The gaming industry is BIG BUSINESS and growing. It is predicted to reach $115 billion by 2018 and $130 billion by 2020. Video gaming is the biggest entertainment industry in the world, and eSports viewership has overtaken viewership of traditional sports. It is, after soccer, also the biggest global sport.

When we add blockchain, smart contracts and crowdfunding to the mix, a whole new world of business and investment opens up.

It is, therefore, no wonder that there are multiple businesses springing up around the world, hoping to cash in on this phenomenon. One of them is Play2Live (P2L).

One of the claims made in the P2L White Paper is that, unlike other platforms, it addresses the whole range of needs of the gaming and eSports communities. Most other companies deal with these needs in a fragmented manner.

We decided to test this claim by comparing the P2L offering against other start-ups who are using blockchain technology in the gaming sphere.

1. What does Play2Live offer?

Play2Live (P2L) is a decentralized streaming platform for streamers, gamers and eSports fans. Its goal is to create an ecosystem where every participant, including the viewer, the streamer and the eSports tournament organizer, is part of an interactive system. Everybody can be part of peer-to-peer interaction and everybody — even the viewer — can earn money.

P2L has developed a blockchain, called Level Up Chain, that provides a completely new level of virtual interaction for all participants — and provides a mechanism for monetization of every aspect of it. It has a token called Level Up Coin (LUC) which is the currency within the system. It can be converted very easily to other cryptocurrencies or to fiat money through an exchange gateway.

The problem with most other gaming sites has been the lack of opportunity to monetize your interest or your input to the business. Monetization has generally been limited to:

· Pre-roll adverts or the YouTube Partner Program — Streamers can turn on ads for their content and earn revenue from them. The problem here is that viewers do everything possible to avoid watching these advertisements.

· Affiliate marketing: Streamers advertise the products of other people and earn a commission on every item sold

· Advertising: Advertise other people’s products for a flat fee

· Product creation

Plat2Live allows for monetization by these methods — and then adds 11 more, made possible by interactivity and voting mechanisms only possible because of blockchain. P2L itself benefits from 15 revenue streams, making this a viable business model. However, participants share in this revenue and/or can earn or win LUC in most of them, making this a very attractive platform.

In summary, these streams include the following:

A. REVENUE FOR STREAMERS

1. Subscriptions to the streamer’s channel

All users can watch any broadcast for free and with no limitations. But additional privileges are available for those who subscribe to the channel (e.g. writing into the chat, use of chat icons, prizes during tournaments). The platform shares this revenue with the streamer.

2. Premium subscriptions

Viewers with premium subscriptions enjoy special privileges (e.g. gifts from publishers, access to exclusive broadcasts, special recognition on the P2L site). Revenue is shared with streamers.

3. Donations

Viewers transfer tokens to the streamer to demonstrate support, or for the streamer to read out special messages from them. The platform charges a small commission and the rest of the revenue goes to the streamer.

4. Assigning a task to the streamer

This is one of the unique features of the site, as it allows viewers to design the content of the stream. Viewers can vote with LUC for the streamer to undertake certain tasks (e.g. move to a different difficulty level, change the game, etc). Revenue is shared with the streamer.

5. Sale of badges of rank on the platform

Emoticons, chat badges and other distinctive features for users are available in the chat during streams. Revenue is shared with streamers.

6. Marketplace with prizes from advertisers

Advertisers provide prizes and gifts to P2L. These prizes are made available to streamers to distribute during their broadcasts, in exchange for promotion of the advertisers.

B. REVENUE FOR STREAMERS AND TOURNAMENT ORGANISERS

7. Creating content on the platform

This is for tournaments. Viewers can vote with tokens for the format they want for the tournament. Revenue is shared with tournament organizers and streamers who develop special content according to the criteria set by viewers.

C. REVENUE FOR STREAMERS AND VIEWERS

8. Advertising

Pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll commercials can be run during streamer broadcasts. Banners and branding can be set up on streamer sites. The platform allows for comprehensive marketing campaigns and provides a transparent performance tracking system. A unique feature is that advertising is disabled, by default. Viewers can support the streamer by choosing to watch the advertising. Revenue is shared with streamers. and viewers earn LUC for watching.

D. REVENUE FOR VIEWERS

9. Tasks from the streamer to users

Another unique feature is that streamers can assign tasks to viewers, who then earn LUC tokens. The platform charges a small commission.

10. Promotion of the broadcasts of a favorite streamer

Viewers can vote with their LUC to promote their favorite streamer to a higher spot on the main page and elsewhere. Revenue goes to the platform, but users who are active with their votes share in the distribution of tokens bought back from the open market.

11. P2P CDN

Users can share part of their computer resources with others in return for LUC. This is direct revenue for users.

12. Betting and gambling

Various bookmakers are integrated into the site. Viewers can place bets on several bookmaker websites simultaneously, without having to move from the Play2Live website. Bets are placed in LUC. Revenue is shared with the bookmakers. Viewers can win LUC.

13. Totalizator of eSports events

Viewers can place bets with LUC tokens during streams of eSports events. No third party (e.g. a bookmaker) is required. This feature allows for the full gamification of the platform. The platform charges a commission on these bets. Viewers can win LUC.

E. REVENUE FOR OUTSIDE PARTIES

14. Purchasing of games at partner services

P2L enters into agreements with suppliers of games that are streamed on the platform. Revenue is shared with the suppliers.

15. Duels between players

Viewers watching a stream can challenge each other to duels on the game, using LUC to bet against each other. Viewers are redirected to partner sites where they can play the game face to face. Revenue is shared with these partner sites.

2. Competitor analysis

Play2Live does well in comparison with existing, non-blockchain-based platforms and also with newer, blockchain-based platforms.

Existing streaming and sharing platforms

Blockchain and tokenization are central to the P2L business model. Without them, the interactivity and monetization of activity on the platform would be impossible.

This means that existing streaming companies like Twitch.tv and YouTube are not really competitors. It would be prohibitively expensive for them to convert their current businesses into a “blockchain version”.

Steam is an online gaming and entertainment platform, for PC, Mac and Linux, providing access to thousands of games, videos and films, and with more than 270 million users. User-generated content, in the form of mods, is rewarded. Players can earn rewards in the form of trading cards and other in-game items. However, Steam is not blockchain-based and has a record of user accounts being hacked. For a short while it accepted Bitcoin as a form of payment on its platform (using BitPay to handle these transactions), but it recently suspended this option, and it does not have its own token.