NFT Games or also known as Play to earn games are starting the climb up the ranks of the gaming industry after the NFT Game Axie infinity exploded in popularity. Of course, there are several NFT Games that investors are putting their money into not because of the quality of the gameplay but most of all because of the Return on Investment that they get from playing the game.

But with the proliferation of such NFT games comes the dark side of it. Rug pull is a term that means malicious manipulation by the developers of the game with the intention of suddenly leaving the project and running off with the money of the investors. Rug pull does not only happen in NFT Games it also happens in cryptocurrencies, especially in altcoins most of which are newly launched.

We had our fair share of rug pull experience, which, even if what we invested is a small amount of money that we can “burn”, it is still money that was honestly earned. Thus, we researched what rug pull is and what are the red flags you should be looking for before you even invest in an NFT Game.

Signs that an NFT Game will Rug Pull

1. Anonymous developers – probably one of the biggest red flags in an NFT Game. Of course, there are some NFT games that may not have revealed the identity of the developers at first, yet the game still thrives as of today. However, most NFT games that went into rug pull have never revealed the identity of their developers. Rule of thumb, if you cannot determine the identity of the developers and their information is not easily available on their website or social media platforms then you should already keep your guards up!
2. Suspicious whitepaper and roadmap- do not be fooled, even unscrupulous NFT games have white paper and roadmaps. More often than not, their whitepaper and roadmaps are skillfully done, which they can easily make with the help of a good and crafty writer. Sometimes, however, they slip, if you look at the whitepaper and roadmap closely, there are some indicators (most of the time conflicting statements) in the content of their whitepaper and roadmap. For this part, you really have to increase your comprehension as you read their white paper and roadmap.
3. Unsustainable Tokenomics – tokenomics usually contains information on how the tokens are divided. The division will show how many will be placed in the game, how much will be in the possession of the developers among others. While tokenomics can be crafted to make the token look like it is sustainable, developers who have the intention of making a rug pull may have hastily created the tokenomics and the imbalance in the division of the tokens are glaring.
4. Social media presence – this may be one of the weakest indicators if an NFT Game will rug pull however it is worth looking into. In our experience, even if the NFT Games have a presence in Facebook, Twitter, Discord, Telegram, or any other social media and messaging apps, there is still a probability of a rug pull. It is important that you join in all of the indicated social media platforms in the NFT Games as you will be able to get a signal of a rug pull when the developers suddenly become silent and unresponsive. You will also see their Facebook or Twitter account suddenly be inaccessible or have been deleted, all these are signs that the developers of such NFT Games have already carted off with your money.
5.   Game Quality – at the onset, you cannot judge an NFT Game by its game quality. However, for an NFT Game with an intention to do a rug pull, the game quality really low, and its graphics are too simple. Some legit NFT Games started off with a not-so-good game quality however you can see that they have put in work into the development of the game and that updates are frequently released to show that there is an improvement in the game. For a rug pull NFT game, you get low-quality graphics and games, the game is so simple that anyone with knowledge of game development can duplicate such.

While there might be other red flags that will indicate that an NFT Game will have a high potential of rug pull, those that were mentioned above may be the top 5 red flags. So before you even invest in an NFT game, make sure to always do your own research.