Play-to-Earn Games of August 2021: Then and Now

Play-to-earn, often shortened to P2E, described games where players could earn crypto tokens or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through gameplay and then trade or sell them. In mid-2021 the model drew wide attention because it promised income for players, not only for publishers. Many people first heard the term that summer, and online forums and social channels were full of comparisons of which titles paid the most.

The label covered several different ideas. Some games issued a token that players earned by completing tasks. Others sold NFT characters, land or items that could be bred, upgraded or rented. A third group ran on decentralised finance mechanics, where staking and liquidity pools played a central role.

It helps to separate the label from the reality. A game can be fun, well made and still have an economy that depends on a steady supply of new buyers. Understanding that difference matters more than any ranking written for a single month.

Lists from that period usually named a small set of titles. Axie Infinity, a battle game built around creature NFTs, became the most cited example of the model and is often used as a reference point in later analysis. Other games frequently discussed included land-based metaverses, creature collectors and virtual-world mining games.

Among the projects that remain active in some form, Alien Worlds is a community-built play-to-earn metaverse on the WAX chain, where players mine and play to earn TLM tokens and NFTs. Aavegotchi, a collectible game with a GHST token, began as a project tied to DeFi staking and the Aave protocol. The Sandbox, a blockchain-linked virtual world with its SAND token, was part of the same wave of metaverse discussion.

A list written for August 2021 is a snapshot. Some titles grew, some changed their token design, and some stopped operating. Treat any old ranking as history, and check each project's official channels for what is running today.

Most play-to-earn designs fell into a few families. Knowing which one a game uses tells you where its money comes from.

• Token emissions: rewards paid in a native token, usually from a reserve or an inflation schedule set by the developers.
• NFT assets: characters, land or items bought up front, then used to earn rewards or sold to other players.
• Staking and yield: locking tokens to earn more tokens, sometimes through DeFi pools.
• Rentals and scholarships: asset owners lending NFTs to players who share the rewards with them.

Each model has a source of value. Ask where the rewards come from. If most of them are paid out of new players' purchases, the economy moves money between participants rather than creating it. If rewards are paid from a fixed pool with no sink, that pool can run down over time.

Watch for sinks as well as sources. A sink is a way tokens are removed from circulation, such as crafting costs, upgrade fees or burns. A design with many rewards and few sinks tends to put steady downward pressure on the token.

Many 2021-era play-to-earn economies struggled for reasons that are now well documented across crypto gaming. The most common problem was an imbalance between rewards and demand. When a game paid out more tokens than players were willing to buy or spend, the token price tended to fall.

The dependence on new users was a second issue. Earnings for early players often came from people who joined later, so the model needed constant growth to hold together. When new sign-ups slowed, rewards per player shrank and many players left.

A third factor was the market itself. Many reward tokens fell sharply in the downturn that followed 2021, which cut the real value of earnings even when the in-game activity continued. Players who converted rewards into fiat currency at the wrong time often lost more than they earned.

Finally, some games relied on a single token for everything, including governance, rewards and purchases. That concentration made the whole economy vulnerable to one token's price swings and to any design flaw in its supply schedule.

Because token prices and player numbers change often, a fixed figure from an old article will not tell you much today. Instead, use a repeatable process to check a game's current status.

1. Start with the official website, documentation and announcement channels. Look for dated updates rather than general claims.
2. Read the project's docs on tokenomics, including supply, emissions and any burn or sink mechanisms.
3. Check trading volume and liquidity on reputable market data services. Note how many markets the token trades on and how deep they are.
4. Use public block explorers to see how many wallets interact with the game's contracts over time. Compare recent activity with earlier periods.
5. Look for independent security audits and read their scope and dates. An audit of an old version does not cover later changes.
6. Join community channels with care. Impersonators often copy official names and logos, so confirm any link or account through the project's own site before you trust it.

Record what you find with dates. A single snapshot can mislead, so check again before you make any decision.

Several projects that launched after the 2021 wave offer a useful comparison. Each has a different design, so compare them on their own terms.

• Big Time is a free-to-play multiplayer action RPG for Windows PCs. It includes NFT collectibles and a BIGTIME token, and it is aimed at gamers who are curious about Web3 economies.
• Warp is a GameFi project where NFT starships can earn daily WARP credits and take part in battles, expeditions and minigames across several chains.
• ImmutableX is a web3 gaming platform on Ethereum. Its IMX token is used for fees, staking, governance and gas on the Immutable zkEVM network.
• Robots.Farm is an on-chain collector game where players open crates, hatch robot eggs, reforge parts and stake robots. The project information reviewed for this guide shows very low total value locked and no listed audits, so treat it as high risk and verify everything yourself.

When comparing these, separate the game from the token. A title can have strong gameplay while its token design is weak, or the reverse. Also check whether the game still works without any token rewards.

Use this list before you commit time or money to any token-rewarded game.

1. Is the game enjoyable without earning anything? If not, the economy is doing all the work.
2. Where do the rewards come from, and what removes tokens from circulation?
3. Can you sell tokens easily, and what are the fees and slippage on the markets you would use?
4. What does it cost to start, including NFT purchases, gas fees and any required deposits?
5. Has the code been independently audited, and does the team disclose who it is?
6. How much time would you need to spend, and how does that compare with realistic earnings?
7. Are the game's features and token rules legal and permitted where you live?
8. Could you afford to lose the full amount you put in?

If you cannot answer several of these clearly, consider waiting. A game that is still explaining its economy after launch is a warning sign in its own right.

Wallet security matters more than any game choice. Most losses in this sector come from phishing, fake support accounts or approvals given to malicious contracts.

• Never share your seed phrase or private keys with anyone, including people claiming to be support staff.
• Type or bookmark the official addresses of games and wallets rather than following links from direct messages or posts.
• Use a separate wallet for gaming, and keep only the funds you need for play in it.
• Review and revoke token approvals you no longer need, using the approval management tools that most wallets offer.
• Consider a hardware wallet for larger holdings, and store your recovery phrase offline.
• Treat unsolicited airdrops, urgent claims and requests to sign unfamiliar messages as potential scams.

Before you sign any transaction, read what it does. A request that grants unlimited spending rights to a contract is a common route for draining a wallet, even when the game itself is legitimate.

Some token games use random elements such as loot crates, gacha-style pulls or chance-based rewards. Depending on where you live, these features may be treated as gambling, with separate rules for advertising, age limits and licensing. Check the rules that apply to you before you play or deposit.

These games are for adults aged 18 or over only. Do not use a VPN or any other method to get around geographic restrictions, age checks or identity verification. If a game is not available in your region, that restriction is the answer.

Set a budget you can afford to lose and stick to it. Token prices can fall to near zero, and NFTs can become hard to sell. Treat any earnings as uncertain until you have sold them, and keep records in case your local tax rules require them.

If gaming starts to affect your finances, sleep or relationships, pause and seek support. Many countries offer free, confidential help for problem gambling and compulsive spending.