Play-to-Earn Games – TOP 11 Games to Earn Money

2026-02-02 20:24:19
Blockchain
GameFi
Gaming
NFTs
Web 3.0
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This comprehensive guide explores Play-to-Earn gaming, where players earn real cryptocurrency and NFTs through blockchain-based gameplay. The article reveals how traditional gamers can monetize their skills without initial investment, examining 11 popular P2E platforms including Splinterlands, Chainmonsters, Gods Unchained, and The Sandbox. Each game features unique earning mechanisms—from card battles to resource mining to metaverse creation. The guide covers essential mechanics, token economics, and trading opportunities on platforms like Gate. Learn proven strategies for maximizing earnings, understand NFT ownership benefits, and discover which games suit different play styles. Whether you're seeking passive income or exploring blockchain gaming, this resource provides actionable insights into the rapidly evolving P2E ecosystem and its sustainable income potential for players worldwide.
Play-to-Earn Games – TOP 11 Games to Earn Money

Play-to-Earn: A Revolutionary Model for Gaming Income

With the emergence of the cryptocurrency world, the appeal of play-to-earn games has significantly increased. Many early Internet users wondered if they could play free online games to earn money, and it turns out they can.

This unique play-to-earn gaming model is designed for adults for legal reasons and rewards participants with virtual currency for playing specific games. One of the most popular blockchain games currently is Axie Infinity, where players must build a collection of Axies, which are NFT creatures in the game. Considering the total value of in-game assets, Axie Infinity has a market capitalization worth over $3 billion.

However, it's important to remember that while earning money from games is not a myth, most of these play-to-earn games are not entirely free. Axie Infinity requires three NFT Axies to start playing, and NFT prices have risen along with the game's popularity.

The best incentive to play any of these games is that your assets are registered on the blockchain and are actually NFTs. These items are useful if you want to play a particular game, but you'll most likely also be able to find a buyer for them quite easily if you ever decide you no longer want to play.

That's why NFT and blockchain games can be excellent investment options and sources of income. This model allows players to receive compensation in virtual currency and play free online games to earn money. With the prospect of the upcoming metaverse, we expect to see even more games. If you want to play online games, we've researched the 11 best ones that offer the greatest earning opportunities.

Top 11 Free Online Games to Earn Money

Splinterlands

Splinterlands is one of the best play-to-earn games. Formerly known as Steem Monsters, it exists on the Hive blockchain and belongs to the card game genre. Splinterlands is a game where players battle monsters for in-game rewards.

The Splinterlands platform allows card game enthusiasts to earn rewards. It's available on both mobile devices and desktop computers, and currently, there are over 500 cards in the game (with more being constantly added) that players can combine to upgrade their characters' abilities and make them stronger.

Seven metrics are used to determine a player's skills: speed and armor, mana cost, and various types of attacks, including melee, ranged, and magic. Splinterlands is divided into different "fractions," also known as "Splinters." Each card belongs to one fraction: Fire, Earth, Dragon, Death, Life, Water, and Neutral.

In Splinterlands, there are many rare items, abilities, and ways to gain an advantage over others. The platform offers a wide range of in-game activities where players can participate to earn rewards every day. There are many forms of gameplay, including quests, ranked play, and tournaments.

The game allows participation at multiple levels. Players can earn card packs, rare and magical elixirs, as well as the rarest item, Dark Energy (a digital currency used to purchase in-game items). Splinterlands players can use cards to level up, rent cards from other players, or exchange their cards for various cryptocurrencies. This makes it possible to earn money by playing.

Chainmonsters

Chainmonsters is an exciting cross-platform online game that allows players to battle, trade, and catch digital monsters in a massive open-world multiplayer environment.

The game combines traditional mechanics and implements new features made possible by integration with the Flow blockchain. All NFTs are owned by users, and only they have exclusive control over them.

The game's creators chose Flow because they believe it's the best solution for next-generation applications and games. Flow's main design principles are both consumer-oriented and developer-friendly, making this blockchain network highly scalable and a platform for global brands such as UFC, Warner Music Group, Dr. Seuss, NBA, and Ubisoft.

