Sandbox is one of the biggest P2E games today. It’s home to creations of brands like Adidas, Ubisoft, and Gucci, alongside celebrities like Paris Hilton and Snoop Dogg.
Some of the key features of The Sandbox are:
- VoxEdit feature lets you design and animate 3D objects for the game.
- The Game Maker feature allows you to create experiences and full games for The Sandbox metaverse.
- Sell or buy LANDs and your other assets on the in-game Marketplace using SAND tokens. It is also possible to trade the tokens.
6. Alien Worlds — Explore Space, Collect and Trade Digital Items and NFTs, Mine TLM Tokens, and Complete Quests and Fight in Battles
Alien Worlds is a robust click-based online play-to-earn game where you can explore vast worlds, collect resources, complete quests, fight battles, and much more.
It features regular digital in-game items and NFTs. You’ll get to mine TLM, the game’s native token, and even create virtual NFT land where explorers can come to mine while you earn TLM from their participation.
The P2E title launched in late 2020, causing a large boom at the start, with over 530,000 unique active wallets and more than 380 million transactions in the first 30 days.
At the very start of the game, you get an avatar, a shovel, and a skill tree. From there, you can start exploring planets and mining TLM. You can stake the tokens you collect to increase the planet’s reward pool and get more tokens in return. You can then participate in elections, trade NFT cards, and much more.
The best part is that each planet is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) with its own leaders, voting rights, and a treasury.
If you want more tokens, you can also buy them on crypto exchanges like KuCoin, Binance, and Kraken.
Some of the key features of Alien World are:
- Mine TLM tokens on different planets, each of which is a DAO that operates independently.
- Create NFT lands to attract other players and earn TLM tokens.
- Complete various missions and participate in planets’ governance.
7. Decentraland — Metaverse Powered by a DAO, Giving Players Complete Control Over the Game
Decentraland is a metaverse where players get to create, trade, and explore a virtual world that’s fully owned by its users. In other words, the entire world is a DAO, so players control how the game works. They can even go to the game’s very own virtual Decentraland University.
You can create and trade digital assets and LANDS (your virtual real estate and the game’s NFTs). Decentraland also has its own native cryptocurrency called MANA, which you can get by trading assets. Moreover, you can use it to buy other items and even LANDs.
You can create various Emotes and Wearables and customize your avatar or sell those items to other players to earn MANA.
The Decentraland Foundation launched it on the Ethereum blockchain in January 2020, and the game is still under its supervision. Nevertheless, it is the players who make the game work.
Some of the key features of Decentraland are:
- Create LANDS, the game’s virtual real estate NFTs, which you can develop and even trade.
- Personalize your avatar with various items or sell them to get MANA tokens.
- Become involved with the game’s operation, as Decentraland is a DAO that the players fully own.
8. CryptoKitties — Among the Oldest Blockchain Games With Collectable and Tradable NFT Virtual Cats
Having been released in November 2017, CryptoKitties is one of the oldest and best play-to-earn games on the market. It lets you create cartoonish virtual cats, which you can trade, sell, and buy. Each cat is designed as an NFT, gaining real-world value.
To keep things more interesting, you can tinker with the kitties using gene science (it’s much more benevolent than it sounds). In a nutshell, you can breed specific cats with unique features to unlock hidden traits and mewtations in their offspring.
It might seem like this Dapper Labs game focuses entirely on the cats and their breeding, but you’ll also enjoy puzzles you can solve with other players, chase limited edition cats, and play various games in the delightful KittyVerse.
The game caused a real boom upon its release, eventually clogging the entire Ethereum network with so many player transactions. It was then moved to a different blockchain and has remained stable since.
Some of the key features of CryptoKitties are:
- Create, buy, and sell NFT virtual cats, each with its own unique traits and looks.
- Breed kitties to create offspring that potentially have hidden traits and mewtations.
- Play games in the KittyVerse, like “Who’s your Daddy?”, which requires you to determine a cat’s father.
9. Illuvium — The First Interoperable Blockchain Game That Lets You Explore an Open World, Build Cities, and Battle Others
Illuvium is the world’s first interoperable blockchain game, meaning it can fully interact with other blockchain games. It offers open-world exploration, a city builder feature, and an auto battler.
The game is based on the Ethereum blockchain and features a native token called ILV. The good news is that you don’t need the token to play, as there’s also a free mode for new players. However, if you want the full experience and a chance to collect NFTs and explore new worlds, you must buy some ILV.
You can also stake ILV tokens to get additional rewards and participate in the world’s governance. Illuvium has several interlinked universes, like Illuvium Arena and Illuvium Overworld. Each offers a unique experience, like building your own digital industrial complexes.
Like all other best play-to-earn games, you get ownership over the items you create. You can buy, sell, and trade them within the game’s marketplace.
Some of the key features of Illuvium are:
- Own your items and trade them in the in-game marketplace.
- Join various Illuvium universes with unique features.
- Buy, stake, and sell ILV tokens or use them to take part in the game’s governance.
10. Gods Unchained — An Award-Winning Tradable Card P2E Game Where You Get to Create Decks and Battle Opponents
Gods Unchained is an NFT-based trading card game that enables players to create battle decks and compete against others. In design and gameplay elements, it reminds me a lot of Hearthstone.
Here, however, you get to create and earn NFT cards for your decks, giving each card real-world value. More than that, you can win $GODS tokens through the game, which are usually worth between $0.10 and $0.60. You can even trade these tokens on numerous exchanges, including Coinbase, OKX, Bybit, KuCoin, and Crypto.com.
The best part about this P2E release is how beginner-friendly it is. Unlike other games that make it a challenge to enter the world of Web3 gaming, Gods Unchained lets you get started for free. You only need an NFT crypto wallet like MetaMask to store your NFT cards.
Even though cards are NFTs and thus unique, the game still has a good system to maintain balance and ensure equal matches.
Some of the key features of Gods Unchained are:
- Create NFT cards with unique attributes to create full battle decks.
- Play against other players with your card decks in ranked matches, tournaments, and other events.
- Earn $GODS tokens, which you can stake and trade on CEXs and DEXs.
What Is a Play-to-Earn Game?
Play-to-earn (P2E) games are regular online video games with an important addition — players are rewarded for their achievements with tokens or NFTs that have real-world value.
Almost every P2E game is based on a blockchain (for this reason, these games are also called blockchain games). It features its own ecosystem with cryptocurrencies and usually has non-fungible tokens (NFTs), like several play-to-earn NFT games on our list.
Both native cryptos and NFTs are earned by playing the game and completing achievements, but you can also buy them on the market, just like any other crypto or NFT.
Gamified tokens of P2Es are typically available on various centralized (CEXs) and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) or can be bought directly from the project’s official website. NFTs are usually listed on dedicated marketplaces designed specifically for the game.
The play-to-earn industry first emerged in 2013 with the launch of Huntercoin, the first blockchain game developed and launched by the Xaya team. Eight years later, the P2E market was valued at $755 million, and it’s set to reach $6.32 billion by 2031.
How Do P2E Games Work?
A P2E game is mainly powered by blockchain technology, which enables it to have native cryptocurrency or NFTs with real-world values in a sector of crypto known as GameFi. In simpler terms, a real-value digital asset is like a regular cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin. There is only one crucial difference: it works in the in-game ecosystem besides being available for trade on exchanges.
All transactions in the game’s ecosystem are secure and transparent due to blockchain technology. Additionally, the game might even be interoperable with other game metaverses, depending on the blockchain network it’s running on. As a result, it is possible to trade assets between games.
Blockchain games are typically built on Layer 1 blockchain networks like Ethereum, BNB, or Solana.
As I mentioned, a game can have unique digital assets that act as its characters, monsters, tradable cards, etc. These NFTs are unique and can have real-world value, like the Axies in Axie Infinity.
Therefore, if you have an Axie in Axie Infinity, the NFT monster is your own, not a mere code in the game. You can store it in your own crypto wallet and trade it on the Axie Infinity marketplace and outside NFT marketplaces.
The same is true for the tokens you use as the in-game currency — they have real-world value and are typically tradable outside the in-game marketplace.
For instance, in my mini-review of Gods Unchained, I mentioned that $GODS tokens are available on many CEXs and DEXs, where you can exchange them for real money or other cryptos, depending on the available pairs they are part of.
Can You Make Profits With Play-to-Earn Games?
In short — yes, you can, as that’s the main feature of all play-to-earn games. They’re all blockchain-based, meaning they function a lot like major cryptocurrencies.
The exact mechanics can vary from one game to another, so here are some of the most common ways to make a profit:
- Staking, lending, and selling the game’s native tokens.
- Collecting NFTs and selling them for a major cryptocurrency or the game’s token.
- Earning native tokens by completing the game’s achievements and then selling them.
- Competing in the game’s events and tournaments to earn rewards, NFTs, and in-game cryptos.
- Building virtual lands and earning from other players’ admissions.
The Role of NFTs in P2E Games
As you’ve noticed, many of the best play-to-earn games we’ve covered use NFTs in the game’s business model. They are often equal to the native cryptocurrencies of the projects. Their role is pretty straightforward — certain in-game assets exist as NFTs, so you can trade them for other NFTs or cryptocurrency. Using the NFT technology in blockchain games enables players to monetize their assets and make the experience more meaningful.
Types of Play-to-Earn Games
The play-to-earn game market is still evolving, even though it has already expanded rapidly over the past decade.
Namely, a lot of games are similar and can be easily placed in the same category. Nevertheless, some releases still strive for uniqueness, often belonging to several game types or pioneering a completely new genre.
The P2E industry is just as diverse as video games, with games belonging to categories like trading cards, RPGs, strategies, and more.
