What Is The Mighty Ethereum Merge: How It Will Affect GameFi

What is The Ethereum Merge?

The Ethereum blockchain, as we know it, is the foundation of numerous Web3 applications, cryptocurrency, and NFT projects. The Ethereum Merge, also known as Ethereum ETH 2.0, is essentially an upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain that will lessen its environmental impact, boost network security, allow Ethereum developers to add new features, and improve the chain’s scalability. This is due to the converging of two independent chains “Beacon chain” & “Ethereum”. The latter one will integrate the consensus mechanism of the Beacon chain into it. Let’s dive deep into it below.

When will Ethereum Merge?

The existing Ethereum Mainnet and the Beacon Chain proof-of-stake network will soon converge, indicating that Ethereum will entirely switch to proof-of-stake, putting an end to the proof-of-work. The merge is expected to be in operation in Q3/Q4 of 2022, with the tentative deadline of September 15 this year. 

This will result in Ethereum’s 99.95% reduction in energy consumption

What is Proof-of-Work & Proof-of-Stake?

Algorithms that are used to validate cryptocurrencies on a blockchain network using proof of work and proof of stake. The key distinction is in the method used to select and qualify users for adding transactions.

The Proof of Work consensus algorithm involves challenging puzzles that must be solved by powerful computers used by miners. Trial and error are used to find solutions to the issues. The right to add new blocks to the blockchain for transactions is granted to the first miner to solve the puzzle or cryptographic equation.

In Proof of Stake, before confirming the transactions, miners promise an investment in digital currency. Miners need to put up a stake with their currencies to validate blocks. Miners also provide the duration of their transaction validation history. A weighted algorithm that is weighted based on the stake and validation experience determines at random who will validate each transaction.

Integrating the Mainnet

Since Ethereum’s inception, the Mainnet has used the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism. The PoW holds each transaction, smart contract, and balance from 2015 till now. 

The Beacon Chain, however, was established on December 1, 2020, and it has functioned parallel to Mainnet as a separate blockchain. Beacon Chain has not done transactions on the mainnet, but it reaches consensus on its own by agreeing to active validators and their account balances. 

When the Beacon chain is integrated with the Mainnet, and then this composition is merged into Ethereum, the Beacon Chain will work as a consensus engine for all data, account balances, and execution layer processes.

The Merge Impact on Game-Fi

Now that we are fully equipped with the Ethereum merge, it can be simply put as a quick swap of the new engine for the old one of the jet mid-flight. Everything, including the games based on this blockchain, will be swapped and altered eventually in The Merge spell. The three pillars: transparency, immutability, and traceability are fulfilled via wallet, smart contract, and the game server in blockchain game architecture.  

gaming-architecture-flowchart

Games Security

Research shows 34,200 smart contracts in blockchain games are vulnerable to attacks. The causes of vulnerability are platforms and contract programming languages. Which opens up to Calls to the unknown, Gasless send, Exception disorders, Type casts, Re-entrancy, etc. 

The merge promises a better tomorrow with higher security for the game-fi industry. The upcoming updates will increase Ethereum’s security by requiring major ETH deposits from validators. In addition, the protocol has the authority to delete their ETH immediately in the event of attempted fraud.

Faster Transactions In Games

Currently, when the players make microtransactions in the games to buy any virtual assets or skins, it takes time due to the PoW consensus. The merge update, however, will not speed up the transactions. It is here to lay down the foundation for all the anticipated upgrades. The next updates planned in the Q4 of 2022 and Q1 of 2023 will bring high core speed to the chain.  

Less Gas Fee 

For those who wonder what is a Gas Fee? On the Ethereum network, the user must pay a set amount of gas for each transaction. So in essence, “Gas” serves as a unit of measurement for determining the costs associated with putting a transaction in the “blocks” that make up the ETH blockchain.

Since 2020, there has been a dramatic increase in Defi and NFT activity in the Game-Fi, which has greatly increased transaction volume and can also clog the network with raised gas fees during peak times. 

The merger won’t directly reduce gas prices. The Merge’s technical advancements have included nothing intended to minimise fees. However, activating PoS would be the first step in allowing sharding

Sharding is the division of a network into “shard chains” that distribute Ethereum’s load, relieving congestion and boosting transaction throughput. It is expected to start in 2023, which will allow the network to scale dramatically and eventually lower the gas fee to an exceptional level.

