A lot of column inches have been dedicated to the subject of NFT gaming over the years. For many of us it remains somewhat mysterious and unexposed. What is NFT gaming, who is involved, and why has CGU recently been hailed as a game changer in the NFT world? Is this something you should be investing in, or is there some catch behind it all? Let’s begin with an explanation of the concept of NFT gaming.
What is NFT Gaming?
NFT stands for ‘non-fungible tokens’. In effect, an NFT can be just about anything as the platform and players have effectively created their own crypto economy. The history of NFT gaming goes back to 2014 when Kevin McCoy and Anil Dash unveiled the idea at a conference in New York. As Kevin later explained:
“You play the game, you get paid for it. It’s nothing extraordinary.”
Since then there have been numerous games played on the platform – among the more famous being Cryptokitties – and the concept works as follows: a player invests in three ‘characters’ which cost an initial $600 each. Thus, the cost of playing on the NFT platform can reach around $2000. From then on, the player simply earns money for his or her time playing the game. Paid in cryptocurrency, it can be a surprisingly lucrative form of income.
So, what is CGU, and why do the makers state a claim for it being the most promising and innovative NFT game so far?
How Does CGU Change the NFT Gaming World?
Crypto Gaming United – CGU – is the brainchild of Sergio Sergienko, a well-known figure in the cryptocurrency and blockchain world whom we will talk about in more detail in a moment. First, we want to look at what it means for the NFT gaming platform.
CGU differs from NFT games as described above in one major way: rather than having to pay for characters to begin the game, they are hired by the player from the CGU platform. This way, the player can begin earning straight away, without having to pay a large sum to play.
The idea is that the CGU concept – within which is the payment scheme the founder has labelled ‘Play-to-earn’ – will attract players from developing countries who previously could not afford to buy $2000 worth of characters.
A new player may earn around $10 to $15 per day’s play. While that seems very little, consider that the average wage in the Philippines – one of the first target countries for the CGU project – is around $3200 per annum (or less than $9 a day) that $10 for playing the game becomes attractive. Another innovation with CGU is the training program that aims to help players become more adept, and earn more as a result.
Who is Behind CGU?
Sergio Sergienko is the founder of – among others – a start-up called Chrono.Tech. This Sydney-based business is aimed at streamlining the recruitment process. Put simply, it matches ideal candidates with HR teams. How did this give rise to CGU? Here’s Sergienko on how his brainchild came about:
“I have always adhered to the principle that people should be paid cryptocurrency for the time they spend working,” says Sergei. “That was the basic principle of the Chrono.Tech start-up. And when we added a game section to the system, the growth was insane – our traffic tripled.
I realised this approach could win over the NFT sphere. The idea is that people get SLP tokens for their time in the game, and then they can exchange them for cryptocurrency or sell them to other participants. The principle is called “Play-to-earn.””
Rolled out initially in the Philippines and Russia, CGU intends to be launched in large parts of Africa, Asia and other developing regions.
Initial investment into CGU came from Sergienko himself, venture capitalist Mark Carnegie, and Ian Love who runs a Blockchain Assets fund. The investment came to $5 million. CGU tokens will be made available to the public early October.
What is the Prospect for CGU?
The aim is to expand CGU to become the largest NFT gaming platform in the world. Sergienko explains how this will be achieved:
“We are currently looking for teams of players in a wide variety of regions and countries, including Venezuela, Philippines, CIS countries (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, etc.), Papua New Guinea, India, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Nigeria, South Africa, Mauritius, Madagascar, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
In terms of annual revenues, CGU is earning around $5.5 million after only two months from the launch of the project. Our immediate user targets are 1 million after IDO, but there is no limit. My hope is to provide many people in Third World countries an opportunity to earn extra income.”
