What is create and earn?
Create and earn is a movement in web3 gaming, with a focus on content creation. As players add value to games through guides, mods and other interactions, they receive tokens and other rewards.
Important takeaways
- Web3 games offer content creators the opportunity to create and earn, whether through rewards for social engagement or by participating in official competitions where they can earn rewards for creating mods.
- There are also player-to-player content markets where players can create game assets to be sold as NFTs, or even create game worlds that they can monetize.
- There are also SocialFi projects focused on games, where players are rewarded for engaging in social spaces, and also by completing in-game tasks.
There is no doubt that gaming will be changed forever by web3 technology. And really, it already has – whether through NFT gaming, tokenized gaming to earn finances, player control through a DAO system, or built-in gaming systems that will be on the blockchain forever.
But one aspect that is often overlooked is content creation. Content creation is a fairly broad term. It can range from videos on YouTube and TikTok, to detailed mods, to social engagement and more. These systems were all around long before web3 games came along. But the idea of earning through blockchain games is more than just playing, creators can also be rewarded. And blockchain gaming’s embrace of their community, and their understanding that players add value to games, will reverberate throughout the gaming ecosphere.
In fact, Eve Frontiers, the web3 project from the creators of Eve Online, recently revealed details about their upcoming game and how they’re taking player content creation to the next level. Eve Frontiers plans to build a scripting interface into the game, so players can use it to create things like automated markets or quest hubs. Additionally, they plan to allow players to craft and create their own tokens from within the game. And these won’t just be in-game currencies, they’ll be on-chain, blockchain tokens, paving the way for a whole new dynamic in game economies and player governance.
Earn with social engagement
Although looked down upon and often overrun by bot accounts, social engagement is an important part of advertising these days, and a much cheaper alternative to radio or TV or banner buys. And influencers, those who can draw attention to a product through social engagement, have been able to make money through partnership deals and sponsorships, but web3 gaming is ready to move the bar on how influencers are rewarded.
It seems like almost every web3 game has some sort of social engagement program these days. This can be as simple as bonus points for referring friends, but is more often a full-fledged marketing success, rewarding users for not only engaging with the official media posts, but also for creating their own content and sharing on various social channels. This can include streams, review videos, game guides, basically anything that brings extra attention to the game.
An example of this is Life Beyond’s Mission to Dolos program:
🚀 Mission to Dolos Update!
Hello pioneers,
We have just expanded our “Mission to Dolos” platform with new missions and updated features:
🔥 What’s new:
11 Fresh Lore Quests (New)
2 Brand New Social Quests (New)
2 engaging role-playing missions (new)Ready to dive in? Start your journey… pic.twitter.com/jilBBcSgBi
— Life Beyond (@LifeBeyond) September 19, 2024
These web3 social engagement/content creation programs generally pay out in the primary token of the project and are often paired with play to airdrop campaigns as well. Sometimes those who make significant, useful contributions can be rewarded with special Discord roles, or even custom NFTs!
Word of mouth has always been a strong indicator of the gaming scene. And by using a portion of their marketing budget to promote this community growth and outreach, web3 game companies are embracing and supporting social engagement in ways we’ve never seen with web2 games.
Fan communities on the blockchain
Just a little side note. Blockchain technology also enables fan communities with on-chain memberships and VIP cards that offer perks like early ticket access, exclusive chats with the artists, and even invitations to backstage parties and events! Having these memberships exists because NFTs prevent counterfeiting, as well as allow for easy transfer and verification. And with the rise of digital identities, we may even see rewards built around engagement in real-world events.
Create in-game content with Web3 Gaming
User generated content is already huge in web3 games and it will only continue to grow.
How players influence the content of a game can vary. Sometimes it can be as basic as providing feedback during a beta test to building an entire game world. And most web3 games aren’t shy about handing out rewards to early testers. This includes tokens, special Discord roles, and even limited NFTs!
