Play-to-Earn or P2E refers to a gaming concept where players can earn real-world money by playing the game. However, these games usually have quite a high barrier to entry.
Simply put, you have to invest a lot upfront to get it all back eventually, during a few weeks or months of playing. And Axie Infinity is no exception.
That’s quite unfortunate, as you are asked to invest in something you don’t know you’ll enjoy.
To start exploring the Axie universe, you need to own 3 Axies. Fortunately, after ETH merged to proof of stake, the prices of these little creatures went down drastically. For what you used to pay 300 dollars, you can now pay as little as $10 (not counting gas fees).
Ideally, you would want Axies with zero breed count that’d create a good team combo.
For many people, this might seem really cheap. But there are also people that aren’t comfortable paying this amount for a game.
But luckily, you don’t have to since there are ways to play Axie Infinity for free.
In this article, we’ll explore two options on how you can make Axie Infinity free to play. Let’s dive in!
Play Axie Infinity for free with Axie Scholarship
Axie Scholarship allows experienced players with little free time to lend their Axies or their whole account to other players.
Scholar gets to play the game for free, while the manager receives a portion of the AXS and SLP earnings without work. It’s a win for both parties.
The usual earnings split is around 70% for the scholar and 30% for the manager.
The biggest drawback with scholarships is that you won’t make as much money. But you have the chance to try Axie Infinity for free. And if you enjoy it, you can start playing on your account.
The second big drawback is that there is no guarantee to be paid at all.
That’s why specialized scholarship programs were created, that’ll take the earnings to escrow to ensure, both parties get paid equally. One of the most popular is Sereia Scholarship.
Apart from Serenia, many other programs are centered on Discord channels. Or you can approach a trainer on Twitter and other social media channels.
However, most of the Axie Scholarship programs are highly competitive. So you, as a player without experience, might find it really hard to get “hired.”
What will Help you to get to Axie Scholarship
We took the time and read the application rules of a few Axie Scholarship programs. The usual requirements include the following:
- You should be in the same time zone as your manager for maximum convenience.
- You should be active on social media, especially on Twitter. After all, the other person is giving you their assets. So you should be trustable.
- You should have experience with video games. They do not usually require experience with Axie Infinity, but at least with similar games.
- You also should have experience with the blockchain. Especially with Ethereum and Ronin Wallet.
- And lastly, the more hours per day you can play, the higher your chances of getting hired.
What to not do in Axie Scholarship
The most important thing is to always obey the rules of both the game and the scholarship program. But these rules often intersect, so we’ll highlight the most important things.
1. An in-game ban will result in a ban on the scholarship platform and the loss of all your unpaid earnings.
Axie Infinity has a strict set of rules that you must follow at all times. This includes forbidding having multiple accounts or using your Axies on multiple accounts to manipulate energy.
If you want to be sure you are not doing anything forbidden, we have analyzed the Terms of Service of Axie Infinity for you, so you don’t have to go through all these pages.
2. Participation in multiple scholarships is strictly forbidden. As a scholar, you can play only on the account provided by your manager.
3. Do not be inactive without reason. Think of the Axie Scholarship as a job. If you need to be inactive on the account, notify your manager. They’ll usually understand and won’t let you go.
4. Be respectful to others in the Axie Infinity Discord channel or channels of your scholarship.
Free Starter Axies After Signing Up
At this time, this feature is not yet active, and there are no free starter axies that you would get from Sky Mavis.
However, in a dev update from February 2021, they did mention they plan to reduce the barrier of entry by giving new players free starter Axies.
"On-boarding, which is our #1 barrier right... Free starter Axies will allow people to start learning the game before making any significant economic decisions."
They plan to make these free Axies a bit different from other ones. They would have only a limited earning potential and would be unsaleable.
This would encourage players to eventually get real Axies of their own.
Unfortunately, we have no idea when and if this feature might go live. It’s been over two years since this message, so it’s also possible that devs have scraped that idea.
The thought of them scraping this idea is also supported by the fact that Ethereum has to the Proof of stake mechanism during these two years, significantly lowering gas fees. This means that to start playing Axie Infinity, you would now need approximately $10 instead of $200 and more.
Edit: Free Starter Axies are not available in the original, Axie Infinity, game. However, if you sign up for Axie Origin, you'll get three starter Axies. However, keep in mind, that Axie Infinity and Axie Origin is not the same game.
If you decide to jump onto this opportunity, you should also check out our guide on Best Axie Infinity Team for Beginners, so you choose your team right!
Conclusion
Although Axie Infinity is initially not free to play, there are ways to play the game for free. The first and only currently active way is to get yourself into an Axie Scholarship.
Axie Scholarship allows experienced players that don’t have much free time to lend their Axies or their whole account to other players, called Scholars.
Axie Scholars get to play the game for free while keeping a portion of the earnings. It’s a win-win situation.
The devs from Sky Mavis also mentioned in one of the monthly updates that they want to lower entry barriers by providing free starter Axies. However, this feature is not yet in the game, and they may have scraped that idea.
But as for the edit above. You can start Axie Origin (a different version of the game) entirely without investment.