A play-to-earn rewards network pays players, in money or points, for playing games and for small online tasks, after it has checked that each player is a real person. It is also called a gamer rewards platform. It keeps its records of the rewards, and of each player's identity, on a blockchain. A blockchain is a shared record kept on many computers at once, which is very hard to alter.
Who pays for the rewards? Mainly game studios. A studio that launches a new game needs real players who stay. Instead of spending all its money on ads, it can pay a rewards network to send players. It pays only for players who reach a goal, such as level 10. Other companies pay for small data tasks, such as labelling pictures or rating the answers of AI models, which helps them train those models.
Here is a typical case. A student in Visakhapatnam joins a rewards network. First, the network checks that she is a real person and that she has only one account. Without this check, one person could run hundreds of fake accounts, or a program could play games to collect points. Bot management tells real people apart from such programs, and identity verification (IDV) can confirm who a person is. Then she picks a quest: play a new free-to-play mobile game and reach level 10 within a week, for 300 points. The game reports her progress to the network. When she reaches level 10, the 300 points are recorded on the blockchain in her name. That weekend, she also labels 200 photographs of street signs, for 150 more points. Later, she exchanges her points for a mobile recharge.
The blockchain record has a second use. It builds a history of each player: the games she has played, the quests she has finished and the tasks she has done well. A studio can then choose players with a proven record. The player can also carry that history from one game to another.
Is this gambling? No. The player pays nothing to take part, and she risks no money. She is paid for her time and her tasks, much as a survey website pays for answers. India's Online Gaming Act 2025 bans games in which players pay money in the hope of winning more. A reward for playing, with no money paid in, is not a bet. Studios must still design quests carefully, so that players do not rush through a game for points and then leave.
A company in Bengaluru runs one of the larger rewards and identity networks for gamers.