Crypto games are all the rage at the moment, and much of their new-found popularity can be attributed to their play-to-earn approach to online gaming. Conventional online games require you to invest significantly in games and in-game items before you can start playing or as a prerequisite for advancing to the next level.
Crypto games, on the other hand, pay you for playing. But seeing that there are hundreds of them today, each offering different perks – how do you identify the best crypto game?
We address this question in this guide by introducing you 10 best crypto games to play in 2023. All of these games embrace the play-to-earn model and will reward you with free digital assets every time you play.
The Top 10 Best Crypto Games In 2023
Here is an outline of the top crypto games to play right now and what makes them unique:
- Axie Infinity - Overall Best Crypto Game Right Now
- Decentraland - Best Metaverse Crypto Game In 2023
- The Sandbox - Top Crypto Game With Multiple Games
- Star Atlas - Best Crypto Game On The Solana
- Space Misfits - Top Crypto Games Powered By The Enjin Blockchain
- Illuvium - Best Crypto Game With Multiple Income Streams
- Mobox - Best Crypto Games Hosted On The Binance Smart Chain
- Alien Worlds - Best Free-to-Play P2E Crypto Game
- Plant and Undead - Best Multiplayer For NFTs
- Chain Games - Best Ecosystem with Multiple Crypto Games
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Below, we will discuss each of these play-to-earn games in detail, exploring more of their features, their reward system, and checking how much you stand to earn when you play.
A Closer Look At The Best Crypto Games To Play Today
When coming up with this list, our analysts considered the profitability of playing these games. They also checked if you need an initial investment to start playing, the reward system (whether you earn digital currency, NFTs or both), and the ease with which you can cash your rewards, i.e., the convertibility of the tokens and NFTs earned when gaming.
But even more importantly, we examined their popularity within the blockchain gaming community and vetted their sustainability.
Here is an overview of the 10 best play-to-earn games:
1. Axie Infinity – Overall Best Crypto Game Right Now
Axie Infinity is overall the best crypto game to play right nowand one of the most popular and one of the fastest-growing play-to-earn crypto games. Launched in 2020, Axie has welcomed 3+ million individuals to its ecosystem and reports more than 800,000 monthly active gamers.
During this time, more than $3.6 Billion worth of Axies and SLP tokens have been traded on its in-house marketplace, with the most expensive Axie selling for $820,000. And this popularity and acceptability by the blockchain gaming community make Axie Infinity one of the most leading crypto game in 2023.
The Pokémon-inspired game involves battling other gamers using Axies, with the winner earning Smooth Love Portion (SLP) tokens. To start playing, however, you first need to buy three Axies. They all have NFT qualities and can thus be traded on the Axie Infinity marketplace. You could also choose to start playing for free using other players’ Axies and sharing the earnings.
Axie Infinity also makes it to the list of best blockchain games because it presents you with multiple ways of making money. In addition to battling other players, you could earn from breeding your Axies and selling these offspring. Alternatively, you can raise an army of Axies, loan them out to players, and share their earnings.
Cashing out involves converting the SLPs earned into Axie Infinity metaverse’s native tokens – AXS – and trading them for fiat or another crypto on major exchanges. Your Axie NFTs also appreciate in value and can be sold in the Axie Infinity marketplace.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
2. Decentraland – Best Metaverse Crypto Game in 2023
Decentraland is arguably one of the most popular metaverses. It is also one of the oldest, most reputable, and most valuable metaverse projects – with a market cap of $1.5 Billion.
There are multiple ways of making money on Decentraland – and this informed our decision to feature it on our list of best crypto games in 2023. First, you can earn by flipping the limited plots of LAND available on this metaverse.
These are available to users as NFTs, and the most expensive plot of land was sold for $2.4 Million in November 2021. You can also make money interacting with the different play-to-earn games hosted on the metaverse. Additionally, you can make money creating and selling in-game accessories like skins, wearables, and other accessories.
Most of these are sold on the Decentraland marketplace for MANA tokens that can then be converted for any other crypto or fiat currency on popular exchanges.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
3. The Sandbox – Top Crypto Game with Multiple Games
The Sandbox is a gaming metaverse that makes it to our list of best crypto games because of its fast-paced growth. Established in 2018, the metaverse now has more than 3 million users and more than 300K monthly active players. It also has onboarded multiple play-to-earn games and scored partnerships with leading off-chain brands like Adidas, Atari, Gucci, Samsung, Square, and PWC – who are all looking to build on this metaverse.
