On this page we present you a list of the best play-to-earn games in 2022.
Each of those games uses different mechanics to earn. Some will require an initial investment while others are free-to-play. Games with a play-to-earn (P2E) mechanic allow users to create value through in-game activity. The reward can be a cryptocurrency, an NFT, or the value increase of an already purchased NFT. Overall, play-to-earn games do what traditional video games don’t: truly reward players for their efforts and time spent in a game.
The rankings and scores are decided by our editorial team based on different factors: fun, quality of the game, user-base, potential earnings and play-to-earn mechanics. Some of you might have a different opinion based on your personal preferences and priorities.
You can also read our best play to earn games to watch in May 2022.
Best Play-to-Earn Games of 2022
- Axie Infinity: Most Popular P2E Game
- Gods Unchained: Best Card Game
- The Sandbox: Best Metaverse
- Splinterlands: Best Browser Based Game
- Pegaxy: Best Horse Racing Game
Our Favorites
Axie Infinity
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About Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is the most important game developed on a blockchain thus far. At its peak, the marketplace was making millions in sales every day, and Axies were selling for thousands of dollars each. The game focuses on breeding and collecting the cute creatures, named Axies, and using them to explore the World of Lunacia.
chevron_rightAbout Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is the most important game developed on a blockchain thus far. At its peak, the marketplace was making millions in sales every day, and Axies were selling for thousands of dollars each. The game focuses on breeding and collecting the cute creatures, named Axies, and using them to explore the World of Lunacia.
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Sky Mavis, the team behind Axie Infinity, managed to amass a community of millions of players worldwide, with a focus towards third-world countries that literally used Axie Infinity to lift themselves out of poverty, thanks to investors buying teams for them and sponsoring their battles.
The team received support and sponsorships from huge and respectable companies, such as Ubisoft and Samsung, and managed to develop a sidechain named Ronin to avoid the insane gas fees on the Ethereum Blockchain. Ronin enabled users on the chain to exchange and sell in-game assets for no fees whatsoever up to a generous amount of transactions per day, facilitating the circulation of value inside the marketplace.
Axie Infinity led by example and grew a lot in the past year, announcing new ways to burn Axies to get in-game items and with the community enabling more people to play by creating scholarships.
Gods Unchained
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About Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained is a collectible, fantasy, and trading card play-to-earn game built on the Ethereum network. It’s free to play, easy to get started, and offers play to earn opportunities right out of the gate.
chevron_rightAbout Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained is a collectible, fantasy, and trading card play-to-earn game built on the Ethereum network. It’s free to play, easy to get started, and offers play to earn opportunities right out of the gate.
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In Gods Unchained, two players face off in an arena to determine who is the most powerful. Whether they choose Nature, Light, Deception, Death, War, or Magic, the goal is always the same, reduce your opponent’s god’s health to zero.
Each player assembles a deck of thirty cards. They may choose any cards that align with their God, as well as any Neutral cards. Each card can be present in a deck no more than twice, while Legendary cards are limited to one copy per deck (though sometimes duplicates can be summoned through card effects).
2019 saw Gods Unchained rebrand their parent company into Immutable and begin development on ImmutableX, an NFT focused, layer 2 solution for Ethereum. High gas fees had made card buying and selling a prohibitively expensive affair. And being able to buy, sell, and trade cards is an important aspect for a trading card game. ImmutableX launched it’s marketplace in 2021 and today it serves as a gas-free trading hub for Gods Unchained cards as well as a number of other NFT projects.
The Sanbox
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About The Sandbox
The Sandbox is an interconnected world of unique game experiences. With land plots of varying sizes, each land owner can build their own creations using a visual game builder. And though The Sandbox is still in alpha testing, this is a gaming metaverse that anyone interested in play-and-earn experiences should know about. So let’s guide you through the basics of The Sandbox, and show you where to go for further research and investigation!
chevron_rightAbout The Sandbox
The Sandbox is an interconnected world of unique game experiences. With land plots of varying sizes, each land owner can build their own creations using a visual game builder. And though The Sandbox is still in alpha testing, this is a gaming metaverse that anyone interested in play-and-earn experiences should know about. So let’s guide you through the basics of The Sandbox, and show you where to go for further research and investigation!
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The Sandbox is an interconnected world of unique game experiences. With land plots of varying sizes, each land owner can build their own creations using a visual game builder. And though The Sandbox is still in alpha testing, this is a gaming metaverse that anyone interested in play-and-earn experiences should know about. So let’s guide you through the basics of The Sandbox, and show you where to go for further research and investigation!
