Making Money with Play-to-Earn (P2E) Games

2025-09-21

Making Money with Play-to-Earn (P2E) Games

The Play-to-Earn (P2E) model exploded in popularity between 2020–2022, blending gaming with decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain technology. Unlike traditional games where in-game assets have no real-world value, P2E titles allow players to earn cryptocurrency or tradable NFTs (non-fungible tokens) that can be sold or exchanged for real money.

This article explores how P2E works, which games and platforms became famous, how people made money, how much could realistically be earned, and the risks involved.

How Play-to-Earn Works

  1. Game economy tokenization

    • In-game currencies are issued as blockchain tokens (ERC-20, BEP-20, etc.).
    • Items and characters often represented as NFTs.

  2. Earning mechanics

    • Players earn tokens through battles, quests, or farming.
    • Assets can be sold on marketplaces (OpenSea, Magic Eden, etc.).
    • Some games reward staking, lending, or breeding mechanics.

  3. Cash-out process

    • In-game rewards → crypto wallet → centralized exchange (Binance, Coinbase) → fiat withdrawal.
    • Many players in developing countries preferred direct peer-to-peer swaps for cash.

1. Axie Infinity (Sky Mavis)

  • Genre: Creature battle + breeding (similar to Pokémon).
  • Peak period: 2021.
  • Main tokens: SLP (Smooth Love Potion), AXS (Axie Infinity Shards).
  • Mechanic: Earn SLP by battling or completing quests; breed Axies to sell.
  • Record: At its peak, some Filipino players reported earning $300–$1,600 per month from SLP farming. Surveys confirmed averages around $1,600 at the highest SLP prices.

2. Decentraland

  • Genre: Virtual land & metaverse.
  • Token: MANA.
  • Mechanics: Buy land, build shops/events, resell plots, or rent space.
  • Earnings: Land speculation produced sales into the tens or hundreds of thousands for some, but not consistent monthly income.

3. The Sandbox

  • Genre: Sandbox/metaverse world.
  • Token: SAND.
  • Earnings: Users created NFT assets, designed maps, or speculated on land.
  • Example: Some creators sold popular NFTs for hundreds to thousands of dollars.

4. Illuvium, Star Atlas, and other AAA P2E titles

  • Newer, graphically polished blockchain games aiming at sustainable economies.
  • Still in development or beta; earnings uncertain.

Business Models in P2E

  1. Scholarship systems

    • Asset owners (managers) lend characters to “scholars” who play and split earnings.
    • Common in Axie Infinity. Scholars in the Philippines, Venezuela, and Indonesia often earned $200–$400/month during peak. Managers scaled profits by running 20–100 scholars.

  2. Asset flipping / speculation

    • Buy rare NFTs (characters, weapons, land) early, sell when hype increases.
    • High risk — depends on timing and demand.

  3. Token farming

    • Grind in-game tokens (e.g., SLP). Sell regularly for stable income.
    • Requires high time investment.

  4. Content creation + P2E

    • Streamers combine gameplay with educational content about crypto games.
    • Dual revenue streams: in-game earnings + ad/affiliate income.

Platforms for P2E

  • Marketplaces
    • OpenSea, Magic Eden, LooksRare → NFT assets.
  • Exchanges
    • Binance, KuCoin, Coinbase → cash out tokens.
  • Guilds
    • Yield Guild Games (YGG) became a multi-million-dollar DAO organizing thousands of scholars.
    • Other guilds provided structured systems for asset lending.

Average Monthly Earnings (Historical Records)

  • Casual scholar (1–2 hrs/day): $50–$150/month during peak SLP prices.
  • Dedicated scholar (4–6 hrs/day): $300–$500/month.
  • Manager running 20+ scholars: $2,000–$10,000/month depending on cut and token price.
  • Speculator / NFT flipper: Highly variable; some early land investors in Decentraland and The Sandbox made 5–6 figure profits in single flips.

Note: These figures collapsed sharply when token prices fell in late 2022–2023. Many scholars dropped below minimum wage earnings in their region, and most speculative profits disappeared.

Examples of Known Success

  • Kookoo CryptoTV (Philippines)
    • A top content creator around Axie Infinity.
    • Shared stories of players paying rent and bills entirely with SLP income in 2021.
  • Yield Guild Games (YGG)
    • A decentralized autonomous organization that raised tens of millions of dollars to scale scholar operations globally.
  • Individual Filipino scholars
    • Local media reported entire households supporting themselves with P2E earnings during lockdowns, averaging $300–$400 per player at peak.

Risks & Challenges

  1. Token price volatility
    • Example: SLP dropped from ~$0.36 to <$0.01, destroying income for most players.
  2. Ponzi-like economies
    • Many P2E models relied on constant new players buying in.
  3. Regulatory uncertainty
    • Governments began examining whether P2E tokens are securities or gambling.
  4. High upfront cost
    • Buying into Axie Infinity required $600–$1,200+ at its peak to build a starter team.
  5. Sustainability
    • Few P2E ecosystems found a balance between rewarding players and maintaining stable tokenomics.

Future of Play-to-Earn

  • Shift to “Play-and-Earn” or “Play-for-Fun”: Developers rebranding to focus on gameplay first, earnings second.
  • Integration with esports & streaming: Combining competitive play with crypto/NFT rewards.
  • Guild evolution: Some guilds pivoted into investment DAOs and gaming communities.
  • Metaverse tie-ins: Projects like The Sandbox and Otherside (Yuga Labs) aim to merge P2E with digital land economies.

Conclusion

Play-to-Earn demonstrated the potential of blockchain to give games real-world economies. At its peak, players in countries like the Philippines, Venezuela, and Indonesia earned $300–$1,600 per month, with managers and speculators making much more. However, earnings collapsed once token prices dropped, proving the fragility of unsustainable game economies.

For anyone considering P2E now:

  • Treat it as high-risk, speculative income.
  • Diversify across games and do not depend on a single token.
  • Focus on combining P2E with content creation or guild management for longer-term sustainability.

Do you want me to also make a comparison table (classic RMT vs. Play-to-Earn vs. Streaming) inside the same markdown so visitors can quickly see income models side by side?

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