It has also partnered with multiple online gaming companies like Ubisoft and The Walking Dead. And today, you can make money on The Sandbox by interacting with the many play-to-earn games hosted here.
You could also make money flipping the scarce virtual land on the Metaverse – which has NFT features. The most expensive NFT here sold for $4.3 Million in November 2021. You could also make money creating and selling or flipping cool Avatars, art, in-game items, and celebrity NFTs like Snoop Dogg’s on The Sandbox NFT marketplace.
Ultimately, The Sandbox intends to incorporate more games, partner with more brands, and introduce more ways of making money for the players. It also intends to morph into the largest decentralized social media platform. And all these add to the reasons why we believe The Sandbox to be one of the best blockchain games.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
4. Star Atlas – Best Crypto Game on the Solana
Star Atlas is an immersive, multi-player, and futuristic game built on the fast-growing Solana blockchain. It is built using Unreal Engine 5 and seeks to leverage Solana’s effectiveness and fast-paced growth to position itself as a top play-to-earn game. But this isn’t the only reason we include it on our list of the best crypto games in 2021. It also makes it here because of its growing popularity and sustainability.
The fundamental aspects of the Star Atlas game include immersive deep-space exploration, conquests, the establishment of space stations, creation of space ships, and control of virtual space resources.
Like the rest of the top crypto games that we have discussed here, there are multiple ways of making money on the Star Atlas metaverse. For starters, you earn virtual assets that you can convert to crypto and later fiat currency when you battle other players. You could also earn passively through different staking programs hosted here.
You could also earn by flipping Ships, resources like ammunition and food, collectables, access badges, and accessories like mining equipment. These have NFTs features and are primarily sold on the Star Atlas NFT marketplace for ATLAS tokens that have been listed with multiple crypto exchanges.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
5. Space Misfits – Top Crypto Games Powered by the Enjin Blockchain
Spaces Misfits is a space exploration-themed blockchain game built on the Enjin Blockchain. It makes it to our list of the best crypto games in 2023 because it is free to play. You do not need an initial investment to start playing, exploring the 3D-rendered virtual deep space, and making money.
We also feature it among the best blockchain games because it presents users with multiple ways of making money. For starters, you earn BITs (the in-game token for the metaverse) when you hunt NPCs. You could also earn by flipping space ships, ammunition, and accessories on the Space Misfits NFT marketplace. Additionally, you can earn passively by staking crypto on the metaverse.
Like most other metaverse games, Space Misfits is a work in progress. Its developers recently announced plans to launch a platform that facilitates the conversion of the in-game BITS token rewards to ERC-20 tokens for further conversion to digital or fiat currency on popular exchanges.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
6. Illuvium – Best Crypto Game for Multiple Income Streams
Illuvium is an open-world fantasy game built on the Ethereum Blockchain. First introduced to the blockchain gaming community in 2020, Illuvium is a work in progress as its developers seek to introduce more games, gaming options, and income generation streams.
Illuvium involves exploring the fantasy world, hunting, and taming ‘Illuvials’ – NFT creatures used to build an army. Alternatively, you may choose to battle other players or complete daily and weekly quests hosted on the metaverse. All these aspects of Illuvium appeal to both beginners and hardcore gamers – which is part of the reason we feature it among the best crypto games for 2023.
But our decision to include Illuvium among the best play-to-earn games was due to the many income streams it has integrated here. The three most obvious ways of making money here involve completing quests, trading tamed Illuvials and selling spoils of war.
But you could also make money staking ILV tokens on the metaverse. Additionally, you can make money flipping gaming accessories on the Illuvium marketplace or buying and selling the virtual land that makes up the Illuvium metaverse.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
7. Mobox – Best Crypto Games Hosted on the Binance Smart Chain
Three key factors make Mobox one of the best crypto games in 2022. For starters, it is a free-to-play blockchain game – implying that you do not need initial investment capital to start playing and earning on the MOMOverse. Secondly, the Binance Smart Chain-based game is available across different platforms – both mobile and desktop. Lastly, and perhaps more importantly, it presents players with multiple ways of making money.