Splinterlands
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About Splinterlands
Splinterlands is a play-to-earn, trading card game that started on the Steem blockchain as Steemmonsters. However, over time the project changed name and switched to using the Hive blockchain. The game plays in a browser. Thanks to cross-chain functionality, cards and tokens can also be traded on the Ethereum blockchain and on Wax. Splinterlands now also has a governance token, called SPS.
chevron_rightAbout Splinterlands
Splinterlands is a play-to-earn, trading card game that started on the Steem blockchain as Steemmonsters. However, over time the project changed name and switched to using the Hive blockchain. The game plays in a browser. Thanks to cross-chain functionality, cards and tokens can also be traded on the Ethereum blockchain and on Wax. Splinterlands now also has a governance token, called SPS.
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Splinterlands is a cross between a deck-building game and an auto-battler. Players use their cards to create a combat lineup based on the rules of the match. Then, once both sides submit their teams, the cards battle it out until only one team remains. Players earn Dark Energy Crystals when winning matches, and can also earn additional cards and other rewards through Daily Quests and a recurring, two-week leaderboard contest.
Players combine cards to level them up for better stats and additional abilities. Cards come in both regular versions and rarer, gold foil versions. Splinterlands features its own in-game market and allows for buying, selling, and even leasing cards!
Pegaxy
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About Pegaxy
Pegaxy is a Player v Player (PVP) horse racing game which offers several ways to be involved in the game and its ecosystem. Players can buy NFT horses to race, breed, or rent out to other players.
chevron_rightAbout Pegaxy
Pegaxy is a Player v Player (PVP) horse racing game which offers several ways to be involved in the game and its ecosystem. Players can buy NFT horses to race, breed, or rent out to other players.
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Each race has 12 horses running, with the top 3 horses receiving prizes in the game reward token VIS. Currently all race positions are decided through RNG (Random Number Generator) but this will change with version 2 taking into consideration factors such as: changing environment/stadium conditions, which are linked to the attributes of each horse, the food given to a horse and the clothing gear apparel used on your horse.
Pegaxy presents a very simple game model for anyone wanting to dip their toes into the play to earn gaming world. With the coming introduction of many more features to make the game more strategy and skill based it can only become more appealing for game participants and less of a grind.
Full List of Play-to-Earn Games
Title | Genre | Platform | Blockchain | Stauts | P2E | F2P | Gameplay |
City States: Medieval | Strategy | PC | Stellar | CLOSED BETA | CRYPTO | YES | 3.5/5 still early and in development, looks promising |
Arc8 | Casual | iOS & Android | ETH | LIVE | CRYPTO | YES | 3/5 Wide variety of hyper casual games |
Skyweaver | Trading Card Game | PC, mobile | Polygon | BETA | NFT | YES | 4/5 Well polished game with nice graphics. |
MegaCryptoPolis | Simulation | PC | Polygon | LIVE | CRYPTO NFT | YES | 3.5/5 Virtual economy with focus on management. |
Axie Infinity | Tactical Battles | iOS, Android & PC | Ronin | LIVE | CRYPTO | NO | 4.5/5 Turn-based battles, tactics & strategy |
Phantom Galaxies | Action RPG | PC / Mac | Polygon | ALPHA | NFT | NO | 4.5/5 Still in Alpha but AAA game quality |
REVV Racing | Racing | PC | Polygon | LIVE | CRYPTO | NO | 4/5 Serious competitive races, time trial mainly |
Alien Worlds | Strategy Management | PC | Wax | LIVE | CRYPTO | NO | 2.5/5 Select NFTs, mine & wait |
F1 Delta Time | Racing | PC | Polygon | ABANDONED | CRYPTO | NO | 3.5/5 Racing becoming more active now. One mistake can cost you the race. |
Cometh | Tactical | PC | Ethereum | LIVE | NFT | NO | 2.5/5 Position, harvest & repeat |
Blankos Block Party | Action adventure | PC | EOSIO | LIVE | NFT | YES | 4/5 One of the few games that comes close to AAA quality |
Soccer Manager Elite | Management | PC | Xaya | BETA | CRYPTO | YES | 2.5/5 Manage team, club or players, activity at own discretion. |
Aavegotchi | GameFi | PC | Polygon | LIVE | CRYPTO NFT | NO | 4/5 Mainly about collecting and DeFi. MMO is coming! |
Guild of Guardians | Action RPG | iOS & Android | Immutable X | CLOSED ALPHA | CRYPTO NFT | YES | 4/5 Guilds, co-op challenges / TBD |
Horse Racing | PC / Mobile | Polygon | LIVE | CRYPTO | YES | 3.5/5 Good earning possibilities but gameplay is limited | |
Thetan Arena | MOBA | PC & Mobile | BNB Chain | LIVE | CRYPTO | YES | 4/5 Fun game but not the best game economy |
