By integrating blockchain technology with video gaming, Web3 gaming is able to offer the best of both worlds, for developers and gamers alike. With this technology, developers are able to capitalize on the security and decentralization advantages of the blockchain, utilizing its platform for monetization.

Players benefit in many ways as well. Namely, by being able to own in-game assets, as well as being able to take a greater role in game development and governance. While numerous platforms are being utilized for Web3 gaming, one in particular has set itself apart, resulting in increased popularity and usage: Solana.

Chalk this up to numerous advantages over competing platforms. With these advantages, not only has Solana become a leading platform for play-to-earn gaming. Solana could also help accelerate the proliferation of this rising category of Web3 games.

What is Play-to-Earn Gaming?

Before diving into why Solana may just well be the perfect platform for play-to-earn, or P2E, gaming, let’s first explore this up and coming style of gaming, and why the popularity of P2E games will likely continue to rise.

So, what are P2E games? As you may have guessed, these are games that incentivize players, by providing the opportunity for them to earn digital assets. Many of these digital assets come in the form of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, but can also come in the form of other in-game assets.

This style of gaming differs greatly from the traditional model, where players either spend money to purchase a game, or spend money to purchase in-game assets in order to advance in the game. While this gaming style does shift the dynamic away from being developer-centric, to one that is player-centric, this can create a win/win scenario for players and developers alike. 

P2E games typically result in greater player engagement, and the participation of players in the development and governance process can prove useful to small, independent developers, who lack the manpower typically required to scale and enhance a game.

Why Solana is The Perfect Platform for P2E

As you may already know, thanks to its usage of a proof-of-history mechanism, Solana has much higher levels of throughput and scalability compared to its peers. While other platforms may only be able to process a dozen or so transactions per second, Solana can reach transaction speeds north of 65,000 per second. Given how well-suited Solana is for P2E and other forms of Web3 gaming, this platform could experience further increases in popularity due to additional user adoption. Solana (SOL), the platform’s native cryptocurrency, could also appreciate in value due to this trend. Out of 521 users surveyed on Binance, 45.68% of them are very bullish on SOL showing an overall positive user sentiment for future use cases.

Alongside greater transaction speed, Solana also has far lower transaction fees than competitors like the Ethereum blockchain. With these advantages in mind, it’s clear why Solana is the perfect platform for P2E gaming. For developers, low transaction costs mean a lower financial risk, for those testing out the viability of a new game. 

At the same time, if a game takes off in popularity, Solana’s high scalability means developers need not worry about efficiency hiccups caused by network congestion. For players, lower transaction fees make Solana-based P2E games more accessible. If a game does take off in popularity, the aforementioned throughput and scalability advantages mean a lower risk of game disruptions due to high traffic. 

Bottom Line

Adding to the points made above, there are some additional factors that point to Solana dominating the Web3 gaming space, play-to-earn gaming in particular. Relative to other blockchains, Solana offers a high level of support to developers, through its library of tools and resources. 

Solana’s compatibility with programming languages like JavaScript make it more highly accessible to game developers making the pivot to Web3. Until resolved, issues such as network congestion and high transaction fees may hinder the growth of play-to-earn gaming on Ethereum and other top Web3 gaming blockchains.

With Solana, however, these barriers are significantly reduced. With this, the Solana blockchain could help propagate the amount of P2E games available, as well as attract a greater number of Web3 players to existing and new P2E games.