KEY POINTS
In its debut week, Fantasy Top, an Ethereum-based play-to-earn game, garnered attention by distributing more than $1.25 million to top influencers that it turned into non-fungible token (NFT) trading cards.
Launched on May 1st via Blast — Blur’s Ethereum Layer-2 scaling solution — the game offers a take on fantasy sports.
Unlike traditional athletic metrics, Fantasy Top awards points based on the real-world social media engagement of influencer NFTs players collect. Likes, retweets, and overall buzz generated by these influencers directly translate to a player’s success within the game.
This innovative model extends financial benefits beyond the players. Fantasy Top grants influencers a 1.5% royalty on every secondary market trade of their respective NFT card.
Additionally, influencers receive a collective 10% share of all revenue generated from in-game pack sales.
Content creator Jenn Duong emerged as the top earner, claiming a 6.7 ETH reward (approximately $20,500). Meme coin trader Ansem and Blast founder Pacman tied for second place, each receiving 6.1 ETH (approximately $18,700).
Fantasy Top highlights the growing convergence of social media influence, blockchain technology, and the play-to-earn gaming industry. This model incentivizes influencer engagement and potentially alters how users interact with personalities on social media platforms.
As a result, blockchain-based play-to-earn games are rapidly transforming the gaming industry. Sorare, for instance, which operates similarly to Fantasy Top, allows users to collect, buy, and trade NFT cards featuring real athletes. These cards enable players to earn rewards based on the athletes’ performances in real-world sports like basketball and football.
This shift marks just one facet of a larger trend poised for exponential growth. According to Mordor Intelligence, the NFT gaming market is anticipated to expand significantly, with projections estimating its value to reach $471.90 billion by 2024 and nearly double to $942.58 billion by 2029.
