Play-to-earn games like Axie Infinity exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving thousands of video games enthusiasts in low-income countries like the Philippines a chance to earn a living. The rise of P2E was a godsend for many, because in the Philippines its gross domestic product declined 9.6% in 2020, its biggest drop in more than 70 years, according to a study by IHS Markit. With so many Filipinos finding themselves out of work, thousands flocked to P2E games. Axie Infinity’s team reported in March 2020 that more than 29,000 new players from the Philippines signed up to the game, out of 70,000 new sign-ups worldwide in the same month. Those players were signing up because Axie Infinity, and other P2E games offer them a chance to earn a viable income simply from playing and completing achievements. What’s more, Axie’s community provided a solution to the requirement that players purchase an NFT before they can start playing, offering scholarships to new players in return for a slice of their income. P2E’s rapid growth in low-income countries has been well documented, but the real breakthrough for the industry will only come when it manages to tap the traditional community of video game players who’re not motivated primarily by earnings. That means catering to the 66% of gamers that Statista says primarily play games to unwind and decompress. Unlike NFT-based games, traditional video games offer a much wide...