More Players at a Time

As discussed above, the merger will focus on security and reduce the energy consumption of the current transactions. But it will set the stage for all other areas that users have been waiting for so long. After the merge, sharding could hypothetically boost Ethereum’s transaction throughput to 100,000 transactions per second, outpacing all major credit card providers in speed and throughput. This allows more users to play games at once. Reducing the time consumption for data processing and transactions.

99.9% Reduced GPU Energy Consumption Cost 

There are glad tides on the way with merge for the gamers. Game Processing Units (GPUs), which are used for mining Ethereum, are becoming less expensive as the network gets ready to convert from a proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism to a proof-of-stake (PoS) one, which would make these gaming processing components essentially useless for Ethereum miners.

According to calculations made by Ethereum experts, the GPU models on eBay have decreased by 37% since May 2021, and more are expected to drop very soon after the merge. Much more GPUs will be pushed to the secondary market when Ethereum eventually switches to PoS, which will probably cause prices to rise even higher.

The fact that the price of Ethereum has been relatively low, as mining has become more challenging, adds to the downward pressure.

Reduced Costs and Increased Speed 

The major 2 upgrades after The Merge are the “Sharding update” and the “Shanghai update”. Both of the upgrades are anticipated in Quarter 1 of 2023, possibly in action by January. Sharding following the merge describes the division of the whole blockchain ecosystem into manageable units called Shards.

Sharding will assist the network in facilitating secure distribution of data storage requirements, as well as making transactions quicker and making nodes easier to operate at a reduced cost. Next, we will witness The Shanghai update. It will tackle 3 critical functionalities; EVM object format, Beacon Chain withdrawals, and L2 Fee reduction. 

We are fully aware that news can be trending on the internet and still be wrong. To tackle that for the upcoming Ethereum Merge, we have busted some of the myths that went viral below.

Myths about The Merge

Myth No. 1: “Gas fee will be reduced following the merge”

False. The merge won’t lower gas prices because it only modifies the consensus mechanism, not increases network capacity.

Myth No. 2: “After the merge, transactions will be quicker.”

False. On layer 1, transaction speed will mostly not change despite minor adjustments.

Myth No. 3: “Once the merge takes place, you can withdraw staked ETH.”

False. The merge does not yet support stake withdrawals. However, withdrawals from bets will be possible after the next Shanghai update.

Myth No. 4: “The chain will increase the downtime after the Merge.”

False. Merge will provide zero downtime, as the chain will switch to proof-of-stake.

Myth No. 5: “In the dissipation of merge, new tokens will be generated.”

False. Ether will continue to be the native asset of the Ethereum network when The Merge is finished. Therefore, there will not be new tokens created.

What is “Eth 2”?

There won’t be two separate Ethereum networks anymore; there will only be Ethereum after ‘Eth1’ and ‘Eth2’ have been combined into a single chain.

The eth developer community has changed these terminologies to avoid ambiguity:

These terminological changes solely affect naming standards; they have no impact on Ethereum’s objectives or development timeline. 

A decentralized network scaling strategy and a switch to proof-of-stake have long been on Ethereum’s roadmap. Researchers initially worked on these projects independently, but in 2018 they were brought together under a single roadmap for “Ethereum 2.0.” a term coined.

Conclusion:

The existing ethereum mainnet and the Beacon Chain proof-of-stake(PoS) network will soon converge. This will complete Ethereum’s shift to proof-of-stake and signal the end of proof-of-work. This curates the way for later scaling improvements like sharding. Ethereum’s energy use will be reduced by 99.95% due to the merge. It will also make the chain highly secure, a welcoming tide for all. 

The original Ethereum developers planned for sharding in the first phase, but since gamification holds 51% of the blockchain’s transaction operations, it was viable to make the chain scalable first. For the development and popularity of layer 2 technologies to scale transaction execution, the focus of the sharding plan was shifted to enable the rapid increase in network capacity. The developers realized that this would not have been possible without switching to proof-of-stake.

Upcoming developments after the merge would be focused on sharding, modifying the EVM functionality, and reducing the beacon withdrawal delay. This means there will be a threefold surge of players onboarding on the chains. This is nothing more than a piece of good news considering the almost negligible prices of GPU and reduced gas fees for microtransactions.

