Solana has been surging again lately, with the price of SOL more than doubling since the start of October and skyrocketing from the sub-$10 mark it hit in late 2022. And if you’re looking to fill your wallet with even more Solana, then why not earn more by playing games?
Numerous play-to-earn games are based on Solana, and either reward players with SOL itself or another token within the Solana ecosystem, which can be swapped for SOL at an exchange. In all of the examples below, you’ll need to purchase an NFT to enable in-game earnings—but it might be worth it if you’re planning to play a bunch.
Here are five notable play-to-earn games that you can play today to earn tokens and stack SOL, and stay tuned as we plan to expand this list with newer titles over time.
Ev.io
What would have made the classic Quake III Arena even better? Earning cash while fragging foes, probably. Well, that’s basically what Ev.io serves up. This web-based game takes the old-school arena first-person shooter (FPS) format and adds the ability to earn cryptocurrency while you play, which only amplifies the sense of frenzied competition.
Ev.io is totally free to play, although you’ll need to buy an NFT if you want to earn the in-game “e” currency that can be cashed out for SOL. Luckily, we’ve put together a guide on how to get started with earning in the game. Also, Ev.io has given out the Solana meme token BONK, as well, so there’s been plenty of earning potential.
Frenetic Shooter ‘Ev.io’ Lets You Earn Solana While Fragging Enemies
Stepn
Move to earn—simple enough, right? Stepn took the idea of activity tracking apps and ran with it (pun intended), pairing crypto rewards as a way to motivate players to get out there and log their jogs and jaunts. While the Stepn hype has fallen sharply from the early 2022 peak, you can still earn the GST reward tokens on Solana by playing.
You’ll need to buy NFT sneakers in the game to get started, however, but putting a little skin in the game might motivate you to up your exercise routine and ultimately rack up more SOL.
What Is Stepn? The ‘Move-to-Earn’ NFT App That Pays You Crypto to Exercise
Aurory
You’ll also need to own NFTs to earn Solana-based AURY tokens in Aurory, a Pokémon-inspired role-playing game that runs across Solana and Ethereum scaling network Arbitrum. As a blog post explains, Aurory players earn in-game (off-chain) sub-tokens by battling their Nefties NFT creatures, which are then automatically converted to AURY tokens and awarded to players.
More recently, Aurory has advertised AURY rewards for winning matches in the Blitz player-vs-player (PVP) mode. And NFT owners can also stake their assets to earn AURY rewards, as well. There are multiple ways to earn in one of Solana’s most prominent games.
Tip Tuesday 💡
Did you know that by playing with Prime assets (NFTs) in Blitz PvP, you can earn $AURY weekly for your wins? pic.twitter.com/dV94su7qcn
— Aurory (Play Now) (@AuroryProject) November 28, 2023
Star Atlas: SAGE Labs
While developer ATMTA gradually builds out its epic vision for the full-fledged version of sci-fi simulation Star Atlas, it recently launched an on-chain Solana web game called SAGE Labs that lets early players plug into the same kind of open economy with a simpler interface.
And there are sizable rewards to be claimed. Star Atlas is offering up Golden Ticket tokens to players, which can be entered in drawings to win crypto tokens and NFT in-game items collectively valued at a total of $1.35 million.
Seize the opportunity to win during the Fimbul themed week of the Golden Ticket Event! 🟡 🎟️
Take a shot at luck and potentially take home a slice of the $150,000 in loot pie, including a Fimbul BYOS Tankship! Submit tickets by Dec. 1 / 3:15PM ET. 👇
➡️ https://t.co/dn6K18bfVu pic.twitter.com/dJUEXZnwIs
— Star Atlas (@staratlas) November 24, 2023
This week’s drawing, as of this writing, includes a single stash of 5.6 million Solana-based ATLAS tokens—worth about $33,000 at present for the lucky winner—along with five packs of 1 million ATLAS each (about $5,900). You’ll need some SOL or ATLAS in your Solana wallet to play since everything is handled on-chain, but the potential rewards are substantial.
Bitcoin Is Booming—You Can Earn More by Playing These Free Games
DeFi Land
Many early crypto games were derided as being DeFi apps dressed up as games, but DeFi Land embraces that vibe wholeheartedly, pairing a farming simulation experience with play-to-earn rewards—plus the ability to transact crypto tokens via DeFi protocols.
Is the crypto world ready for it? pic.twitter.com/B5nHcVfA3O
— DeFi Land (@DeFi_Land) November 28, 2023
You’ll need specific NFTs to unlock the play-to-earn version of the fishing, shooting, and harvest mini-games, as well as pet NFTs to earn tokens for taking care of animals. DeFi Land serves up Solana-based GOLDY tokens for those NFT owners when they play, letting you earn back some of your investment.
On top of that, DeFi Land also lets players engage with DeFi protocols that could earn you yield for staking tokens, but be careful—it might look like a game, but you’re playing with real tokens.
