The gaming industry is expected to grow by 50% to $268 billion by 2025. And blockchain industry has been growing at a similar rate. Since blockchain games are located at the intersection of these two industries it is safe to assume that crypto gaming has the potential to offer a unique advantage for the future.

The idea of earning money while playing games is super appealing if you consider traditional gaming has been using the “pay-to-play” concept. Another important factor here is P2E mechanism allows you to own your assets in the game, thanks to blockchain technology. Asset ownership is significant because being able to fully control your assets in the games and monetize them is a good value proposition.

The rising interest in blockchain gaming threatens to massively disrupt the traditional gaming market. But this could be a very big opportunity for big gaming companies as well.

That is why we have seen a big interest in play-to-earn mechanism and crypto gaming from traditional gaming companies.

Seems like EA Games, Ubisoft and Zynga are wants to be one of the early movers.

In this article, will look into their plans for blockchain gaming and how this could be huge for the industry and it can change how we play games in the future.

1. EA Games

EA CEO Andrew Wilson has said NFTs and Blockchain gaming is “the future of our industry” but “it’s still early to figure out how that’s going to work”.

Usually, a new disrupted technology approach, existed blue-chip companies in that sector hold their breath before they actually made investments in that evolving new area. Because it can be a dangerous play if you jump into the “experimental” stage, which is where we are now in blockchain gaming.

So looks like EA is aware of the potential but wants to see how will going to work first.

But don’t think they are just sitting and watching.

Recently, the job listings from the company focused on more and more NFT or crypto. That’s a clear sign of their interest in blockchain gaming. But the CEO thinks we are in a very very early stage:

“I do think it will be an important part of the future of our industry on a go-forward basis. But it’s still early.”

Of course, when someone says EA Games, it is hard to not consider FIFA games. How will blockchain interaction affect FIFA? Well, the CEO has some ideas for their football game:

“When we kind of interact with our hundreds of millions of football fans… they want more modalities at play inside the game, which go beyond just straight 11 on 11 football. They want more digital experiences outside the game, esports, NFTs broader sports consumption and they want us to move really, really quickly.”

As you can see from the above, EA Games has a great interest in blockchain gaming. When actual crypto integrated products come in, it’s not hard to see it will create mass adoption for blockchain gaming.

2. Ubisoft

Ubisoft is known for its Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry franchises. Which is huge. So their interest in blockchain gaming is significant. So far, Ubisoft mostly made some partnerships and indirect investments.

Their approach is quite different than EA Games. Recently, Ubisoft partnered with Hedera Network. And they made an investment in Hedera’s distributed ledger technology. Blockchain Technical Director of Ubisoft, Genevois says:

“At Ubisoft, we believe that distributed ledger technology holds a key to the future of gaming by opening new opportunities for players to become true stakeholders of our games.”

This is interesting because when we think about blockchain gaming, we often consider the games themselves. But blockchain technology offers true ownership of your money or anything else. And gaming studios can benefit from that as well. This opens new possibilities for blockchain gaming.

Ubisoft also made some crypto game investments through Animoca Brands and they are also planning to co-develop NFT game projects. But so far, their audiences don’t really fan of Ubisoft’s moves in blockchain gaming. Because they think all NFT integration makes the games less playable. This can be an obstacle to mass adoption. If there will be mass adoption of blockchain gaming, you need hardcore gamers.

And in order to achieve that, you need enjoyable games, not just a “play-to-earn” proposal. That’s why gaming companies like Ubisoft’s effort is significant.

3. Zynga

Zynga is one of the giants when it comes to mobile gaming. And they have been very active in blockchain gaming. They are expanding their crypto team over a while.

Zynga’s VP of blockchain gaming, Matt Wolf says, “I think if you’re in the gaming business and you’re not seriously looking at blockchain integration, you might be missing a huge opportunity.”

This statement explains why Zynga is acting aggressively compare to other traditional gaming companies. Zynga’s first blockchain game is already on the way. The company believes the ownership feature that blockchain creates, can add value to the entire gaming ecosystem and could be beneficial for players and the studios.

“[Ownership] is probably one of the biggest things, and the empowerment that comes with that, and the relationship that comes with that, and the trust, love, and loyalty that comes with that over time”, Wolf explains.

The mobile gaming sector is huge. And it has its own mechanic, players and gaming experience. Zynga’s active approach to blockchain gaming is could be big deal for both sides.

Conclusion

Blockchain gaming and play-to-earn mechanism threaten to massively disrupt the traditional gaming market. Because the value proposal of making money while enjoying the game and the ownership of the assets is disruptive.

That’s why we are seen some gaming companies have already shown a lot of interest in NFTs and crypto gaming in various ways. EA, Ubisoft and Zynga are just a few examples of that.

But we are in the very early stage of blockchain gaming. That’s why currently the big game studios mostly research and make experiments.

But there will be time for these big studios will create massive blockchain game projects, and when it does, the mass adoption will be much closer.