What Is GameFi? A Beginner’s Guide To Blockchain Games

This guide brings the objective to restructure the way people think about the Gaming industry or GameFi, how blockchain is part of it, how it gives ownership and more control to players, brings new global friends using decentralization, and establishes the earning habit while playing games.

GameFi allows users to earn incentives for playing games and matches players with shared interests via a peer-to-peer approach. Gamers may make new acquaintances and take part in international gaming events thanks to GameFi.

First, let’s understand the few concepts to bridge the gap between conventional games and Blockchain-based games.

Conventional Games vs Blockchain-based Games

Despite not being restricted to certain platforms like smartphones and desktop PCs, blockchain games and conventional games mostly function differently. Here are four distinctions between blockchain games and conventional video games.

1. Who’s in control?

The standard video games or conventional games as we have played in the past end when the player has achieved the conquest or the character ran out of lives. Where does all the data go? What happens next? IT only starts over as a fresh game. In centralized gaming models, all player data, and game-related intelligence including player account information and all of the events and in-game items users acquire on their virtual journeys, is kept on servers that are entirely under the authority of the game producers or administrators. 

In addition to the fact that players never actually own their own data or the in-game items, they spend countless hours earning, all of the aforementioned are also at risk of being taken or even lost forever in the event that the game developers themselves damage or shut down the servers. This means that the player itself is not controlling the events/happenings about his character. Whereas, in blockchain games there is a strong belief in decentralization. We will discuss that in detail below.

2.  Where do the accomplished game assets go?

It is indeed a milestone for players when they win hard levels, reach the finale, and end the game with an amazing victory. After winning in traditional games, the player is bestowed with all the coins, cups, new skins, diamonds, and relevant game assets. Once the game ends all the assets are gone. And while remaining in the game, the assets are accessible on that system only with no procedure of sharing or using the swags afterward. 

For obsessive gamers, it would be a dream come true to keep the items even after the game stops. The rewards acquired are limited to being used in the next level or sometimes the rewards are purely visual and have no effect on the earning and gameplay. The revolutionary gaming industry known as the Blockchain or Web3.0 gaming industry has changed its concept and put a lot more into the game assets being only static assets.

3.  What’s in for the next level of game?

With traditional technology, players can not actually get info about the procedure, and activity going on behind the video game screens. It restricts the freedom of players where they can truly take a peek behind the scenes. This is a lack of transparency in the older game-plays. 

The trust that players and game producers have in a game is increased by this level of openness. Gamers may observe every move done by developers and other players, eliminating the need for them to wonder what is occurring in the server of a game they have spent hours playing. However, in Blockchain gaming development, games offer expandability chances for ongoing game improvement in the industry and allow a fault-free and righteous gaming ecosystem. 

4.  Having permanent storage to increase reliability:

Since conventional video games are centralized, there is an enormous risk of losing everything you have played so hard to obtain. The only way to save your massive win and show it to your circle is by taking a screenshot of the final screen and framing it which does not sound like a rational approach. With blockchain games, this is not the case because of decentralization, as stated earlier. 

The blockchain factor in games will store all game data on the Kronoverse/FYX platform. With Kronoverse’s Twitch-like match viewer, games that have been permanently saved may be broadcasted while still allowing for game replays. This implies that you may review earlier games to learn from your failures and achievements and advance your knowledge and skills.

What is Game-Fi?

The phrase “GameFi,” which combines the terms “gaming” and “decentralized finance” (DeFi), refers to the incorporation of blockchain technologies in the gaming industry for monetization and other uses. Particularly smaller publishers take advantage of the tokenization option to monetize their games. The tokens are often released as part of an Initial Coin Offering and are based on the ERC-20 standard of the Ethereum network (ICO). This helps to pay for the expenses spent during the game’s production. Players get automatic tokens from the publisher via smart contracts in return for a payment using currently available cryptocurrencies, and they may spend those tokens in the game that is subsequently created.

It blends cryptocurrency, blockchain, non-fiat currencies (NFTs), and game mechanics to provide a virtual world in which users may engage and make money. GameFi has a “play-to-earn” business strategy. This idea is around offering players cash incentives to play games and advance through the stages. Some blockchain games let players make a full-time living while they play.