Those who love to make mods or other game content should move to the web3 space if they are not already here. Web3 games not only encourage modding for players by building tools and services to help modders, but they often reward them through official competitions while giving modders the opportunity to make money promoting and selling their content.
Modding has been a big part of video games for a long time. In fact, two of the biggest games ever, Counter Strike and DOTA 2, both started out as mods for other games. But the embrace and willingness of the web3 gaming community to integrate revenue channels for modders gives anyone with an idea the chance to realize their passion project and even turn it into an income generator!
One example is Influence who has given out rewards to those who created useful third party tools for their game. Another is Alien Worlds where player-driven, Planetary DAOs regularly provide funding to help expand the Alien Worlds ecosystem. We even have Gods Unchained offering a reward to players just for coming up with a cool idea for a new game format! And these are just a few examples.
On top of that, you have player-to-player content markets like The Sandbox and Nifty Island, both of which allow players to create game assets and then sell them as NFTs. Or you can even create your own game world in The Sandbox and earn money from it! These types of opportunities to build and earn will continue to grow as more world systems like Hytopia, Seedworld, and Alterverse come online.
And while previous 3D modeling and content creation experience will certainly help your prospects, these create and earn offers are open to anyone, regardless of their skill level. Create something cool that players like, and you might even earn some money along the way!
Creating and earning in blockchain games is still in its infancy. The sandbox continues to add new features to its worlds, giving game developers more room to experiment and create. And other projects are still on the rise, many with different ideas like using AI to create, or connecting your custom space to a larger world.
But a lot will change in the coming year as these projects begin to put their worlds and development tools into the hands of world owners, blowing open the doors to the create-to-earn scene in a way the gaming world hasn’t seen before.
The Rise of SocialFi
SocialFi, the concept, is something new. But the idea of gathering multiple social campaigns across different projects in one central location has already been done before by sites like DeQuest, Zealy, HyperPlay and CARV. The SocialFi concept takes things a step further, with Tribally being one of the most prominent drivers in this space.
SocialFi not only rewards players for engaging in social spaces, which can include Twitter, Discord, Telegram, on-site chats, forums and more, but it also encourages players to engage with other players through gameplay. For example, Tribally has a rotating series of quests where players can earn Tribally Tokens by playing matches in Mighty Action Heroes, Pixelsand the entire suite of Axie-themed games.
Lizard Labs appears to be heading in the same direction, although their newly launched Lizard Lounge is still in its early stages. Immutable Gems appears to be a similar type of system – check in daily to collect Gems and reach certain in-game milestones on the Immutable X system to earn more Gems. We don’t know what these gems are for, but it feels like this leads to an immutable SocialFi system.
You can also add community game nights to this category. Nifty Island has become a popular destination and allows players to earn Blooms and other rewards while playing games with the gaming community from another project! We also often see other collaborations between games, sometimes including special tournaments with prizes for the winners. These types of events not only build and promote the gaming community, but also reward players for being a part of it.
Final thoughts
Again, none of these concepts are new. But the difference with web3 is the open embrace of players as part of the whole gaming experience – especially the game economies. Web2 games are often closed systems, designed to take money from players. But web3 games take a different route, offering to share their revenue with players, giving players an extra incentive to participate and encouraging them to help the game succeed.
Overall, web3 gaming seems to understand the value of gamers. Not just as a wallet, but as a critical part of the games themselves. After all, you can’t have an MMO without players, and a PvP game against bots just isn’t the same as playing against other people. Maintaining an active player base is important for this type of game. And just by playing a game, the player creates content for other players, so it makes sense to reward active, contributing players just for being there!
In a few years, video game production will not be the same as it is now. And a big part of that will be this shift in player and studio interactions as the lines between audience and creators become more blurred, leading video games toward a more collaborative future.
About PlayToEarn
PlayToEarn is a blockchain gaming data aggregator and news agency. Our team delivers accurate, unbiased and up-to-date news and data from the blockchain gaming space.
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