How gaming on Ethereum works
Gaming on Ethereum comes in various forms, from games that integrate blockchain for specific features to those where the entire game world lives onchain. Many games utilize Ethereum to manage in-game assets as NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). This allows players to truly own unique digital items, which can be openly traded, sold, or gifted outside the confines of a single game developer's ecosystem. While these assets offer new forms of player agency, the core game logic often remains on centralized servers.
Entirely onchain games are games where the fundamental mechanics, and often the entire game world, are directly governed by smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain (or its Layer 2s). This ensures unparalleled transparency. No central servers, no intermediaries—just transparent, player‑driven experiences and economies.
- Players own their assets as NFTs.
- Items can be freely traded, gifted, or sold.
- Blockchain ensures assets remain accessible forever.
The current state of gaming
- Frequent Game Shutdowns: In 2023 alone, 60+ games were shut down, and 11 game studios closed entirely, leaving players with nothing to show for their in‑game investments. Onchain games, with their logic and assets on a decentralized network, can persist as long as the blockchain exists, offering a higher degree of permanence.
- Frustration Over Locked Assets: 51% of gamers feel frustrated that they can’t gift or re‑sell in‑game items they buy, and 23% are annoyed by how difficult it is to recover money from in‑game purchases. Players invest significant time and money into acquiring in-game items, only to find they don't truly own them. Ethereum's NFT standard provides verifiable digital ownership, ensuring players control their assets.
- High Spending with No Return: Gamers spend an average of $6,425 on virtual items over their lifetime, with $8.74 spent per month or $104 per year. Onchain ownership transforms that spending from a sunk cost into an investment in a digital asset that can be sold, traded, or gifted, much like a physical collectible.
Popular games built on Ethereum
Developers are exploring new ways to make games more engaging and go beyond simple reward mechanics to deepen, skill‑based gameplay.
WAGMI DefenseTower defenseWAGMI Defense is a futuristic tower defense game where you protect your base from alien invaders. You can earn NFTs for in-game assets, which you can keep or trade.- Deploy various units and defenses to thwart enemy attacks.
- Each unit is an NFT you can upgrade, trade, or sell.
- Engage in player-versus-player battles to climb the leaderboards.
IlluviumRPGOpen world RPG with arena mode. Illuvium is considered one of the first AAA games within the blockchain gaming community, due to its high production values, use of Unreal Engine, and substantial team and funding.
Gods UnchainedCard gameGods Unchained is a free-to-play trading card game, where players own their cards as NFTs and battle in strategic matches to earn rewards.
Play-to-earn (P2E)
With Play‑to‑Earn (P2E) games, you can earn in-game assets with real-world value. Unlike early P2E models that relied on unsustainable rewards, newer games focus on long‑term value. For example, Wolf Game combines strategic gameplay with real digital asset ownership. Players manage virtual sheep and wolves, earning the in‑game currency WOOL, which can be traded or sold.
GoParallelParallel is a sci-fi trading card game where you collect and own cards as NFT.
GoAxie InfinityCollect, breed, and battle NFT creatures called Axies, earning crypto rewards.
GoWorldShardsMMORPG where players build, explore, and trade in a fantasy world of floating islands.
GoSandboxThis is a virtual world where you can create, own, and monetize your gaming experiences. It uses NFTs to ensure you have true ownership of your creations.
GoGuild of GuardiansA mobile RPG on Immutable X. Focusing on quick, team-based play and NFT heroes suggests.
GoDimensionalsDimensionals is a turn-based role-playing game where you assemble a team of heroes, each represented as NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain.
Interoperability & cross‑chain play
One of Ethereum's most powerful features for gaming is its native support for interoperability and composability. Traditional games operate in "walled-gardens," locking in-game assets and progress to a single title. In-game assets, and even core game logic, built on Ethereum can potentially interact across different applications and chains—without sacrificing security. While this is still a developing ecosystem, some Ethereum-based game networks are already interoperable and allow in‑game items (NFTs) to be used across multiple games.
For instance, in Illuvium, players can collect creatures called Illuvials, which are NFTs. These Illuvials can be used across various games within the Illuvium universe. An Illuvial captured in Illuvium Overworld can also be used in Illuvium Arena for battles.
Another example is Galaxy Fight Club. In this game, players can use different NFT collections to participate in battles, meaning NFTs from various projects can be used within the game.
Scalability & gas fee improvements
An old critique of onchain gaming was that blockchains are too complex and slow to provide gamers with the experience they expect. But as Ethereum has matured, solutions to significantly reduce the cost and enhance the performance of onchain gaming have emerged, making interactive and fast-paced experiences viable.
These advancements are primarily achieved through:
- Gas-less Transactions: Some platforms and protocols, including those leveraging Immutable X, offer the ability to conduct transactions like trading or minting NFTs without fees for the user, further streamlining the player experience.
- Scaling Solutions: Ethereum L2s like Arbitrum, zkSync and Starknet are actively fostering ecosystems for onchain games due to their high throughput and low costs.
- MUD ecosystem: MUD optimizes Ethereum-based application development toolkits for onchain game development, providing more efficient state management for complex game logic.
Get started with Ethereum gaming
Getting into Ethereum gaming is easier than you might think. With just a few steps, you can start playing and enjoying your progress:
- Set up a Crypto Wallet: You'll need a wallet to manage your digital assets and interact with decentralized applications. Choose a Wallet
- Fund Your Wallet: Acquire some Ether (ETH) or tokens relevant to the Layer 2 network you plan to use.
- Explore Games: Discover games on platforms like Orden, ChainPlay, Gam3s.GG, DappRadar, OpenSea, and PlayToEarn.net.