Such gaming initiatives are introduced on the blockchain distributed ledger. This implies that any items players obtain are fully their property.

For instance, some blockchain games offer rewards for in-game achievements, while others let players generate income from the many assets they hold.

Game-Fi background -the revolution:

The end of 2017 saw the global growth of the pet-raising game CryptoKitties, which is built on Ethereum smart contracts. In the first seven days after its introduction, the game’s transaction volumes surpassed $1.9 million, and it was so well-liked that it clogged the Ethereum network. Due to CryptoKitties’ popularity, traditional and online gaming firms have flocked to blockchain gaming. AxiomZen, the firm that created the video game CryptoKitties, received $70 million in a Series A investment a month later. Numerous strategic, role-playing, simulation, and other blockchain games have since been released.

However, the word “GameFi” publicly appeared in presentations given at China’s Wuzhen World Blockchain Conference in November 2019 by the founders of MixMarvel, a blockchain game publishing platform, about how the technology behind cryptocurrencies may transform the video game business.

Numerous blockchain games with NFTs, DeFi, and other components have surfaced since June of the year 2021, under the slogan “Play to Earn.” The most notable example is the pet-game Axie Infinity, whose single-day revenue of $9.72 million quickly eclipsed that of Tencent’s well-liked mobile title “Honor of Kings” in a matter of months. Over the course of just two months, the value of its tokens AXS and SLP increased more than thrice. 

Five of the top nine applications according to DApp rankings are GameFi apps. Since the summer of 2022, GameFi has had more unique users than DeFi, and as a result, it now accounts for most of all Dapp users. Game-Fi has 9.21 million weekly active users as of the beginning of December, a record number.

The two important reasons why the rise of the Game-Fi revolution happened are; The first is the freedom of trading in-game resources, which is expressed both in the freedom of trading items and the freedom of trading prices. Traditional gaming models’ transactions resemble those of planned economies to some extent.

The second element is the open pricing and trading of in-game money. Although game currencies cannot be directly monetized through official channels, it has been neglected by many experts that it is feasible to generate real money from the game currency by selling in-game objects or props for money on underground black markets. But doing so results in high transaction costs.

How does the Game-Fi system work?

The mechanics of various GameFi projects differ. In-game things often take the shape of avatars, lands, outfits, weapons, currency, tokens, and pets and are created as non-fungible digital tokens (NFTs). As a result, you can prove that any in-game stuff you buy is entirely yours.

As they play the games, users claim these things, which they can then sell for profit on NFT marketplaces or convert into well-known cryptocurrencies. Most of the time, in-game items are NFTs that operate on the blockchain and may be exchanged on NFT exchanges. However, in some circumstances, users cannot buy or sell in-game assets until they have been transformed into an NFT.

Typically, the in-game items will provide players with certain advantages so they can earn more prizes. However, some games also provide cosmetics and avatars that are entirely aesthetic and have no bearing on the game’s gameplay or revenue.

Depending on the game, players can gain prizes through completing missions, engaging in combat with other players, or constructing buildings that can be sold. Through staking or by lending their in-game assets to other players, several games can allow users to earn passive revenue without actively participating in the game.

Important Features of GameFi projects:

    Play-to-earn model (P2E)

Players may earn money for achieving game objectives in several blockchain games. The native token reserve stored within a smart contract is often where the money granted in these play-to-earn games comes from.

It differs significantly from the pay-to-play business model used by conventional video games. Pay-to-play games need players to make an investment before they can begin. Video games like Call of Duty, for instance, demand that users buy licenses or recurring subscriptions.

Most of the time, gamers of traditional video games won’t see any financial gains, since the gaming industry controls and owns all of the in-game assets. P2E games, on the other hand, may give players total control over their in-game possessions while simultaneously providing them with chances to make money.

Depending on the game, players can gain prizes through completing missions, engaging in combat with other players, or constructing buildings that can be sold. Through staking or by lending their in-game assets to other players, several games can allow users to earn passive revenue without actively participating in the game. Let’s look at a few of GameFi’s standard features.

