The gaming market is massive and continues to grow at a neck-breaking pace as the constant introduction of new technologies enhances the ability of games to engage players with quickly improving powers of storytelling, education, strategy and even just pure entertainment. With so much development moving forward in so many different directions, it can be tough to hear new initiatives through the noise. Even blockchain, a relatively new technology, already maintains a healthy niche in the gaming market — a niche where companies like Buff are settling in. Luckily, Buff has something special to make it stand out.

Buff is using blockchain in a gaming loyalty system that rewards players for their time spent in game and their progress through the game during that time. This reward comes in the form of Buff coins, which can be spent by players on virtual goods across gaming platforms. The Buff ecosystem serves as a kind of virtual marketplace where gamers can trade in Buff tokens or the virtual items they earned while playing.

A number of other blockchain-based projects have been launched to facilitate the creation and maintenance of some form of marketplace for virtual items, but none pose direct competition to Buff and their success will actually create a better industry climate for Buff. That’s because Buff is entirely unique in trying to build a global industry loyalty program that uses one standard coin awarded to users.

So, what challenges does Buff face if it already occupies a comfortable, uninhabited corner of the market? One is to prove that its method of monitoring gamers’ performances is accurate, but not intrusive. This issue is addressed through Buff’s partnership with Overwolf, a well-established player in the gaming market that has already developed effective technology for collecting in-game data and analyzing it in real time.

Overwolf’s infrastructure, with more than 15 million users, will also help Buff reach more players faster, facilitating growth into the future. This places the company over another hurdle that any new product or concept must face: the simple inertia of making yourself heard and seen and getting the product into the hands of users.

The Overwolf partnership will help accomplish one more task critical to Buff’s success: expanding partnerships with game publishers. Buff aims to establish itself as an industry standard and that means getting the publishers on board. This increases the number of people using Buff and the number of digital goods they can get with their Buff coins. Overwolf provides a solid starting platform for Buff to establish a positive reputation, while its team of industry-renowned professionals will be an influencing factor on others.

The gaming market is a crowded one, but the advent of new technologies always opens new possibilities — new hidden corners where success can be found in enhancing the gaming experience for players. Buff has taken blockchain and become a gaming pioneer.