League of Kingdoms | Strategy MMO | iOS & Android | Ethereum | LIVE | CRYPTO NFT | YES | 3/5 Farming resources, active battles, big social element. |
Ethermon | RPG | PC, iOS, Android | Polygon | LIVE | CRYPTO NFT | NO | 3.5/5 Developers are no quitters, kept building. Now into metaver |
Sorare | Fantasy football | PC & Mobile | Ethereum | BETA | NFT | YES | 2.5/5 Change team every week, research advised. |
Town Star | Simulation | PC | Ethereum | BETA | CRYPTO | YES | 4/5 Building, managing production |
Taurion | Strategy MMO | PC | Xaya | ALPHA | NFT | NO | 4/5 Build, farm, create, mine, active participation. |
Gods Unchained | Trading card game | PC | Ethereum | LIVE | CRYPTO NFT | YES | 4/5 Build decks, battle players, tactical choices. |
Splinterlands | Trading Card Game | PC | Hive | LIVE | NFT | YES | 3.5/5 Build deck, battles are automated. |
Neon District | Turn-based RPG | PC | Polygon | LIVE | NFT | YES | 4/5 Bit of a niche game, fun tactical battles |
Voxie Tactics | Turn-based Strategy | PC | Ethereum | BETA | NFT | YES | 3.5/5 Beta is sill a bit rough but improving week after week |
Chainmonsters | Action RPG | PC, iOS, Android | Flow | CLOSED BETA | NFT | YES | 3/5 Beta gameplay linnited |
Lost Relics | Dungeon Crawler RPG | PC | Enjin | LIVE | NFT | YES | 4.5/5 Battle enemies, find treasure. |
The Sandbox | Virtual World | PC | Ethereum | ALPHA | NFT | YES | 4.5/5 Activity required to earn / TBD |
Crazy Defense Heroes | Tower Defense | iOS & Android | Ethereum Polygon | LIVE | CRYPTO | YES | 3/5 Active tower defense battles |
Crazy Kings | Tower Defense | iOS | Ethereum | LIVE | CRYPTO | YES | 5/5 Active tower defense battles |
Upland | Strategy | PC & Mobile | EOS | LIVE | NFT | YES | 3/5 Action is limited. Collect coins, buy land and build buildings |
Frequently Asked Questions
add remove What are Blockchain Games?
Blockchain games are games that are using blockchain technology to store game assets and distribute rewards to its players, either through cryptocurrency or through NFT rewards. Some blockchain games require the player to own a specific NFT or to hold a specific cryptocurrency in order to play the game while others are free-to-play to anyone.
add remove How to get started in play-to-earn gaming?
If you are reading this, you are on the right track. First you will need to understand the basic principle of blockchain networks. Then, do some research on the available games and identify games that you would enjoy playing. After all games should be fun to play first. Many games offer free-to-play versions, so you do not necessarily need to invest anything except your time. But, like for many things in life, if you expect financial returns, a minimum investment or joining a crypto gaming guild are the quickest ways to get started.
For more tips, read our How to get started with play-to-earn guide.
Browse our website to learn more about current and upcoming play-to-earn games and join our Discord community to exchange with other players.
add remove How to set up a wallet for play-to-earn games?
If you want to start playing play-to-earn games, you will need to set up a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet. Many different wallets exist and you will need to choose one that is compatible with your device and with the blockchain you want to use. The most popular wallet is Metamask. Metmask is compatible with different blockchains such as Ethereum, Polygon, BNB chain, Avalanche and many more.
add remove What’s the Play-to-Earn Business Model?
The play-to-earn business model is a model that embraces the concept of the open market and provides financial rewards to the actors involved: players, investors and game developers. You can participate in the model by simply playing a game, by investing in digital assets (NFTs) or by developing your own project.
Each play-to-earn game has its own economic model and needs to find the right balance in order to sustain a viable in-game economy for all the actors involved.
add remove What are NFTs or Non-Fungible Tokens?
NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. An NFT represents something unique with a unique owner. They can be associated with a piece of art (an image, a video, an audio file for example) or any other item with a unique identifier (it could be a concert ticket or a certificate of ownership). In blockchain games, NFTs usually are game assets such as a caracter, a land plot, or a specific game item.
add remove What is the Metaverse?
Nowadays, we hear the word metaverse used everywhere. But what is the metaverse? There is no simple answer yet as many projects like to call themselves a metaverse. For us, the metaverse is the sum of all thee projects, interconnected and interoperable. A parallel universe that can redefine who we are, what we do and how we do it.