Key Highlights:
- Gamers prefers Bitcoin rewards than NFTs ZEBEDEE survey finds;
- Blockchain gaming and P2E are carving a name and autonomy for themselves;
- Highlights the need for expansion and education,
- Blockchain gaming is projected to grow at a warping 70.3% CAGR in four years.
Blockchain Gaming Autonomy Doubted
Image Source: Analytics Insight
The 2020–2021 lockdown era saw a lot of industrial winners, some of them being blockchain gaming and play-to-earn (P2E). However, the start of the crypto winter in early 2022, which was fast-tracked by some high-profile collapses and central bank actions globally, hit the sector terribly and shaved away a significant chunk of its valuation.
Source: Statista
Due to this loss of valuation, many have speculated that the blockchain gaming and P2E sectors may benefit from favorable (bullish) market conditions, but that the future outlook and adoption rate in this sector is not enough to sustain it.
However, recent survey findings by ZEBEDEE, a top payment service provider for the gaming industry, suggest that the speculations highlighted above are false. The survey showed that many gamers have essentially turned to the sector as a reliable avenue to earn Bitcoin Rewards and make a living.
Gamers prefers Bitcoin rewards: Findings from the ZEBEDEE Survey
The survey was reportedly conducted on over 1,000 respondents who engaged in video games and gaming activities for a minimum of one hour per week. Of all respondents, 67% said that they would play free games more if they were presented with the opportunity to earn crypto rewards.
The survey, which aimed to evaluate and gauge the reception of gamers towards the integration of blockchain technologies, NFTs, and cryptocurrencies into the gaming space, revealed that most US gamers were supportive or neutral towards Web3 technologies that made interoperability across games possible.
The survey also found that blue chip tokens, especially Bitcoin (BTC), were preferred as a payment method above NFTs and newer tokens. The report narrates:
“Gamers are five times more interested in earning bitcoin (27%) than NFTs (5%). This indicates that the gaming industry has it wrong by focusing primarily on NFT rewards.”
Source: Mobidictum
Speaking on the findings of the survey, Ben Cousens, Chief Strategy Officer at ZEBEDEE, said:
“Despite the bulk of industry attention being focused on NFTs, we found that Bitcoin stands out as the most popular decentralized asset among gamers when compared against other cryptocurrencies, including NFTs.”
While a massive amount (55%) of respondents in the survey said they do not hold or own cryptocurrency at the time of the survey, 25% of those that did said they held Bitcoin, while 18% and 14% indicated that they held Ethereum (ETH) and Dogecoin, respectively.
Meanwhile, 45% of respondents welcomed the idea of seamlessly trading or moving video game characters, items, and inventory across other gaming platforms, indicating that it would be notably beneficial for the industry. However, there were those who did not subscribe to this idea, as 23% said it would have a negative effect on gaming. Finally, 32% of respondents said they had no opinion on the matter.
Also, about 10% of respondents believed that introducing Web3 solutions and technologies into the gaming space was bad.
Ironically, a massive 64% of respondents said they have never earned financial rewards from playing P2E games. This highlighted the need for improvement and growth in the niche.
Surprisingly, 38% of US gamers indicated that they do not know anything about cryptocurrency, NFTs, or blockchain technologies being integrated into the gaming space. This highlighted the need for game developers to focus more energy on educating their customers or other participants in the space on the latest innovations and developments.
What’s worth mentioning, however, is that the more active a gamer is, the more likely they are to have heard about Web3 integration in the sector and own cryptocurrency. The report detailed that “60% of gamers who play 15 hours or more per week hold some crypto assets compared to 56% of those who play 10–14 hours per week, 46% of those who play 5–9 hours per week, and 32% of those who play less than 4 hours per week,” adding:
“These statistics are in stark contrast to the popular belief that gamers are largely anti-crypto.”
ZEBEDEE CSO Cousens revealed that “what struck us most from the survey findings was that there’s clearly a misperception about gamers and their resistance to crypto integration, as most gamers actually have a positive-to-neutral opinion on crypto rewards in games.” He further stated:
“The findings suggest that gamers are overall more open to seeing these technologies integrated into games, which presents an opportunity for the industry to educate, engage, and attract new gamers to the Play-and-Earn ecosystem.”
The study, titled “The ZEBEDEE Blockchain Gaming Survey,” was carried out in September 2022 and focused on a total of 1,041 US-based respondents who were active in gaming and related activities.
The Gaming Industry Is Growing Rapidly, but the Blockchain Gaming Sector Is Faster
In 2021, reports show that about 2.9 billion people (36.2% of the global population) played a video game, with the gaming industry generating over $193 billion. That said, between 2016 and 2021, the gaming industry grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.6%.
However, the most notable growth phase for the industry was between 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, which forced people to interact more with technology to access entertainment and socialize.
The industry is expected to maintain its growth momentum over the years, but the revenue growth rate is projected to slow down in 2022, due to difficult year-over-year (YoY) comparisons, chip shortages, and the lifting of restrictions as society “reopens.”
However, things take a different turn for blockchain gaming. According to a recent report by MarketsandMarkets, the global blockchain gaming industry is projected to grow from a $4.6 billion valuation in 2022 to a massive $65.7 billion at a CAGR of 70.3%, surpassing the CAGR rate of the general gaming industry by 4.5x.
Source: MarketsandMarkets