Here, you earn by exploring the MOMOverse and hunting MOMO NFTs, unique creatures that you can use to participate in different games across the blockchain. You can either sell them for MBX tokens or create an army that you use to battle other players.
You are also free to create a unique Avatar NFT or mint a collection of NFTs that you can trade on the Mobox NFT marketplace. Note that the most expensive NFT on the metaverse sold for $1.5 Million.
There also are multiple play-to-earn games on this metaverse, as well as regular quests where participants can score MOMO NFTs or acquire MBOX tokens. You could also become a MOMO farmer and earn passive income with interests averaging 45.94% APY when you stake digital currencies on this metaverse. The fact that you can combine the different income streams to expand your revenues on the platform makes Mobox one of the best metaverse games.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
8. Alien Worlds – Best Free-to-Play P2E Crypto Game
Alien Worlds is one of the most popular free-to-play blockchain games, which explains its inclusion in our basket of the best crypto games for 2022. But the fact that it is free-to-play is far from being the only reason we feature it here. Others include the many income streams available to Alien World players, its rich roadmap, its fast-paced growth/popularity, and the unique Trillium token.
After registering a player account on the metaverse, you can lease a spaceship and embark on exploration missions where you can discover valuable NFTs. You could also choose to battle their players and earn rewards in return. Alternatively, you could choose to trade different NFTs on the Alien Worlds NFT marketplace.
These range from rare digital items, mining tools, minions, weapons, and Avatars. Similarly, you could flip the virtual plots of land on this metaverse. Plus, you could also stake the earned Trillium tokens and earn competitive interest.
We were particularly drawn to the unique Trillium token. It is one of the few multi-chain supported tokens – implying that even though Alien Words is hosted on Binance Smart Chain, you can seamlessly move the token to Ethereum and WAX blockchains. It is ERC-20, BEP-20, and WAX compatible, which greatly improves its convertibility and adds to the reasons why Aliens Words is one of the best blockchain games around today.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
9. Plant Vs. Undead – Best Multiplayer Blockchain Game for NFTs
Plant Vs. Undead (PVU) is a relatively new but one of the fastest growing blockchain games. Launched in June 2021, the tower-defence game has shot to prominence within the blockchain gaming community as one of the best multiplayer blockchain games. Much of this can be its free-to-play nature, multiple income generation opportunities, and user-friendliness.
Once you register a player account with PUV, you will receive a free mother tree and 5 plant slots. These can be used to generate Light Energy that can then be exchanged for PUV tokens. You will also have access to two gaming modes, the PUV Main mode, which allows you to battle other players or the farming mode - where you can grow plants and earn PUV tokens. Both the land and plants are NFTs that can be traded on the PUV NFT marketplace.
All these and the project’s rich roadmap make Plants Vs. Undead one of the best crypto games in 2023.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
10. Chain Games – Best Ecosystem with Multiple Crypto Games
Chain Games makes it to our list of the best crypto games in 2022 because it hosts a wide range of varying but play-to-earn blockchain games. At the time of writing, Chain Games integrates seven p2e games, including Super Crypto Kart, ChainBlox, Chaino, and Solitaire Plus. And so far, the over 40,000 players registered on this gaming metaverse have played 1 million games and earned over $80 Million – cumulatively.
Note, however, that Chain Games is not a free-to-play platform and will need first to acquire CHAIN tokens, that you will need to pay entry fees for the different games. This pool is then shared among winners, Chain Games, and the game developer. This implies that developers, too, have a chance to monetize their games in this open metaverse.
Other ways through which you can make on this top play-to-earn gaming metaverse include staking your crypto – either Ethereum or MATIC – and earning completive interests.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
How Do Crypto Games Work?
Crypto games are decentralized versions of conventional games. But in place of being centralized, these games are hosted on the decentralized blockchain technology. Additionally, they are built on the play-to-earn model that rewards players for participating in these games.
There, however, are two different types of crypto games. First are the free-to-play games that do not charge an entry fee and the rest that require you to either invest in gaming tools or pay an entry fee for each game you participate in. The pooled funds from players are then shared among the winners, the network, and – at times – the game developers.
Where To Buy Coins And In-Game Items For Blockchain Games
Not all of the best crypto games discussed above are free-to-play. Some, like Chain Games, require players first to buy their native CHAIN tokens needed to pay entry fees to the different games hosted on this metaverse. Where then do you buy some of these gaming tokens?
