Generations of Game NFTs

Generations of NFT Games have gone through various stages, the S-curve below illustrates the evolution of NFT Game generations through each stage.

There are 4 gens for NFT Games👇👇👇

✅ First generation (2017 - 2019)

The first generation of NFT games were predominantly based on digital collectibles, many of which were inspired by conventional online collectible card-games such as Hearthstone.

First gen titles also include games such as EOS Knights (idle RPG game built on the EOS platform, where the main aim is to save villagers from orcs), EtherGoo (competitive idle game built on Ethereum, where users aim to accumulate as much “goo”), Etheremon (Pokemon-inspired version of CryptoKitties, built on Ethereum) and so on. Gameplay was also predominantly 2D in-nature, with basic graphics and animations, with numerous of the titles taking inspiration from classic games such as Pokemon and Neopets.

Nevertheless, first gen titles lacked long-term player engagement as evidenced by CryptoKitties’ decline, with issues such as having a “pay-to-win” model where players have to spend in order to play at a competitive level given the lack of a proper in-game economy, and concerns over digital scarcity.

✅ Second generation (2019 - present)

The current generation of NFT games belongs to the second generation - where the focus has been on improving long-term player engagement (that the first generation lacked) through their in-game digital economies, particularly with the help of “Play-to-Earn” (P2E).

The P2E model enables players to earn an income through in-game tokens/rewards.

A pioneer of the second generation P2E model is Axie Infinity. Other second-generation games include Gods Unchained, AlienWorlds, Decentraland, and The Sandbox.

Whilst the current second generation of NFT games fare better in terms of playability and game experience, with open-ended universes that allow for land gameplay, higher graphics, and player-generated content, it still lacks the level of sophistication that traditional AAA games have in terms of user experience, game design, and graphics.

✅ Third generation (upcoming)

The upcoming third generation of NFT games is expected to come with a more refined gaming experience, leveraging on the strengths of play-to-earn combined with better game design/graphics that would align it with lower-budget AAA games.

If play-to-earn is the driver for the popularity of the current generation of NFT games, the upcoming third generation of games will start bringing in the larger mainstream gaming community as production value increasingly aligns with traditional AAA games (together with the economic incentives that come with play-to-earn).

This is where we might expect to see rapid growth along the NFT gaming adoption S-curve, and could potentially be the last generation of NFT games prior to the direct arrival of large game developers.

The 3rd generation games: EmberSword, Star Atlas, Mirandus, Emboldn,…

✅ 4th generation (near future)

As crypto becomes increasingly mainstream, it would seem reasonable to assume that subsequent generations of games may potentially see large developers (such as Ubisoft’s Entrepreneurs Lab) directly participate in the production of large-scale AAA titles (incorporating the lessons learned over the past generations, especially with play-to-earn).

📌 Read more: https://www.nansen.ai/research/the-compelling-case-for-nft-gaming

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