How NFT Gaming Can Change the World and My Favorite One (Gods Unchained)

How many people watched Ready Player One and thought, “Wow, wouldn’t it be amazing if there was a game that I could play that could change my life?” I mean, actually achieving financial independence from playing a game. Sounds pretty awesome, right? Now, what if I told you that while the movie was set far in the future, we actually can get our hands on something very similar today that’s already here and ready to play?

I’m talking about a new NFT game that’s play-to-earn and free-to-play, but woah…those are big hyphenated words, so what do they really mean? Essentially, zero investment is needed to play (free-to-play) and you can actually earn cards (which can be turned into minted NFTs) through simply playing the game (play-to-earn). And then those NFTs can be sold for crypto. Y’all already know how the rest goes. Take that crypto over to your favorite exchange, and it can be converted in turn to fiat currency, allowing you to earn money to pay your bills….all from a game. Yes, this is real, and the most exciting part is… it’s only getting started! You can still get in essentially on the ground level and join some incredible communities that are offering play-to-earn environments within the NFT games that they have created.

(Sample live gameplay from one of my Gods Unchained matches!)

Now out of these, my favorite and the one that I’m here to talk about today it’s called Gods Unchained. Before I go any further, I really want to emphasize that if you’ve ever wanted to be an early adopter and you think it’s too late with NFTs, I promise that it’s not. And that truly is because NFT gaming specifically is just starting to blow up. I know you’ve probably heard about the boom in NFT artwork and the incredible sales of pieces for millions of dollars. Or real estate that’s selling in the metaverse for a pretty penny. And this can make you think it’s too late. I really get it. But I’ve got good news. It’s truly not too late, and here’s an example. When I started playing Gods Unchained in July (only five months ago) there were only about 10,000 weekly active users over every seven day period. Fast forward and as of last week, that number has already now grown to 50,000! Additionally the GU (Gods Unchained) community has a massive discord channel and also quickly growing Twitter following that has already gained almost 10K new followers in the last 3 weeks. And yet, like I mentioned, you can still be an early adopter because this is just the start for GU specifically. And if you’ve heard anything about the meteoric rise of Axie Infinity in the past you can understand why I am so excited about the potential that NFT gaming holds.

Which brings me to my favorite and (for me) the most important part of this entire blog post. And that is the potential for free-to-play NFT games, and Gods Unchained as a focus, to change the lives of people and families in low income countries. Before you write me off for exaggerating, please give me a chance to explain. For reference, one of my best friends is a schoolteacher in a small village in Tanzania. He earns $150 USD per month, and after initial expenses (loan payment for his family home, daily transport to school, food expenses, utilities, etc), he is left with only about $60 per month. And we met because I spent 3 months living at and volunteering at an orphanage that my friend runs with the leftover $60 in funds. So by the time he has paid the orphanage expenses, there is no money left to save. Meanwhile, last week just from playing GU, I was able to earn 12 $GODS tokens in play-to-earn rewards. And each $GODS token was worth $6.50 USD at the time, which comes out to over $75! That means in one week of playing a game, I was able to earn half of what my friend earns in an entire month of work! And this is exactly where the life changing potential lies with NFT gaming.

(Memories from early mornings with the kids before heading to school at Tabasamu Orphanage in Tanzania)

So yes, I’m going to say it. Gods Unchained can absolutely become a game that when played in low income countries can provide a better life for families…just from playing a game. Players have the opportunity to have fun and elevate the quality of their lives at the same time. And all it takes is an internet connection and English comprehension, which after spending a lot of time in Africa and India, I know is being taught in most schools, no matter how low-income the area. Tie that to the Internet cafes that are available in a growing number of villages, and anyone who is lucky enough to have a laptop, and the seeds of a better life are already being planted. Can y’all feel my excitement about this? Although my friend in Tanzania doesn’t earn much per month, I know he is lucky enough to have a laptop, which immediately makes things so accessible.

I truly believe that the opportunity to spark change for good through the power of free-to-play and play-to-earn NFT gaming is something that has a chance to take off as knowledge of blockchain and cryptocurrencies continues to spread. And who knows, maybe one day soon we can do some outreach with the actual GU development team as the game continues to grow. I already know that I will be having my friend in Tanzania download GU this week and start playing-to-earn.

In the same spirit, you may have noticed that the first thing I said we could do with the crypto earned from gameplay was to pay bills. And now you know the reason, and also something that is close to my heart. After all, one of my favorite moments in my entire crypto journey was when I started blogging on Steemit, the predecessor of Hive, and I read about a blogger from Uganda who shared how after blogging for about a month and a half (and this was during the crypto boom of 2017 and STEEM’s price went from pennies to 7+ dollars) he was able to buy two goats for his family’s farm. A tangible improvement to the family’s quality of life was literally provided from the content that he created with an Internet connection and a computer in this incredible world of Blockchain and cryptocurrency. That, as far as I am concerned, is just an example of what an incredible time we are living in.

At the end of the day, I definitely would love everyone reading this (who has not already joined the game) to deeply consider becoming a part of the GU community. I truly think that this game is a first mover, with an ambitious team that can achieve what they’re trying to create and grow. And you and I, the players, stand to benefit immensely for supporting this project.

50,000+ weekly active users is absolutely incredible but I see that number going to the millions in time. Get in early and just wait and see what this project can do, because as it grows, it literally has the potential to change lives for those playing.

And that finally brings me back to my greatest hope for GU. Yes, I may be an idealist, but I truly believe that as Gods Unchained grows, it can provide a massive financial lift in lower income areas of the world. I know everyone can’t have their own computer but I’ve been incredibly encouraged by seeing the prevalence of computer/internet cafés available in even the smallest villages. That, along with a chance to practice their English in a real world environment is an incredible combination. Which means that when possible (if computers and internet are available), adults can play and kids can play and families can be lifted up. Isn’t that truly exciting!?

I'm so grateful for the time we live in, as well as the opportunity that Gods Unchained may hold for each of us and for the world. Perhaps the developers never even considered this, or perhaps they knew from the start, but they’ve created an NFT game that potentially could be a massive engine for positive change. And I cannot wait to see where the journey takes us!

Thank you for reading this far if you made it! Also a huge shoutout to @acidyo for the inspiration to start sharing content about Gods Unchained here on Hive. We're just getting started!

-Jumpmaster