Everyone knows that the gaming industry is due for an overhaul. It seems like crypto currency and gaming should be a match made in heaven, but for whatever reason it just hasn't happened yet. There have been many projects aimed at gaming, and just as many have fallen flat on their face. Fortunately, with the emergence of ICOs there's a new breed of crypto project ready to storm the gates. These projects have real funding, teams of developers, and the marketing to get the attention of big software developers. Crypto in the gaming industry can no longer be ignored.
The buying and selling of in game items is nothing new. Gamers have been doing this for years across various MMO platforms to make real world currency from their hard won items. After all, you spent hours of your time earning gold and getting the best gear. It's yours so you should be able to make a profit from it right? Not quite. Many accounts have been banned for the real life trading of virtual goods due to violations of software agreements.
This also creates another huge problem for those who ignore the warnings and want to trade their in game items: fraud. Getting scammed out of your in game gold or items is a typical occurrence. What's worse is that there's often no recourse for those who lose their items or money. In game support will likely offer no help as you're in violation of their terms, and some payment processors such as Paypal offer no buyer protection for digital items.
Enjin Coin wants to put gaming assets on the block chain. This creates an exciting opportunity for gamers to truly own the items they win. Previously, most gamers seeking to make a profession of their hobby were only able to do so via sites like Youtube or Twitch. While it's certainly possible to make a living on these sites it's much more about being entertaining than being a gamer, and in recent months some people have found themselves being shut out of advertising programs due to tightened restrictions from upset advertisers. With Enjin coin gamers will have the freedom to earn from their hobbies either as a standalone income stream or in addition to their channels. In game items suddenly have real value that can be traded or cashed out at any time.
In addition to the obvious financial benefits of this it will also be safer for players to trade their items. All transactions will be accounted for on the block chain, and they won't have to worry about being scammed. The Enjin wallet will allow everything from one click trades to subscription purchases with trusted partners. Just like Steemit gives bloggers the freedom to earn their own income on the blockchain; I think Enjin Coin's greatest strength will come from freeing professional gamers from relying on the whims of advertisers who try to control the content of their channels.
This was my entry for the Original Works Writing Contest.
*Images used are from https://enjincoin.io/
enjincoin2017