Video gamers have always loved user-generated content (UGC) and its art of self-expression. Although UGC has been around in video games for decades, it hasn’t always been as welcomed as it is in today’s market. Some of the early forms of UGC were ‘Mods,’ which were in-game changes of an existing video game created by players and typically disseminated through more under-the-radar channels like third-party forums. Currently, UGC-based games and platforms have evolved into being the world’s most popular digital products, ranging from games like Fortnite and Minecraft (both of which have implemented UGC-based techniques) to platforms like Minecraft which is one of the largest industry leaders with a UGC-centric business model with over 200 million copies sold to date. All of this phenomenal growth demonstrates that people want to purchase, trade, and exchange game items aggressively, as seen by Fortnite and Call of Duty’s billion-dollar sales. However, developers have not been able to serve their needs efficiently as a result of the centralized approach by companies. And, new technologies like blockchain are helping to decentralize and fairly monetize the gaming industry by benefiting both developers and gamers. Redefining the Way Game Economies Operate Traditional games essentially license digital assets to players and its free-to-play game economies are unidirectional where players buy virtual goods that...
