Play-To-Own and Play-To-Earn – What’s the difference?

You know the term Play-To-Earn, but more and more terms are creeping into NFT gaming. It’s easy to lose track of it all. To help you stay ahead of the next discussion, we’re here to enlighten you on the differences between Play-To-Earn and Play-To-Own.

What is Play-To-Earn (P2E)?

P2E means you play and get rewarded with cryptocurrencies in the process. More specifically, as a player, you receive in-game tokens when you complete tasks, such as fighting other enemies, farming your land, or breeding new characters that you can sell. Unlike traditional games, where these tokens are tied to a game, you can cash out the digital tokens as real money.

Play-to-earn gaming is new, but it’s already being challenged or even replaced by some new terms. More and more games are no longer called “play-to-earn” because it gets a bad reputation: it’s primarily about making money without gameplay quality.

Some use the term “Play-And-Earn” instead, because the focus is no longer just on earning, but on enjoying the game (and only then earning).

Would you play this if you weren’t earning anything?

Another term that is becoming increasingly popular is play-to-own. This model goes a step further and treats its players more like stakeholders. In this model, everyone has the ability to influence the direction of the game by purchasing or owning some sort of governance token or owner NFT. The games that do this tend to think longer term and often have tokens that span multiple games.

If you’re not sure if you’re looking at a Play-To-Earn, Play-And-Earn, or Play-To-Own, respectively, ask yourself a simple question:

Would you play this if you weren’t earning anything?

We at GamesCoin identify with the philosophy behind Play-To-Own. Our GamesChain (the first blockchain for games) aims to give you a unique gaming experience where you own everything and can take it to different gaming worlds.