34% Of Gamers Are Interested In Using Crypto In The Metaverse

A new survey by Globant (an institutional software developer) reveals that about 34 per cent of gamers are interested in conducting crypto transactions in the Metaverse. The survey which was polled last month and published on Wednesday received respondents from about 1,000 adult PC, console and mobile gamers. 34% of respondents indicated an interest in conducting crypto transactions in Metaverse. This is the result is despite the backlash from a vocal part of the gaming community, a number of gamers believe that the Metaverse will have a lot of positive impact on gaming.

Also relatively well received by gamers was the concept of play-to-earn (P2E) in the Metaverse. 40 per cent of gamers stated in their responses that they were “interested in pursuing a mix of both the ‘playing’ and ‘earning’ aspects of the Metaverse.” 49 per cent of them are only interested in playing while 11% indicated they are more interested in earning. About 53% of these respondents also stated an interest in happily working in the virtual game worlds if digital currency were available as a reward for their labour. 

Still, on the survey, 16% of gamers stated that they have purchased at least one nonfungible token (NFTs) in the past. However, it was unclear whether they were gaming-related NFTs. 52 per cent (more than half) of the respondents for the survey strongly believe the Metaverse will affect and change the video game industry while 41 per cent think that the Metaverse will have a positive impact on the gaming industry but 25 per cent of them disagree.

Despite only 40% of these respondents associating blockchain tech with Metaverse, only one blockchain-native platform made it as the most recognized Metaverse brand. Meta with 73 per cent topped the list of the most recognized Metaverse brands, followed by Fortnite creators Epic Games at 27 per cent, Roblox stayed at 21 per cent, Ethereum-based The Sandbox at 15 per cent and finally Pokemon Go developers Niantic earned the fifth spot at 10 per cent.

On numerous occasions when major companies and brands announce integrations for crypto and NFTs into their product lines, we have seen die-hard gamers express distaste for such integrations. These responses are perceived as normal amongst gamers when such integrations occur. These gamers criticize the environmental impact of the technology and suggest that it negatively impacts the gaming experience, but the core rationale appears to be a belief that companies are just looking for cash grabs in a similar vein to the controversial in-game microtransactions.

Recently, video game developer Mark Venturelli launched a presentation titled “Why NFTs are a nightmare” that was perceived as an attack on the NFT space during Brazil’s International Games Festival. In a presentation, Venturelli argued that the introduction of speculative economic activity via NFTs will end up ruining the experience for people who just want to play games for fun, as “organized groups” will take over as they work to profit at scale.