Play2Earn is explained in full under play-to-earn (Play2Earn), the main entry on the model, its history and its economics. This page covers the compact spelling, which appears in token names, hashtags and project branding.
"Play2Earn", like "P2E", is simply a shorter way of writing play-to-earn: a style of blockchain game in which players receive in-game tokens or NFTs that they can sell for real money. The digit replaces the word "to" in the same way as in many internet brand names, and the different spellings carry no difference in meaning. Search engines and data sites treat them as the same category, often grouped under GameFi.
The spelling was most common during the 2021 boom led by Axie Infinity, when many new projects used "Play2Earn" in marketing to signal that players would be paid. After token prices fell in 2022 and many such games lost most of their users, the label became associated with unsustainable reward schemes, and newer projects often avoid it in favour of "play-and-earn". Readers who see the term in a project's promotion should look closely at where the rewards come from, how many tokens are issued over time and what happens to their value if new players stop arriving, issues explained under tokenomics. Related earn-as-you-go models include move-to-earn.