From Play-to-Earn to Tap-to-Earn: The Evolution of Gaming Rewards

2024-07-23, 08:54

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## [TL; DR]
The tap-to-earn gaming model has become more popular than the play-to-earn one.

Some experts fear that T2E like P2E may lack sustainability which could contribute to their failures.

Notcoin, Catizen, Hamster Kombat, Yescoin, PixelTap and TapSwap are some of the leading T2E games.

## Introduction 
There is much competition in the web3 gaming sector as new games emerge offering much fantasy. With financial incentives as one of the key attractions of blockchain based games, players are switching from [play-to-earn games](https://www.gate.io/learn/articles/what-are-play-to-earn-games-and-why-play-them/1514 "play-to-earn games") to tap-to-earn ones. This article explores the reasons why web3 gamers prefer tap-to-earn (T2E) games to the play-to-earn (P2E) ones. We will also look at the T2E gaming model.

## Play-to-Earn (P2E) versus Tap-to-Earn (T2E): Why the Transition?
One reason most [web3 games evolve over time](https://www.gate.io/learn/articles/abcde-deciphering-the-matr1x-economic-model-the-sustainable-growth-path-of-web3-gaming/2402 "web3 games evolve over time") and new ones emerge is their complexity. Unlike traditional games which are often easy to navigate, web3 players should understand the technicalities of each web3 game before enjoying playing it. Sadly, it may take much time to understand and appreciate how each game is played. As a result, it becomes very difficult for the players to easily switch from one game to another.

One of the gaming industry trends is the upgrading of the game models due to emerging demands and preferences. For example, game developers have come with a new dimension to the play-to-earn games. As a result, they have developed the tap-to-earn crypto gaming model, currently trending in the sector.

Tap-to-earn games are far easier to play than the traditional play-to-earn games. The tap-to-earn gaming monetization model requires  players to tap on coins or icons on the screens to earn points or related rewards such as digital assets. The major reason why the T2E games have grown in popularity is the possibility for the players to get a share of crypto airdrops as additional incentive.

Read also: [Play-to-Earn in 2024: Web3 Games Requirements and Trends](https://www.gate.io/learn/articles/play-to-earn-in-2024-web3-games-requirements-and-trends/3051 "Play-to-Earn in 2024: Web3 Games Requirements and Trends")
## Analyzing the Transition: The Rise and Fall of Play-to-earn (P2E) Games
A few years back, play-to-earn web3 games came onto the market with the allure of digital gaming rewards that [include NFTs and cryptocurrencies](https://akcdn.gate.io/de/blog_detail/234/how-nft-and-blockchain-bring-new-potential-to-play-to-earn "include NFTs and cryptocurrencies"). Nevertheless, the main reason for the short-lived popularity of play-to-earn games was their lack of sustainability. Although the players were able to earn reasonable rewards the P2E games failed to sustain their interest. Also, many of the players were people who wanted to earn a living out of playing the game, not to invest in them. According to [Palemos, as cited by Blockworks, a P2E game](https://blockworks.co/news/play-to-earn-gaming-is-dead "Palemos, as cited by Blockworks, a P2E game") “attracts an audience that is looking to extract value from a game’s ecosystem, instead of contributing to it.” Therefore, to maintain the interest of the gamers the developers had to incorporate new gaming elements which became very expensive and unsustainable.

The other key reason for the demise of most play-to-earn games has been the inflationary nature of the [in-game assets (native cryptocurrencies)](https://www.gate.io/price/view/play-to-earn "in-game assets (native cryptocurrencies)"). When the values of these cryptocurrencies keep on falling the players eventually lose interest in the games. What normally causes the fall in the prices of the games is the influx of new players who, after earning the tokens, quickly sell them to get cash to meet their daily needs.

Also, most of these web3 play-to-earn games are mediocre in nature since the developers concentrate on monetary rewards rather than the gaming fantasy. In addition, the models are almost the same despite a few variations thus they have failed to sustain the interest of the players. Due to our experience with traditional games the real attraction of a game should be the pleasure they generate rather than the financial rewards. The above aspects have led to the “death” of most play-to-earn games. Significantly, the P2E games that are still on the market are declining. 
Read also: [The Top 15 GameFi in 2024](https://www.gate.io/zh/learn/articles/how-to-stake-myth/3066 "The Top 15 GameFi in 2024")
## The Sustainability of T2E Games Questioned: How They Differ from their Predecessors
The tap-to-earn games operate along the same lines as play-to-earn ones since financial rewards are their key aspect. Basically, the players tap on coins or similar icons to earn rewards. These games have gained much popularity and mainstream traction.

