> acquiring an nft does not even need to include payment at all. assets can be distributed to users for non monetary reasons, such as some achievement or action taken in the game, or defeating some other player in a pvp battle based on a mix of skills and random chance and as a result winning their hand or rare loot or whatever. it is up to the game to decide these things.

You've literally described how games work now. No NFTs required

yes, games and game stores hold records of ownership under your account. some of that may be purchased, some of it may be acquired through another means like an in-game achievement.

nfts are literally just records of ownership of a digital asset that are upheld without a central entity.

“it’s a lot like owning assets in a game” is exactly correct with the distinction that it’s decentralized

> nfts are literally just records of ownership of a digital asset that are upheld without a central entity.

Again. Above you literally described how games already work, with no need for NFTs. Why the hell would games need NFTs?

the only need for NFT in a game is decentralization and disintermediation of payment and ownership. if you wish to distribute game assets and give players a form of transferable and scarce digital ownership that is not locked into a walled corporate garden, CC0-licensed NFT represents one approach.

You don't need NFTs for CC0-licensed assets.

You don't need "decentralized ownership" for something that is literally only applicable in a single game.

On top of that, the myth that people clamor for digital scarcity is also the invention of crypto bros.

OK, but then again, I'm not seeing the utility of an NFT on a public blockchain, apart from the mythincal "I get to use it in other games" thing, which is only going to work in games with "free" art assets - vanishingly few.

as I said in my original post: this is a niche application. some share of users will be happy to own and trade CC0 licensed assets that are not centrally owned by a single game company, and not sitting in their steam or apple account.

similarly, some share of devs and gamers like to publish and purchase work on Itch.io, even though it’s the minority compared to Steam or Apple.