The Web3 company envisions a future where players can rent their in-game assets for crypto

Imagine a future where the player can rent an in-game item on the blockchain, giving them tools to beat a difficult level, or borrow a non-vulnerable token (NFT) that gives them the ability to try out a new game on their wishlist.

That's the kind of behavior that Polemos founder Richard McLaren hopes will one day become the norm with an economy where players rent out their in-game assets for a fee.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, McLaren announced a new partnership between game infrastructure service Polemos and fantasy fighting game Eluvium.

“It represents a financially easier entry point for gamers and broadens the base of people who are willing to play those games,” McLaren said.

A key pain point of blockchain games is that they require players to invest a large amount of capital to get started. Instead, newbies can easily dip their toes in the water by renting an NFT for a few days, McLaren explained.

“We think it not only increases sales, but increases your ability to attract players because they can check things out. Players who spend time in your game with these massive items have a reason to stick around, which increases retention and player base.”

Polemos' unsecured NFT lending protocol, dubbed “The Weapons,” uses a prepayment model to ensure players don't even have to guarantee in-game assets to rent.

“You don't have to cover the value of the asset because you're sure the technology will prevent you from harming that in any way. So, it opens up this to a wider audience of unsecured loans that don't have the capital to secure the asset.”

While gaming asset NFT lending appears to be a promising market, McLaren predicts that it will grow to somewhere between 30% and 40% of the $2.3 billion invested in NFT gaming by 2023.

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“The reason for that is that rent is part of your marketing costs as a game studio. So, until you have your assets, you won't receive the money paid by the players, but the money will be paid to other players who have their assets to play your game, he said.

“You have major IP and major studios — maybe not blockchain — but you definitely have to get into ownership as a mechanic, and renting is a way to make ownership more engaging and more realistic for a player who's already invested in a game.”

The rental model also gives long-term players and game studios the ability to monetize the vast amount of in-game assets that are underutilized.

Some passive income – maybe not life-changing income – but income that doesn't generate income from the assets, which is a very positive retention mechanic to continue in the game, which we think players will be very engaged with.

As for why game studios prefer to go with a company rather than simply create their own “walled garden” lending service, McLaren says a decentralized public infrastructure eliminates the need to rely on game studios.

“The concept of player ownership is generally based on public infrastructure. A big part of the appeal is that you're not dependent on the game studio being around forever,” McLaren said.

Additionally, McLaren shares that Polmos is currently closing in on a strategic pre-sale that will begin in mid-2024.

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