In 2024, gaming is the most popular segment in crypto. Some of the best gaming coins to invest in include: SAND, AXS, MANA, ILV, GOG, PYR, IMX, RON & WEMIX.
Written by: Anatol Antonovici | Updated February 5, 2024
Reviewed by: Mike Martin
Fact checked by: Ryan Grace
Blockchain gaming is one of the most active sectors in the crypto industry, and the recent recovery of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the broader crypto market promise a great year ahead, especially as the crypto gaming industry pays more attention to user experience and gameplay.
In this article, we discuss the best gaming cryptocurrencies.
🍒 tasty takeaways
- Blockchain gaming accounts for a third of all dapp activity, exceeding DeFi and NFT activity.
- While Ethereum still dominates the space, there are many game-oriented blockchain solutions, including ImmutableX, Ronin, and Wemix.
- Some of the most popular games offering utility tokens are The Sandbox, Axie Infinity, and Decentraland, each of which has a market cap of ~$1 billion.
Summary
| Token | Blockchain | Category |
|---|---|---|
| The Sandbox (SAND) | Ethereum | Metaverse |
| Axie Infinity (AXS) | Ethereum | NFT Game |
| Decentraland (MANA) | Ethereum | Metaverse |
| Illuvium (ILV) | Ethereum | Fantasy Battle Game |
| Guild of Guardians (GOG) | Ethereum | Multiplayer Fantasy Game |
| Vulcan Forged (PYR) | Ethereum | Multiplayer Fantasy Game |
| ImmutableX (IMX) | Ethereum | Layer 2 |
| Ronin (RON) | Ethereum | Sidechain |
| Wemix (WEMIX) | Wemix | Layer 1 |
Gaming Utility Tokens
The following utility tokens relate to individual gaming projects:
1. The Sandbox (SAND)
- Name: The Sandbox
- Token: SAND
- Blockchain: Ethereum
- Type: metaverse
SAND is an Ethereum-based token powering the Sandbox ecosystem, which represents a virtual world where gamers can buy virtual plots of land (sold as LAND NFTs), develop experience experiences, and share their stories with the world. Most Gaming coins fall under Ethereum. This is because bitcoin can not execute code (smart contracts).
Aside from the metaverse, the ecosystem includes a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), a game-maker studio, and a marketplace where players can trade NFTs like LAND and all kinds of in-game assets, from avatars to equipment.
SAND, a $1 billion market, has multiple use cases, including payments and governance.
Source: Medium
2. Axie Infinity (AXS)
- Name: Axie Infinity
- Token: AXS
- Blockchain: Ethereum
- Type: NFT game
Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) is an ERC-20 token standard associated with the blockchain-based game Axie Infinity, in which players can collect, raise, and battle Axie creatures and create a virtual world for them.
Source: YouTube
Inspired by Pokemon, the game uses NFTs to represent Axies, land plots, Axie skills, and other in-game assets.
Developed by Vietnamese studio Sky Mavis, the ecosystem includes several games, including Axie Infinity: Origins and Axie Infinity: Homeland.
AXS is used for services, governance, staking, rewards, and purchases on the native marketplace.
3. Decentraland (MANA)
- Name: Decentraland
- Token: MANA
- Blockchain: Ethereum
- Type: metaverse
Decentraland is an Ethereum-based virtual world that shares similarities with The Sandbox. Here, users can buy LAND and other NFT-based in-game assets with MANA, the native coin that also offers voting rights.
Unlike the Sandbox, which represents a 2D map with land plots for 3D experiences, Decentraland represents a 3D virtual reality, as seen below.
4. Illuvium (ILV)
- Name: Illuvium
- Token: ILV
- Blockchain: Ethereum
- Type: fantasy battle game
Illuvium is an Ethereum-based open-world fantasy battle game built on the ImmutableX layer 2. It promotes itself as the first AAA game on Ethereum and the world’s first Interoperable Blockchain Game (IBG) universe.
🍒 7 Best Stablecoins in Crypto
The Illuvium world is populated by alien creatures called Illuvials, who can be captured and battled.
Source: Illuvium
The ecosystem is run by a DAO and uses the ILV token for governance and transactions.
5. Guild of Guardians (GOG)
- Name: Guild of Guardians
- Token: GOG
- Blockchain: Ethereum
- Type: multiplayer fantasy game
Guild of Guardians, a multiplayer fantasy game on ImmutableX, is a mobile RPG that employs a play-to-earn game model (P2E), rewarding users for numerous activities. Players can earn items in the form of NFTs and sell them on the marketplace. They can also earn the native token, GOG, which fuels the ecosystem.
Players have to progress through dungeons by completing the challenges. The earned rewards can be used to acquire and improve heroes and create equipment.
Guild of Guardians is still developing and will fully launch in 2024.
6. Vulcan Forged (PYR)
- Name: Vulcan Forged
- Token: PYR
- Blockchain: Ethereum, Polygon
- Type: MMORPG
Beginning as a P2E game, Vulcan Forged has evolved into a comprehensive gaming ecosystem featuring its own layer 1 chain.
The flagship game is VulcanVerse, a fantasy MMORPG where users can buy and upgrade land and earn NFTs. The main types of assets are Land, Vulcanites, Gods, and Items.
The utility token of Vulcan Forged is PYR.
The ecosystem includes gaming studio Vulcan Studios, a native layer 1 chain called Elysium, and the upcoming Metaverse-as-a-Service project called MetaScapes.
