In 2017, the blockchain world experienced a new way through which crypto could supplement people’s incomes, with the introduction of play-to-earn (P2E) games. The idea that players could earn real-life rewards by playing games served as a novel twist to the traditional game industry, in which companies and publishers sell new titles and in-game assets to players. Over the past four years, these P2E games gained popularity with crypto-savvy gamers and players looking to build passive income. However, this newfound popularity exposed scalability and inflationary issues with several popular blockchain gaming titles. But despite these growing pains, the Game-Fi industry continues to grow, with many players being able to earn a durable passive income stream or living wages solely through P2E games.
When the Ekta team decided to develop an original P2E game, one stipulation (other than allowing players to earn) was that the game needed to deliver real-world utility. Until now, the P2E industry has been focused only on the monetary earnings of players and developers.
But Ekta saw a new opportunity — MetaTrees.
MetaTrees is a blockchain game world that connects the virtual world with the real world. Through MetaTrees, Ekta aims to incentivise environmental protection through tokenization and gamification. By utilizing the play-to-earn model and transforming it into a PLANT-TO-EARN model, players can help to protect the natural world while also earning digital assets.
The idea of MetaTrees was born out of an inherent sense of responsibility towards our natural world and humanity’s future. While researching ways to connect the world we live in with the virtual world, the Ekta team found that the narrative around global environmental degradation always leads back to the question; “Why do people destroy the environment and what can we do to change this behavior?”
According to David Attenborough’s documentary and witness statement “Life on our Planet”, human impact on the environment has spiraled out of control. Attenborough states that humans log as many as 15 billion trees annually. Other sources reveal that wild fish populations are in steep decline due to overfishing (it’s estimated that up to 2.7 trillion fish are caught each year), and experts believe that between 0.01% and 0.1% of all species on earth become extinct each year. It’s safe to conclude that the real problem is rooted in economic systems that have led humanity, for generations, to establish values that are not aligned with the natural ecosystems we are dependent on.
So, Ekta decided to take a step towards changing the value society places on natural capital like trees. Through MetaTrees, Ekta can initiate real-world change by tokenizing natural assets such as trees and land. Players start by planting, protecting and caring for the virtual trees in the MetaTrees game-world. As players progress in the game, they will start to develop sustainable, organic agriculture and fisheries, build new communities, incubate advanced technology initiatives, and more. By playing the game, users can earn digital assets and verified carbon units (VCUs). Every VCU earned symbolizes a one-tonne reduction or removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. This is accomplished through Ekta’s partnerships with environmental and reforestation projects.
The main focus of the game will be to rethink societal values, redefine the way we live and restore the natural world to create a society that has a symbiotic relationship with nature.
If you’re interested to learn more about MetaTrees or partner with Ekta on this project, visit the website or join us on Twitter or Telegram. Together, we can change the value society places on the natural world, and through blockchain technology, we can bring this change to people everywhere.
Join us and become a guardian of trees.
