January Web3 Gaming Industry Overview: Unprecedented Market Growth

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In January this year, the blockchain gaming field ushered in explosive growth, and the number of active users increased significantly.

Blockchain games continue to integrate AI technology to improve player experience and expand their service scope. The issue of compatibility between public chains and games has also received increasing attention. Technological innovation is gradually changing the face of the blockchain gaming industry.

The capital market’s enthusiasm for blockchain games continues to heat up, indicating the broad prospects of this field. However, it should be noted that investors remain cautious. In order to attract potential investors, the gaming industry needs more solid data performance.

The data for this report comes from Footprint's Web3 Game research page. This is an easy-to-use dashboard containing the most important statistics and metrics for understanding the Web3 gaming industry, updated in real time. You can click here for the latest information on pricing, projects, financing and more.

Market Review of the Month

In January 2024, Bitcoin and Ethereum continued their upward trend, albeit at a slower pace. Bitcoin started the month at $42,303, rising slightly by 1.65% to close at $43,001, while Ethereum started at $2,283, rising by 2.77% to close at $2,346.

Market Cap: Game Tokens vs. BTC

January 2024, US spot The debut of Bitcoin ETFs marks a key moment for the crypto market, with the ETFs' daily trading volume of up to $210 million quickly attracting investors' attention and reflecting the deeper integration of cryptocurrencies into the traditional financial ecosystem. