Crypto gaming has become a cornerstone of web3, providing entertainment for millions of daily players and onboarding an increasing number of video gamers. One of the keys to this success has been the incentives provided by in-game currencies that can be earned as rewards, used to purchase items such as skins, and staked to unlock additional benefits.
It’s not just web3 games that sport a native currency: other ecosystem services providers, including gaming-specific chains and gaming platforms, have followed suit. While there’s a plethora of gaming tokens to peruse, the following four should be top of your list. They combine good tokenomics and utility with clever use cases and the support of a sizable community.
Azarus
One of the areas in which web3 gaming has enjoyed great success is through enhancing the social element. Players don’t play in a vacuum: they like to engage with other players, compare kill counts, compete for high scores and watch other players, including pros and influencers, live stream their own playing sessions. One of the preeminent platforms for this is Azarus, which has integrated crypto payments into its store.
Not only can the native AZA currency be earned through interacting on Azarus streams, but it can be used for making payments within the Azarus store. Here, popular games such as Homeworld and Hellblade can be purchased along with thousands of gift cards for online stores such as Amazon and Netflix. It’s a neat way of enhancing the utility for the AZA token, allowing it to be used not only as a mechanism for earning rewards, but for purchasing goods that have tangible value.
The Sandbox
The Sandbox is one of the largest virtual worlds – or metaverses as they were once known though the term has since fallen out of favor. Drawing cues from Roblox, The Sandbox forms a sprawling virtual environment in which brands and consumers can set up shop, hang out, and play games.
Underpinning all of these interactions is the SAND token which operates as an ERC20 utility token. Used to power all transactions and interactions, SAND can be used by players to monetize game experiences and for payments within the thriving NFT marketplace.
My Neighbor Alice
My Neighbor Alice is a community builder game that was inspired by Animal Crossing. The goal is to own virtual land, trade and collect items, meet friends, and grow your island community. Like most web3 games, Alice represents items as NFTs, allowing them to be freely traded.
The ALICE token operates as a utility token, powering such use cases as governance, payments, and engagement rewards. It’s also used to craft special NFTs, with a portion of the ALICE locked into the NFT until its creator elects to burn the NFT and redeem their ALICE.
Aavegotchi
Aavegotchi started out as an NFT collectible game powered by its native GHST token but it’s since evolved into a full-blown gaming ecosystem, replete with numerous games centered around those lovable ghosts. Since migrating to its own Polygon sidechain, Aavegotchi has gone from strength to strength, with each new game building upon the dynamic traits inherent to the original NFTs. The GHST token, meanwhile, remains the de facto currency for making purchases within the popular Aavegotchi marketplace.