John Stefanidis, CEO of Aussie NFT gaming platform and guild Balthazar, believes “play-to-earn games will be the biggest disruptor in the crypto space this year”.

He also thinks the NFT gaming niche will ripple through the video game industry at large “as more gaming companies, crypto holders and traditional investors are investing in the space”.

Balthazar has just released its first Community Insights Report, which, among other things has found that roughly one in three survey respondents would consider quitting their current job if they could play NFT games full time.

The survey findings, which were garnered from Balthazar’s Discord community between February 15 to March 7, show that the desire to make a living from gaming is a strong motivator among the 1,103 predominantly Filipino respondents.

Stefanidis said that he’s “not surprised by the findings”, adding:

“Many are ready to quit their other jobs to play NFT games instead, as they could potentially be earning the same, if not more from playing NFT games.”

 

Key findings from the Balthazar report

• About one in three (32%) of those surveyed would quit, or consider quitting, their job to play NFT games full time.

• A further 59% said they would play full-time and continue working other jobs.

• Over two thirds (65%) of respondents said they would need to earn a minimum of US$42 on average to consider quitting their job to play NFT games full-time. (Bearing in mind most of these respondents are based in the Philippines.)

• More than half (55%) said they would need to earn between US$1 and US$20 per day to afford to quit their current job to play.

• Out of those who have jobs, they earn US$316 on average per month, or about US$16 per workday.

• The majority (85%) of those who are “Balthazar Wizards” (those in Balthazar’s “scholarship” program) said they play in a guild because they love the community support and learning that is offered to them.

• Over half (52%) said they have used their current game earnings for basic necessities and personal needs such as food, housing and bills, while 19% said they have used it for education expenses.

 

As Stockhead detailed in January, Balthazar is a “capital light” gaming guild with a platform for NFT asset holders to lend their NFTs to Balthazar to earn yield.

The platform aims to take advantage of play-to-earn games such as the Axie Infinity auto-battler game and the Pegaxy digital horse-racing game, loaning in-game assets to “scholars” in developing nations so they can earn rewards via gaming. There are more than 35,000 people on the waitlist for its scholarships.

“I’m most excited about the redistribution of wealth from traditional gaming companies to people who need it most and into their economies,” said Stefanidis. “Gaming platforms like Balthazar are innovating in the metaverse, by not only creating token utility, but also building a self-sustaining ecosystem allowing more people access to crypto.”

Balthazar plans to soon close its private token sale round of US$8 million with a valuation of US$150 million, following an initial $3 million capital raising in January led by Animoca Brands.