With that in mind, here’s an overview of some of the most common P2E game types:
- Trading card games — Card P2E titles, like Gods Unchained, offer NFT cards you can use to build a strong deck and battle other players. They also have real value, and you can trade them for other cards or even real money or a popular crypto.
- Strategy games — Axie Infinity is one of many P2E games in this category. These releases will require you to allocate resources to maximize your profits. You often get to complete various quests and tasks, get rare items, and a bunch of other things to earn in-game tokens.
- Real estate games — These games connect blockchain technology with virtual property trading. In other words, you get to trade properties, buy or sell them, and even develop virtual NFT land. The best P2E games in the genre are Decentraland and The Sandbox.
- Battle games — This class includes P2E games with PVP elements, like the battle mechanics in Axie Infinity and Illuvium. Naturally, this category can also include shooting and fighting games.
- Collection games — Thanks to the rise of CryptoKitties, there’s now a decent number of P2E games where all you have to do is collect NFTs and upgrade, trade, and sell them.
How to Choose the Right P2E Game
Selecting the top P2E games entails testing and grading them based on specific criteria. Let’s have a look at the most vital things to consider.
Long-Term Sustainability
The most important part of a P2E game is its in-game economics, which needs to be well-designed to remain self-sustainable and work in the long run. Otherwise, tokens will decline in value, players will lose interest, and the game will fail.
Number of Players
The higher the number of active players, the more popular the game will be. The broader the game’s popularity, the more likely it is to survive. Consequently, players like you can continue enjoying the game and keep earning from it.
Gameplay Quality
Most focus on the financial aspect of P2E games, but we can’t forget the gameplay. Play-to-earn games should still be enjoyed, not just used to earn money. Therefore, the gameplay elements must be high-quality with realistic but challenging goals.
Are P2E Games Safe? Risks & Other Factors to Consider
Choosing a reputable and trustworthy developer is the key to safety with P2E games.
Naturally, determining reputation and trustworthiness can be a bit difficult if you want to go for a game in its early presale stages. Thankfully, with a little bit of digging (reading the project’s whitepaper, roadmap, and token distribution facts) and checking online feedback and reviews, you can still get an accurate picture of whether the game is a good investment.
If you’re successful, the earning potential will be much higher than with more established names.
That said, here’s a couple of factors you should always consider even when playing the top play-to-earn games:
- Platform security — Safety is crucial with play-to-earn games. The game you want to try must have robust security measures, while you need to have a quality wallet to keep your tokens safe from hackers and fraudsters.
- Inherent volatility — The crypto space has always been inherently volatile, so expect every gamified token to be the same. Even the best projects run by passionate developers can fail if the token doesn’t rise in value as much as needed.
- Local regulations — P2E gaming is not regulated, which can pose a problem for some, and can create confusion about regulatory compliance for others. Players should always check local legislation to ensure they are following the law while playing a certain P2E game.
- Sustainable ecosystems — A P2E game always has a full in-game economy, which needs to be properly developed so it remains sustainable. Games with good tokenomics, true long-term visions, and exciting features are the most likely to succeed.
Conclusion
Play-to-earn games are the future of online gaming, and I, for one, am happy that the industry keeps expanding and improving. Naturally, there are many duds on the market that rip off players and fail a few months after getting launched. However, don’t let that deter you from the gems that will keep you entertained and profiting for a long time.
Some of these hidden treasures are right here on this page among the best play-to-earn games on the market. Each has something interesting to offer, like unique gameplay elements and earning methods, so take a good look at our list and pick your favorite.
References
- The History of Play2Earn Games (Bitcoinist)
- What are play-to-earn crypto games? (Kraken)
- Play-to-Earn NFT Games Regional Forecast By 2031 (Business Research Insights)
- Statistic Insights (PlayToEarn)
- Top 15 Things You Should Check Before Investing In Blockchain Gaming (Blockchain Magazine)
FAQ
What is play-to-earn gaming?
The answer to this question lies in the very name of this concept — you get to play a game and earn rewards with real-world value if you are successful. In most cases, you obtain gaming cryptos that are tied to the game, which can still be sold on the crypto market like any other cryptocurrency.
What P2E games can I play to earn money?
You can effectively earn money from any P2E game on the market. According to PlayToEarn.com, there are well over 2,700 P2E games in circulation. Each will let you earn their native tokens or NFTs, both you can sell for real money or other, more popular and widely used cryptocurrencies, like USDT, Ethereum, and Bitcoin.
What is the best play-to-earn game?
This question is almost impossible to answer as it hinges on your personal preferences. That said, we believe that The Meme Games and the remaining options on our play-to-earn crypto games list are the best P2E releases you can find today.
Can you really earn crypto with play-to-earn games?
Yes, of course, that’s the main concept of play-to-earn games. Every title has a unique method for doing so, but earning is usually tied to game achievements. Therefore, you’ll need to complete tasks, advance in levels, earn experience points, and more. In other words, you play the game and earn its native token in return, or maybe even NFTs.