Chainmonsters aims to create long-term partnerships and build a large-scale player-driven economy. Since 2022, the game has been in beta, and access is only available to wallets with a valid Access token.

As players embark on an epic journey, they are constantly connected to the blockchain. Every Chainmonsters digital asset exists on the Flow blockchain. There are 135 different Chainmons available in the game to catch, but each has different strengths. Power is determined by their individual characteristics. Each Chainmon's serial number depends on how many players have caught it. It can also be seen in three different visual variants: Normal, Shadow, and Crystal.

There are 600 crystal Chainmons in the game, making them rare and desirable NFT collectibles. Digital in-game items, such as outfits, can be tokenized and exchanged for Chainmons.

Gods Unchained

Gods Unchained represents one of the popular options if you want to play free online games to earn money. It's a card game where you can play for free and earn virtual currency. It was first announced in 2018 when developers sold millions of mystical cards and raised $15 million in a Series A funding round.

The game's native token is GODS, which also serves as a payment option throughout the game. The unique value of rare cards is that they can be exchanged for GODS cryptocurrency, which can then be exchanged for cash. Because players have full control over the assets they acquire over time, this model provides greater incentive to play.

With more players and greater sales each month, it's rapidly gaining popularity. The team behind the game has done an excellent job promoting it through tournaments and ranking events. They plan to release a mobile version, which will allow them to reach more people worldwide. Gods Unchained NFTs were issued on Ethereum Layer 2.

Gods Unchained offers players the opportunity to earn money by playing and trading cards during gameplay, making it a great option if you want to play free online games to earn extra income. The GODS token is available on multiple exchanges, such as Huobi, Crypto.com, and major trading platforms.

Coin Hunt World

Coin Hunt World incorporates elements from various popular online games and combines them into one cryptocurrency game.

The Coin Hunt World game is very similar to Pokémon Go and encourages players to go outside and explore the world. It uses the user's location, and instead of chasing new Pokémon, players can capture Bitcoins.

The cryptocurrency you find in Coin Hunt World can be used in various trading applications and exchanged for real money.

How to play Coin Hunt World? Simply download the app to your device and start searching for treasures hidden on the map. During the hunt, you'll be able to play mini-games, meet new people, and earn Bitcoins. You can even acquire NFTs from selected locations, allowing you to secure exclusive pieces of Coin Hunt World history.

Players must find keys to vaults while exploring the real world. Players will answer questions that appear each time a vault is discovered. The user will be rewarded if they answer correctly within a specified time.

Users are currently rewarded with real Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as crafting items and avatar skins, which will soon be available as NFTs.

Coin Hunt World is available in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. iOS users living in other countries awaiting the premiere have access to daily questions. The map shows specific places and objects scattered around the globe. You just need to enter the game and start hunting.

The Sandbox

Sandbox is a play-to-earn game that uses blockchain technology, DeFi, and NFTs to create a 3D metaverse. The virtual world allows players to customize and create their own games and digital assets using free design tools. The game can be perceived as a DeFi version of Minecraft on the blockchain.

You can monetize the virtual goods you create using NFTs and sell them on the Sandbox marketplace for SAND tokens, the game's cryptocurrency. SAND is used for all transactions and interactions in the game. You can earn it by participating in contests or buying it on cryptocurrency exchanges such as Huobi, KuCoin, or leading platforms. To access various games, environments, and hubs in Sandbox, players must create their avatars.

Sandbox was originally a mobile gaming platform intended to compete with Minecraft. The game proved to be a huge success and was downloaded over 40 million times worldwide.

In 2018, Arthur Madrid and Sebastien Bourget, co-founders of the application, decided to explore the possibility of creating a 3D metaverse using blockchain technology. They want users to own their creations and receive NFT rewards for participating in the ecosystem. The Sandbox project, which launched in 2020, has become one of the most popular cryptocurrency games, competing in popularity with Axie Infinity and Decentraland.

