Schooled by Breach 004: The simplest way to start gaming for money
Welcome to Schooled by Breach! Our latest weekly newsletter where Breach writer, Adetomiwa talks to people with experience about pressing crypto questions, learns a lesson and shares the findings with you. Crypto can be easy, so let’s figure it out together. Out every Friday!
TL;DR:
Crypto gaming is easy to start and can be a lucrative source of income. I spoke to Onyinye, the General Manager at Metaverse Magna (MVM) — an African Crypto gaming platform focused on providing earning opportunities for frontier markets — about how to get started. She says all you need is a smartphone, internet connection and interest. It can be expensive to start, but Onyinye shares how platforms like MVM help cover gaming costs.
I’ve never been much of a gamer, but most of my friends were when I was younger, so it’s not entirely foreign to me.
As a child, many of my friends’ households had the same rules: no television or games on school days. However, my friends who were into video games spent most of their weekends and summer breaks in front of a TV, playing the latest games on their gaming consoles.
In my school, the gamers had a trading system: everyone bought one game they liked and exchanged it with someone in the circle once they were done playing it. Thinking back — and applying the knowledge I have now as a brilliant adult — I would say they had a decentralised trust-based system.
When I learnt that people are now getting paid to play video games, specifically crypto-based video games (crypto games), I wondered how it might have influenced my school gamers’ circle. I also wondered if the kids in my school got paid to play, would any of them be making as much money as football players? If so, where could I sign up?
I decided to consult the experts. What is crypto gaming? Could I make enough money to travel the world from playing video games?
To get the ins and outs of the crypto gaming world, I called Onyinye Umeaka, the General Manager at Metaverse Magna (MVM), an African crypto gaming platform focused on providing earning opportunities to frontier markets.
Onyinye told me that play-to-earn crypto gaming isn’t all that different from the average video game. However, unlike regular games, people can earn money playing these games. While traditional video games are just for the thrill, she said that crypto games provide fun and value. “Crypto games are based on creating real-world monetary value for its participants”, says Onyinye. “What that means is that as gamers invest their time and resources into these games, they become stakeholders and they get rewarded in crypto for playing”.
The great thing about crypto gaming, she says, is that you don’t need to have any background knowledge about crypto, crypto gaming, or regular gaming, for that matter. Neither do you need any fancy gadgets — just a smartphone and working internet.
“To start, all you need is to be interested”.
She does, however, acknowledge that starting can be costly. “For Axie Infinity, [one of the most popular crypto games out right now] cost of in-game purchases can range from $400 to $1,000”, which many gamers worldwide can’t afford. For example, Temiloluwa Eniayo, a student who recently became a crypto gamer, told me that he had been interested in crypto gaming since 2019. But he didn’t start playing until about six months ago when MVM became his gaming sponsor and absorbed all of the starting expenses.
MVM is one of a few crypto gaming sponsorship platforms. They support gamers by covering the initial cost of gaming — the avatars and in-app purchases required — and in return, the gamers (called MVM Scholars) pay MVM 30% of their gaming earnings. Onyinye says becoming an MVM scholar is pretty straightforward. All you need to do is apply and then they’ll start you out with some low-cost games and upgrade as you level up.
If you’re not interested in a gamer sponsorship, Onyinye and Temiloluwa advise reading up on the various crypto games available. There is a wide range of games available, so you will very likely find something that suits your preference.
How do you earn from crypto gaming?
“Participants are rewarded for completing tasks in some games”, says Onyinye. “In other games, they earn based on how they perform if they win their matches [against other players]”. Players earn in-game tokens — the native tokens of the game they play — and trade them for their preferred crypto or local currency through a crypto exchange. Examples of crypto exchanges include Coinbase or Binance.
Can I earn enough to travel around the world? Technically, it depends on how much money I put in and how quickly I move up the levels. The higher I go and the more time I put it, the likelier I am to make my travel money.
Onyinye says MVM has players who make up to $800 a week and some who make $100, depending on their skills, time commitment and the market.
Temiloluwa estimated that he makes N15,000 ($37) a week. “A few weeks ago, when the market price of the native token was better, I was making more”, he added, reminding me that the market value also determines the price of the coins.
