Partly due to the crypto crash and increasing reports of fraud, many gamers are not yet very interested in Play-to-Earn video games.
Axie Infinity & Smooth Love Potion
An example of where to see loss of interest is in the popular P2E video game Axie Infinity. Their proprietary token, the Smooth Love Potion, or SLP, has fallen in value by about 97% since its peak in May 2021. Questions about whether or not to hold or sell SLP have been popping up among Axie Infinity player groups lately.
For example, there are players who have recently left the video game and have some of these tokens left. They don’t know what to do with it exactly. A former player wrote the following:
I left the game 2 months ago. I have some SLP left and was wondering if I should sell it now at a cheap price or hold out until it recovers.
Not the only one who sees players disappear
Axie Infinty is a global blockchain project developed by a Vietnamese studio. In January, the video game had just over 2.7 million monthly active players, but the figure had since fallen 72% to 766,800 in July, according to game data platform “ActivePlayer.”
However, Axie Infinity isn’t the only one seeing players leave. Several major Play-to-Earn video games have seen a significant number of users leave. In many Play-to-Earn games, 90% or more of the users have already left. Although there seems to be a movement in the gaming world, it is still uncertain whether this movement is towards Play-to-Earn.
The fact that the current crypto market is at a somewhat lower point does not help either. Although the rewards of the video games remain the same, their value decreases when the market is lower.
The market is having a hard time
It is often said in such games that every player can earn. However, this idea is still flawed at this point. With a declining market, the earnings are not that bad. Also, regular payments must be made for participation in the video game, so that part must also be removed before a profit is made.
There is also a lack of confidence among some of the gamers. For example, several hacks have now taken place, including at Play-to-Earn video games such as Axie Infinity. This has resulted in an outflow of users. The recent attack on blockchain app Solana, which compromised at least 8,000 wallets, has only increased mistrust in the blockchain world. None of this helps with Play-to-Earn video game usage numbers and finding traction. It is not yet known whether this trend will continue once the market has recovered.
