Can You Make Money Playing P2E Games? What Works (and What Doesn’t)

If you plan to turn playtime into pay time, you’ve got two very different paths. Play-to-earn (P2E) games that reward you with crypto or NFTs, while get-paid-to-play reward apps that pay small amounts for installing games or hitting milestones.

One is an on-chain economy, the other is ad-tech with prizes. Knowing the difference is the first step to keeping your time ROI positive.

P2E vs. Reward Apps: Same Promise, Different Business

P2E games live on a blockchain. You earn tokens or NFTs for quests, crafting, or contributing to the game economy, and you can sell those assets on exchanges or marketplaces. In 2025, blockchain gaming still commands a sizable slice of on-chain activity, even as overall dapp usage swings with the market cycle.

Not all crypto gaming is “play-to-earn,” though. Real-money poker rooms use crypto rails for payments and fairness rather than in-game token economies. Think Coin Poker AU, which highlights instant wallet withdrawals, on-chain fund visibility, and a decentralized RNG to verify shuffles. The overlap with P2E is the wallet infrastructure and fast settlement. The difference is the earn logic. In P2E, your payout depends on token/NFT liquidity and game demand. In crypto poker, it depends on wagering results.

Reward apps are different. They pay in gift cards or cash for completing advertiser offers. Download a game, reach level X, keep it installed for Y days. They work, but the payout thresholds can be high and earnings slow after the first few hours. Independent testing and reviews routinely highlight diminishing returns and “grind walls.” You’ll sometimes see clearer dollar-denominated milestones on offerwall platforms, but you’re still trading time and data for small payouts.

Where The Money Actually Comes From In P2E

Tokens for play

Complete dailies, win ranked matches, or contribute resources to earn game tokens, which you can sell on exchanges. Expect token prices and rewards to change with patches and seasonal updates. Volatile rewards are part of the deal. For a primer on tokenized gameplay, Axie Infinity’s model (AXS governance + SLP utility) is still the canonical example.

NFTs you can resell

Skins, land, or crafted items become tradeable inventory. Devs earn fees on each trade. You earn if you sell above cost. The catch is liquidity. If daily users slide, bids disappear fast. DappRadar’s live dashboards are handy to spot if a game’s marketplace is still moving volume before you sink hours into it.

Create and sell

UGC-driven worlds keep growing. An increasing number of games reward creators who build maps, cosmetics, or experiences that players actually use. Think of this as “earn by building,” not just “earn by grinding.”

Sustainability matters more

Early P2E economies broke when rewards outpaced demand, and new players stopped subsidizing old ones. That lesson still shapes how teams set emissions, sinks, and treasury use today. If a game’s reward math needs constant new money to work, walk away.

A Practical Playbook to Actually Earn

Start with traction, not trailers

Look at daily active wallets and marketplace activity. Flat or rising lines give you a better chance to convert time to value. Sector-wide gaming remains one of the top use cases on-chain, even through quarterly drawdowns. This is why filtering by live activity beats influencer lists.

Vet the contracts

Audits aren’t a guarantee, but they’re a baseline. Look for projects using battle-tested libraries (e.g., OpenZeppelin) and publishing third-party audit reports from reputable companies. If you can’t find code audits, roadmaps, or an updates log, that’s a red flag.

Protect your wallet

Separate a hot wallet for gaming from your long-term holdings. Enable 2FA where relevant, watch approvals, and keep seed phrases offline. Major wallet providers and security researchers publish checklists you can follow in a few minutes. It’s worth the habit before you click “Sign.”

Track your costs and your taxes

Gas, marketplace fees, and slippage eat returns. In the US, tokens and NFTs are taxable. The IRS treats digital assets as property, and brokers begin 1099-DA reporting for certain transactions from 2025. Plan your cash-outs with that in mind. (UK readers: HMRC provides similar guidance.)

Choose games that reward skill or creation

Grind-to-mint loops fade. Economies with real sinks (crafting, upgrades, land services) and skill-based rewards last longer. Analysts covering Web3 gaming through 2025 point to teams prioritizing durable loops over raw token emissions.

Can Apps That Pay You to Play Be Worth It?

Yes, but for pocket money, not rent. App-based offerwalls can pay a few dollars for hitting early milestones, then slow dramatically. Some platforms advertise lower cash-out minimums (e.g., $1) and clearer milestones. Others require weeks to reach $50–$70.

If you try them, stack a few. Chase only the highest ROI offers and stop once you hit the slowdown. Independent reviews and even the platforms’ own updates make clear you are swapping attention for small rewards.

If you prefer guaranteed but tiny rewards, Google Opinion Rewards pays credits or PayPal cash for short surveys. It’s not gaming income, but it’s an example of a first-party program that actually pays what it says.

How to Spot Traps Before They Waste Your Time

1. High minimum cash-outs and moving goalposts. If a platform raises thresholds or slows crediting near the finish line, you’re donating time. Favor clear, dollar-denominated milestones and low minimums.
2. No audit trail. In P2E, if there’s no public audit, no GitHub, and no third-party code review, pass. Reputable teams publish audit PDFs and changelogs.
3. One-way economies. If the only sink is “sell to a new player,” that’s musical chairs with tokens. The 2021–2022 unwind is your cautionary tale.
4. Security theatre. Pop-ups in your wallet that you don’t get? Grants of limitless approvals for tokens? Go back and check the permissions before going back in. Leading wallet teams put out up-to-date guides on scams. Use them.

Conclusion: What a Realistic Earning Plan Looks Like in 2025

Map your time like a side hustle. Pick one P2E title with stable activity and published audits. Put aside a small amount of money you can afford to lose, keep track of every transaction, and set up a trigger for when to leave (token price, hours played, or a set profit).

If your activity or payments drop below your personal floor, switch to a new game. Meanwhile, if you want a steady micro-income, choose a single incentive app with clear goals and a minimal cash-out. That mix of one upside gamble and one reliable dripper makes it easier to see your ROI than following every “earn to play” message you see.

The bottom line is that P2E can pay. But only if you run it like a small business. So keep an eye on the stats, control your risk, and choose economies that will last. You can also get paid with reward apps, just call a spade a spade. It’s spare change.