Despite slight variations most of these games are similar. First, the gamers need to do various tasks in order to have upgrades and boosters. One of the commonest tasks of this game is for the players to join various social media platforms such as Telegram and Discord channels. In addition, they earn certain points for inviting people to participate in the games.To incentivize the players to invite many friends and relatives to the games they earn a number of points when their invitees reach certain milestones such as inviting 10 new members.

Most of the T2E games have boosters which multiply their points whenever they attain certain targets. For example, one of the boosters may enable the energy bar to fill within a specified period. Another common element of the T2E games are the “Tap-bots”. Although the names of such an element may differ, its functionalities are the same. First, the player uses the points he/she has earned to buy a tap-bot. Subsequently, the bot will auto-tap the coin or <a href="/id/price/icon-icx" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">ICON</a> even when the gaming app is closed.
In all, the players can maximize their benefits through participating in various activities such as inviting others to join the games, acquiring the tap-bots and meeting the other major milestones. Of course, the more effort they expend playing the games the greater their rewards will be.

As of now, most of the tap-to-earn games such as Notcoin, TapSwap, Yescoin and Hamster Kombat exist on the Telegram social media app. As a result of the large number of users on Telegram these games have large player bases. For example, TapSwap got more than 50 million users within a month while Yescoin has over 24 million active players. Interestingly, Hamster Kombat has more than 200 active users yet Notcoin has over 35 million gamers.
## Gaming Mechanics- P2E Vs. T2E Models 
These two types of games have one thing in common: the gamers earn while playing. What differs the most are their earning modalities, their digital gaming rewards and technicalities. Unlike the P2E games which are complex the players take a casual approach when playing the tap-to-earn games. Due to their simplicity the learning curve is shorter than that of play-to-earn games. Therefore, T2E games have lower entry barriers than the P2E ones.

It takes less effort and time to earn T2E gaming rewards than players do with play-to-earn ones. That is the reason why the T2E games attract more players than the P2E ones. Also, the T2E games are more accessible than the P2E ones since they exist on Telegram which is a user-friendly social media platform. Another factor that has made the T2E games more popular than the P2E ones is the airdrop which most of them distribute to their users. Therefore, the T2E gaming model represents a paradigm shift from the P2E and other web3 games. Since the future of gaming depends on their sustainability the developers should incorporate various aspects that may help to maintain the interest of the players. 
## Analysis of the T2E Gaming Model: Reason Tap-to Earn Games are Popular Among Developers
We have already discussed the main benefits of T2E games to the players, the financial rewards. Now, let's briefly discuss why the developers prefer the T2E gaming model to the P2E one. The key reason game developers are focusing on T2E games is the simplicity of developing them. It takes far less time to design and develop T2E games than most other web3 ones. Similarly, the developers require far less resources to develop them than what the P2E games demand.

It is also important to realize that the developers can use various ways of monetizing the games, meaning that there is a high potential to generate much funds from the T2E games. For instance, the developers can incorporate virtual assets which the gamers can purchase. Based on existing trends, the players may need to purchase boosters, power-ups and cosmetic items.

The developers can incorporate short video ads or give incentives to the players to perform certain actions within the gaming ecosystem. By doing this, they generate revenue through third party advertisements while increasing the players’ financial rewards. Lastly, the developers may integrate suitable cryptocurrencies like ETH with their platforms thereby creating their own in-game economies that financially benefit them.

Despite the benefits of the T2E games to both the players and developers the greatest challenge is whether they will be sustainable for long. This is because most of these games do not have inherent value creation. Usually, their short-term sustainability depends on the influx of new players. Unfortunately, when more players join in they often affect the dynamics of the native digital assets which may lead to high price volatility and depreciation. Significantly, if the in-game assets depreciate beyond certain levels many players may abandon the games. 
## The Top Tap-to-Earn Games
We have already discussed the benefits of playing the T2E games, now let’s briefly look at the leading tap-to-earn games. Notcoin, Catizen, Hamster Kombat, Yescoin, PixelTap and TapSwap are some of the top T2E games. As hinted earlier on, most of these games exist on Telegram, a reason why they have large player-bases. Notcoin was the first T2E game. Created by Open Builders and launched at the start of 2024 Notcoin launched its native cryptocurrency (NOT) on The Open Network (TON). The other very popular T2E game is Hamster Kombat, another Telegram-based clicker game, with over 200 million active users. 
## Conclusion 
Play-to-earn and tap-to-earn are some of the most popular web3 games due to the financial incentives the players get. Nevertheless, most P2E games are complex yet most T2E ones are simple to use, a reason why they have attracted many players. Notcoin, Catizen, Hamster Kombat, Yescoin, PixelTap and TapSwap, all based on Telegram, are the top T2E games.

<div class="blog-details-info">
<div>Author:** Mashell C.**, Gate.io Researcher
<div class="info-tips">\*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
<div>\*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
</div>

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