IBM Scores Patent For Blockchain Use In MMO Gaming

IBM Corporation (NYSE: IBM) has secured a "Gaming consensus protocol for Blockchain" patent, signaling blockchain technology's potential use in online games. According to CoinDesk, the patent awarded last week could be used in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games.

What Happened: IBM's patent details the methodology for providing proof-of-work. Gamers can participate by sharing their system resources to record in-game transactions in blocks, and in return, be rewarded with tokenized assets. In other words, players can act as Bitcoin miners.

Blockchain gaming protocol could be applied in games like Activision Blizzard, Inc's ATVI "Call of Duty," and Epic Games' "Warzone" and "Fortnite," as per CoinDesk.

Blockchain will facilitate the execution of smart contracts within the network. It is also possible to move the smart contract execution to the gaming server if the gaming peers have sufficient computing power.

Why Does It Matter: Blockchain technology can facilitate transactions between unknown parties despite being in a trustless environment. Transactions in the network can be verified and validated by all the peers connected to the network.

In February, an IBM publication claimed that in-game assets like guns, maps, and characters could be tokenized. All in-game purchases will require players to buy these virtual assets within the network using an open order book.

In such cases, blockchain fundamentals could be applied for in-game transactions, and players can securely engage with peers.

Price Action: IBM shares closed 1.29% higher at $118.36 on Monday.