    Ownership of digital assets

Because digital asset ownership is made possible by blockchain technology, gamers may earn money from their in-game assets in a variety of ways. Blockchain-based games provide this wonderful fortuity to gain any valuable item from the game forever in your ownership even after the game ends. Everything you win, gather, or buy becomes your property, and it is kept in your virtual wallet.

Players may own avatars, pets, homes, weapons, equipment, and much more, much like in video games. However, in GameFi, these assets may be produced as NFTs and issued (also known as NFT minting) as well. As a result, gamers may fully control their goods and ensure their validity and ownership.

This protects you from the possibility of losing any in-game stuff if a game crashes in the middle of a match or your account is suspended. In the event that you lose Internet access after triumphing in CryptoFights combat, for instance, you still have all of your armor and weaponry. You may still trade stuff even if your account is suspended, keeping you from being totally shut out. You can trace every transaction, from purchases to exchanges, thanks to blockchain technology.

The notion of land ownership is emphasized in certain well-known metaverse games, like Decentraland and The Sandbox. They let users earn money off of their virtual property. Gamers may buy digital plots of land in The Sandbox and develop them to make money.  

    DeFi integration

DeFi items and functionalities are also offered by several GameFi initiatives. Players often risk their in-game tokens to get awards, gain access to premium products, or advance through the game’s stages.

The addition of DeFi components can further decentralize crypto gaming. Some Game-Fi initiatives let the community take part in the decision-making process, in contrast to traditional game companies that centralized control over their game updates. Through decentralized independent groups, they can suggest and vote on the next upgrades (DAOs).

Games on the blockchain are decentralized as said, which gives users and game producers more flexibility and security. The innovative environment that blockchain game developers build gives players more freedom to play and enjoy. Due to its decentralization, blockchain games vary from conventional video games like Grand Theft Auto and FIFA. DAO in Game-Fi gives freedom to the collection of individuals working together toward a common goal or project who, through the use of tokens and the blockchain, enable their members to cast votes. Game-Fi DAO also allows the players to team up and represent as a team like e-sports and share the reward. Blockchain games let you monitor and examine every action you’ve ever performed as well as the actions of other players

Players in Decentraland, for instance, may vote on organizational and in-game rules by locking their governance tokens (MANA) in the DAO. Their voting strength increases as they lock more tokens. This makes it possible for players to interact with game designers directly and affect how the game is made.

Making Friends Around the Globe:

Millions of gamers now have the chance to mix their gaming with partnerships. New resources are provided to developers for marketing and reimbursing NFTs and games. The selling of unique skins, things, and characteristics also brings in money for the investors.

As the gaming business becomes increasingly well-known every day, more influential players are joining forces with several top-tier GameFi and NFT initiatives to provide new, lucrative possibilities and features for the whole network.

This is bridging the gap between the global network and compiling a huge set of players into friend zones. People meet and greet at the GameFi events, and realize that they have met their virtual opponents, friends, and allies.

Following are some of the multiplayer games that let people compete, play, and fight in groups against other teams and earn a mutual reward, these made it huge into the industry:

·         MMO RPGs

MMORPGs stand for massively multiplayer online role-playing games. These games provide players the chance to trade, strategize, explore, earn gold, craft, and even compete within a network pool of other players and teams.

·         Battle Royale

It hit the news not very long ago that “The Next War Launches the First Blockchain-Based Battle Royale Style GameFi”. This is a great turn for all the Royale fans that they will now be joining the futuristic tech within their favorite game. 

·         Arcade

The Web3 arcade has a 5-step rule. 1. Stake 2. KYC 3. Apply whitelist 4. Buy 5. Claim and that is it. The players can play any game from the arcade using Multiplayer or solo mode abiding by these guides.

Final Note:

GameFi is projected to continue expanding quickly as blockchain technology continues to advance. It is incredibly well-liked, particularly in underdeveloped nations, because it allows users to buy stuff in games and profit from them.

It’s simple to understand how GameFi attracts gamers by providing both entertaining and monetary effects. It is expected that as blockchain games gain popularity, more and more significant businesses will begin to develop the metaverse. However, initiatives like Axie Infinity, Illuvium, and LOCGame will pave the path for the gaming generation by creating the subsequent ecosystems that will enable this market to reach its full potential. As we approach 2023, their creative fusion of NFT, DeFi, and traditional gaming mechanics has established GameFi as a leader in this market.