(Kitco News) - Blockchain gaming and play-to-earn (P2E) saw a breakout in popularity during the crypto bull market of 2021, but the onset of crypto winter, which has been exacerbated by a pair of high-profile collapses, has hit the sector hard, obliterating the valuations of the top P2E projects.
As a result of the decrease in valuations, many have begun speculating that the P2E and gaming sectors were merely benefiting from bull market conditions and that the long-term outlook is bleak due to poor adoption rates.
But a recent survey conducted by ZEBEDEE, a leading payment processor for the gaming industry, indicates that the downfall of P2E may be overblown as a majority of gamers are interested in opportunities to earn crypto as a reward for gameplay.
Based on the survey, which included more than 1,000 U.S. respondents who play a minimum of one hour of video games per week, 67% of respondents indicated that they would be more likely to play free games if they provided opportunities to earn crypto as a reward.
The goal of the survey was to assess the feelings of gamers toward blockchain technologies, NFTs and cryptocurrencies being integrated into video games. Overall, the survey found that the majority of U.S. gamers are supportive or neutral about web3 technologies that make in-game assets transferable for exchange or sale with other gamers.
It also found that more established tokens like Bitcoin had a higher appeal among gamers than newer tokens and NFTs. "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," the report 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," said Ben Cousens, Chief Strategy Officer at ZEBEDEE.
While the majority (55%) of respondents indicated that they do not currently own any crypto,
among those that do HODL, Bitcoin was the dominant (25%) cryptocurrency of choice, followed by Ethereum (18%) and Dogecoin (14%).
Nearly half (45%) of respondents felt that having the ability to easily sell or trade video game characters and items with other gamers would be beneficial for the industry. In comparison, 23% said it would have a negative impact and 32% had no opinion on the matter. Only 10% expressed a negative view about the integration of Web3 technology into games.
The results of the survey indicate that there is a lot of room for growth in the P2E market among current gamers, as 64% said that they have never played P2E gams with financial rewards. Additionally, 38% of U.S. gamers said that they don't know anything about cryptocurrencies, NFTs, or blockchain technologies being applied to gaming, indicating that there is still more work to be done on the education front.
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Interestingly, the more active a gamer is, the more likely they are to be aware of web3 technologies and own cryptocurrencies.
"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," the report said, adding "These statistics are in stark contrast to the popular belief that gamers are largely anti-crypto."
"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," Cousens said.
"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," he concluded.
The ZEBEDEE Blockchain Gaming Survey was conducted in late September 2022 and included responses from 1,041 U.S. residents who engage in regular gaming activities.