In November 2021, the Sandbox team received $93 million in funding from SoftBank, a Japanese mobile industry company. The game has attracted over 50 partners, including Atari, a well-known gaming company, CryptoKitties, The Walking Dead, and rapper Snoop Dogg.

DeFi Degen Land

DeFi Degen Land is an online metaverse where users can interact with the blockchain within the game. NFTs, digital asset ownership, voice chat, blockchain interactivity, and the P2E model are part of the metaverse.

The main goal of this metaverse is to combine gamification and DeFi. Soon, this metaverse will become available to players, allowing them to network in-game, own their own items, earn money online, and use NFTs in the game. The metaverse will make it easy and enjoyable for new users to familiarize themselves with DeFi.

In DeFi Degen Land, you can send and receive data via the blockchain, which opens up a world of possibilities for future development and updates.

The game is based on the BSC blockchain and offers basic features: blockchain interaction, ownership rights to items, playing online games and earning rewards, using NFTs in the game, and voice chat.

Crypto Royale

Crypto Royale is another play-to-earn game that can be played without any upfront investment. It runs in a browser, and players must compete with each other to win cryptocurrencies.

Crypto Royale allows users to enter the battlefield and win cryptocurrencies. Users are represented by moons that can have different colors (blue, yellow, or pink). Crypto Royale is based on the Harmony blockchain, and the project's native cryptocurrency is ROY, which is an HRC-20 token. It's available on the decentralized exchange ViperSwap.

Every day, over 1,000 players compete for ROY. To win the prize, a player must be the last person standing on the battlefield. A player's character can be represented by three moons (blue, yellow, or pink). Collecting boxes on the battlefield can cause colors to change. These should be used to increase the player's power, gain an advantage over opponents, and win.

Each player can adopt their own style, which often becomes their characteristic feature. Regardless of what strategy the player or opponent uses, there is always an external force that adds pressure to the gameplay. While going outside in the darkness can cause health to drop, items found outside can often lead you to victory. Timing and position are key elements of a player's skill.

Worldwide Webb

Worldwide Webb is an interoperable metaverse and MMORPG game that provides tools for popular NFT projects. NFTs are used to create avatars, pets, lands, items, and quests. A group of core cryptocurrency creators, artists, coders, and marketers implemented the game, guided by a build-first mentality. They are rapidly developing new technologies and applications.

The Worldwide Webb ecosystem includes lands owned and controlled by NFT token holders. These in-game areas can be used for social events. The quest builder allows for creating custom smart contracts and selling your art.

The main feature of Worldwide Webb is the ability to own NFT avatars and profile pictures from OpenSea projects. As for avatars, the game is integrated with Cryptopunks, KaijuKingz, and CyberKongz. Animals are represented by the NFT collections PunkCats and Cypher City Pets.

Players will find skill-based mini-games, numerous contests with prizes, and generous freebies. As new features develop, players expect new ways to earn real money from the game.

Nine Chronicles

Nine Chronicles is an open-source, blockchain-based MMORPG game where players can earn its native token, NCG coin. It's available for trading on exchanges like KuCoin, Gate.com, and MEXC.

Players can choose from one of four character classes. The character will be equipped with weapons and armor and will also receive food that can be used as needed. Now it's time for adventure. Players have no control over their character's adventures, hence the Idle gameplay style. Nine Chronicles has thousands of players and also features an RPG progression system.

All gameplay decisions in Nine Chronicles are made during the preparation phase. During this phase, players can sell and create equipment for their characters. After the character embarks on their adventure, the player can do nothing but watch and wait for events to unfold. The character can continue their adventure until they are defeated or exhausted.

In Nine Chronicles, there is an opportunity to earn Nine Chronicles Gold cryptocurrency. NCG is earned by completing tasks, selling in-game items, or participating in real-world or digital events.

Black Eye Galaxy

Black Eye Galaxy is a play-to-earn game that uses NFTs to represent planets and spaceships. It allows players to explore outer space and mine resources from planets.

