Blockchain-Based Online Games Like Axie Infinity Continue To Hook Users Despite Risks

Blockchain-based online games like Axie Infinity, dubbed "play-to-earn," offer lucrative businesses amid the hype around NFTs and virtual worlds, Reuters reports.
Axie Infinity allows users to buy virtual blob-like creatures with varying attributes like NFTs for tens of dollars to hundreds of thousands.
Players can use the pets to earn money by winning battles and creating new pets, whose value depends on their rarity.
Users can trade assets with other players on the platform. The platform boasts 1.5 million daily users.
The games attract millions of players plus billions of dollars from investors who see the games as a way to introduce more people to cryptocurrency.
Recently, Axie Infinity suffered a $615 million heist. Hackers targeted a part of the system used to transfer cryptocurrency in and out of the game.
Players spent $4.9 billion on NFTs in games in 2021 and attracted projects worth $4 billion of venture capital funding.
Axie Infinity users formed a "guild" to make more money, turning it into a full-time job. They also acknowledged the high risks associated with crypto with a lack of safety net for players.
Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and the Philippines have emerged as some of the hottest global gaming hubs.
Leading play-to-earn network Yield Guild Games had 10,000 Axie Infinity players as of Q4 of 2021, who kept 70% of their earnings and had received $11.7 million.