How to unlock the full potential of in-game NFTs with IPFS

NFTs bring plenty of opportunities for gamers and game makers. Here’s why it’s crucial NFT metadata files are stored with IPFS to prevent…

Apillon

Sep 20, 2023 • 6 min read

NFTs bring plenty of opportunities for gamers and game makers. Here’s why it’s crucial NFT metadata files are stored with IPFS to prevent the loss of in-game NFTs.

NFTs in gaming are nothing new — since the first surge of NFTs in art and collectibles around 2020, major gaming brand partnerships have been announced to tap into the potential of innovative blockchain technology.

The hype is real as NFTs introduce a wide range of exciting possibilities into the gaming sector, including the true ownership of digital assets and the possibility for gamers to earn income with the play-to-earn principle.

The catch? If not stored in a fully secure, distributed and reliable way, the centrally stored NFT metadata, which is a crucial part of the NFT, could be hacked or lost. This would render the in-game NFT assets worthless.

Hackings and other breaches that cause data loss can shake the trust of the industry as a whole. Fortunately, IPFS can provide trustworthy and secure NFT metadata storage for Web3 gaming.

The exciting possibilities of NFTs in gaming

Since the initial boom of NFTs in gaming in 2020, NFTs have been adopted by popular games like Fortnite, with major companies like Ubisoft and Square Enix quickly following to look into possible use cases. In 2022, we witnessed the emergence of NFT marketplaces that cater specifically to gamers.

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, video game publishers make over $3.6bn a year in revenue from in-game NFTs. By 2027, this number could rise to $15bn.

But game makers aren’t the only ones profiting from Web3 gaming by prolonging the longevity of playing and increasing player engagement.

How can players benefit from the use of NFTs in gaming?

Besides providing a more immersive gaming experience, Web3 gaming adds a new element of profitability for players.

By offering an attractive price for the player’s time and effort, Web3 games encourage more engagement and longer retention.

In-game assets

With the use of NFTs, game developers can create unique and rare in-game assets and items for players. This includes skins, weapons, characters, and even in-game real estate that players can collect, trade, and sell not only in the game itself but also at various NFT marketplaces.

Sure, traditional gaming also lets you obtain rare in-game assets, but you do not truly own them — the gaming company does.

Proof of ownership and authenticity

Many traditional games like Pokemon Go forbid their players to sell accounts or in-game assets. Enter NFTs.

As per Wikipedia’s definition, a non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that is stored and recorded on a blockchain. Since it can’t be copied, substituted, or divided, it’s the ideal technology to certify ownership and authenticity of various digital items, including in-game assets.

With NFTs, Web3 gaming allows gamers to take full control and ownership of their in-game assets, allowing them to sell or trade the items.

Interoperability of in-game assets across platforms and games

In-game asset interoperability allows players to trade and use the items across multiple gaming platforms and ecosystems.

NFTs can connect different games, replacing the current walled-garden model of traditional gaming, where in-game assets are tied to a single game.

What’s in it for gamers? Besides a fuller gaming experience, the long hours of hard work they dedicated to a single game can be transferred to a different one.

Play-to-earn games

With the rise of play-to-earn games, players are being rewarded for their engagement in the game.

While the rewards can be small amounts of cryptocurrency, they can also come in the shape of NFTs. When a player receives a rare in-game asset for a task completed or a battle won, they become the true owner of that asset. And again, they can trade it or sell it as they wish.

New income streams for gamers

When the creator mints an NFT, they must set a percentage for royalties. Every time a secondary sale of the NFT occurs, the original creator receives a cut of the profit, or royalties.

The same happens in Web3 gaming — as royalties are written into the smart contract, every time the in-game asset the player earns is re-sold, they pocket the royalties of the secondary sale.

What is NFT metadata?

Web3 gaming opens up a whole new world of opportunities for NFT use cases with in-game assets and the play-to-earn principle.

The composition of the NFT itself, however, remains the same as in other sectors and industries.

You might already know that what makes the NFT unique isn’t so much the art you see in the front but the metadata that describes it in the back.

In short, NFT metadata is a string of text and numbers that contains essential information about the NFT, including its name, description, traits, attributes, link to the image, and other information.

It’s a crucial part of the NFT — without the NFT metadata, the NFT holds no real value.

It’s important to note that NFT metadata and content are usually stored separately from the NFT smart contract for both technical and financial reasons. And this is precisely where problems can arise with some options being safer than others.

How can IPFS help make in-game NFTs more secure?

One of the reasons why some remain skeptical on the subject of Web3 gaming is safety and reliability. Unfortunately, hacking incidents and other malfunctions can shake the trust of the industry as a whole.

The fact is your NFT can disappear if its NFT metadata and content aren’t stored properly.

Everybody remembers the collapse of the FTX, where countless NFTs went missing because the NFT metadata was stored on a centralized server.

The best way to store and share NFT metadata is through a distributed and reliable network that ensures copies of your files and content are safely stored in a decentralized and transparent way.

🔎 This is where IPFS comes in. IPFS is a decentralized protocol that enables you to store and share data via a distributed peer-to-peer network. A decentralized network of nodes that are dispersed across the globe, IPFS is the most common and tried way to store NFT metadata. 👇

Web3 gaming holds great potential for returning the power into the hands of the players and providing a better, more immersive gaming experience, but if the players’ in-game assets aren’t properly protected, the phrase true digital ownership won’t mean much.

🔎 If you want to dive more deeply into the reasons that make IPFS the ideal solution for NFT metadata storage, you can check out this in-depth article. 👇

How to store NFT metadata with IPFS on the Apillon platform?

The Apillon platform currently provides you with a free, safe and easy way to create your very own NFT collection.

The first step in the process? Create an NFT metadata file and upload it to IPFS.

🔎 We’ve prepared an easy-to-follow yet comprehensive guide that seamlessly takes you through the whole process —check it out and get your new NFT ready in a matter of minutes. 👇

Or, discover the intuitive process of creating an NFT collection on the Apillon platform yourself and just get right to it.

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⧓ About Apillon

The Apillon platform serves as a unified gateway to the Web3 services provided by linked Polkadot parachains. Following the multi-chain vision, Apillon powers the transition of developers to Web3, simplifying its adoption in the real economy, and expanding its versatility as the ecosystem grows. With Apillon, Web3 services are within reach for every developer, regardless of their background and experience with blockchain technology.