The virtual reality space will not only test your combat skills but also allow you to explore the virtual world. You can create civilizations, impose taxes, and terraform planets. You can even create your own currencies to support your domestic economy through game mechanics. This game will allow everyone to unleash their inner dictator and rule with an iron fist.

In Black Eye Galaxy, each star cluster represents a different Layer 1 chain. Binance Smart Chain is the first implemented blockchain, with others to follow.

The game featured spaceships and planets as NFTs, allowing players to discover unknown areas.

Space Misfits

Space Misfits is set in 3D outer space. Here, users have the opportunity to hunt and collect real-world resources. They must determine the role they want to play in the game's economy. Options include: space pirate, trader, or miner.

The game allows players to explore the universe, find resources, build starship components, and battle other players. These elements result in an open economy within the Enjin blockchain, allowing trading of digital in-game items.

Two cryptocurrencies are available in Space Misfits. The governance token is SMCW, which can be earned through staking, participating in tournaments and in-game events, and NPC drops.

SMCW is recommended for long-term investors who plan to spend a lot of time on the platform. The token gives them the ability to influence content on the platform. Over time, they will also become more valuable than BITS because there will be fewer of them.

BITS, the second token, can be used to purchase NFTs, game assets, minerals, or to pay game fees. It's earned and collected by participating in daily missions and completing tasks. Both Space Misfits tokens will be available for purchase on DEXs, as the game is still in beta.

Start Earning from Free Play-to-Earn Online Games Today

As you can see, there are games where you can earn real money. However, to ensure you get the most out of each of these online games and earn the virtual currency they offer, you'll probably need to spend some time developing strategies and understanding how the game's economy works.

FAQ

What are Play-to-Earn games and how do they work?

Play-to-Earn games are blockchain-based games where players earn cryptocurrency or NFTs through gameplay. Players complete tasks, battles, or achievements to receive real digital assets that have actual value and can be traded or sold.

Can Play-to-Earn games really make money? How much can ordinary players earn?

Yes, Play-to-Earn games can generate income, but ordinary players typically earn modest amounts, usually under $100 monthly. Earnings depend on game selection, time investment, and market conditions.

How should I start playing P2E games? How much initial capital do I need?

You can start playing P2E games for free without any initial investment. Purchasing NFTs enhances your experience and earning potential, but it's not required. Begin with free-to-play options, then invest gradually as you understand the game mechanics and market dynamics.

What are the risks of Play-to-Earn games? What should I pay attention to?

Play-to-Earn games carry risks including token price volatility and reward reduction. Games relying on new player influx may experience token inflation and diminished earnings once growth stalls. Choose projects with sustainable economic models and transparent tokenomics.

What are NFTs and tokens in P2E games? Do they have real value?

NFTs and tokens in P2E games are digital assets representing in-game items and governance rights. They possess real market value determined by supply, demand, and utility. Players can earn, trade, and convert them to fiat currency, creating genuine financial opportunities within gaming ecosystems.

Axie Infinity、Splinterlands等热门P2E游戏分别有什么特点?

Axie Infinity features creature breeding, farming and PvP battles with NFT rewards. Splinterlands combines trading card gameplay with blockchain ownership. Both offer strong earning mechanisms through gameplay and asset trading.

What is the difference between Play-to-Earn games and traditional games?

Play-to-Earn games allow players to earn tradable digital assets like tokens and NFTs through gameplay, while traditional games offer no monetary value for in-game achievements. P2E games leverage blockchain technology to create verifiable, tradable assets with real economic value.

What is the future outlook for P2E games? Will this industry exist long-term?

P2E games have strong long-term potential. Despite current challenges like token inflation, industry innovation and regulatory clarity will drive sustainability. The sector will evolve toward more balanced tokenomics, attracting institutional investors and mainstream players. P2E gaming is establishing itself as a permanent part of the web3 ecosystem.

* The information is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice or any other recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by Gate.
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