Well, in this section, we discuss the three top exchanges where you can buy in-game tokens for most of these blockchain games:
- eToro: The exchange is one of the best places to buy in-game tokens that you can use to take part in these games because of its user-friendliness, the fact that it lists close to 70 crypto coins, and it also supports virtually all the most popular fiat payment options. It is also a highly reputable crypto exchange and one of the most regulated exchanges.
- Crypto.com: Crypto.com also tops the list of best places to buy in-game tokens for crypto games because of its user-friendliness, support for 250+ crypto tokens, its low deposit/trading minimums, and the fact that it supports a wide range of popular deposit options. The exchange is also quick in processing crypto transactions.
- Binance: Binance is the most liquid crypto exchange in the world. It is also accessible to gamers in every crypto-friendly country and territory worldwide. It has low minimum deposit/trading limits, lists one of the widest ranges of crypto assets and tokens (600+), and is ultra-fast in processing crypto transactions.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Benefits Of Playing Crypto Games
As you read through our list of what we consider the 10 best blockchain games, you probably asked yourself – what are the benefits of crypto games? What makes them superior to the more established traditional online games?
Well, here are four distinctive differences between conventional and blockchain games that also double up as their key benefits:
- Gaming rewards: Unlike conventional online games, the best crypto games reward players with digital assets – both tokens and NFTs – that can be converted to cash, hence the name play-to-earn games. In mid-2021, for example, 22-year-old Aaron Ramos from the Philippines reported that he had purchased two houses with cash earned from playing Axie Infinity.
- Passive income: Most of these gaming metaverses also have staking options and pay stakers on their platforms' highly competitive interest rates.
- Own valuable virtual assets: All the top crypto games discussed above will let you own NFTs in virtual land, avatars, or gaming merchandise. Some of these, especially virtual land on popular metaverses, are highly valuable and serve as an excellent store of value. For instance, the most valuable plot of virtual land on Decentraland had its value break above $3.5 Million.
- Provably fair games: Unlike conventional games that are often opaque and controlled by centralized entities, most crypto games are decentralized, operated by transparent smart contracts and, therefore, provably fair.
Conclusion – Best Crypto Games To Play Right Now
The blockchain gaming space promises to be one of the most promising niches in cryptoverse moving forward. And to prep you for this inevitability, we have introduced you to the 10 best crypto games in 2023.
They all reward gamers with free tokens and other valuable digital assets for interacting with their platforms through gaming, creating in-game items, or simply staking their digital assets in the gaming metaverse.
To get started, go through this list again and identify the blockchain game that appeals most to you. Create a gamer account and if they require an initial investment, buy their native tokens on such reputable crypto exchanges as eToro and use it to pay the game entry fee or purchase gaming tools.
eToro – Best Platform To Buy Cryptocurrencies
Open an account with eToro, deposit some funds with USD, and finally – buy Cryptocurrencies for just $10.
Crypto asset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
Read More:
FAQs Best Crypto Games
What games can you play to earn free crypto?
In this list, we have described the top crypto games that will reward you with free crypto tokens for battling other players, embarking on missions, and completing different quests. However, note that some require you to invest in gaming tools or pay an entry fee before you can start playing.
Can you get Bitcoin playing crypto games?
Yes. However, most top play-to-earn games will not reward you with Bitcoins. Rather, they reward players with their metaverse native tokens that you can then convert to BTC on any of the popular crypto exchanges.
What are Legit crypto games in 2023?
The majority of the blockchain games available today are legit and provably fair – thanks to the decentralized blockchain technology on which they are hosted. Hereinabove we have provided you with a list of what we consider the best and most legit crypto games in 2023.
Is Axie Infinity a free to play game?
No, Axie infinity is not a free-to-play crypto game. To get started, you will need to invest in three Axies – though they are lowly priced and currently have a floor price of $4. The only option to play for free on Axie Infinity is by borrowing other players’ Axies and sharing in SLP rewards earned.
Can you really earn crypto by playing blockchain games?
Yes. In this guide, we have discussed what we consider the 10 best crypto games that let you earn by playing online games.
How can I earn crypto for free?
Register with any of the 10 best crypto games that we have discussed above. Proceed to complete quests, missions and battle other players to earn free native tokens.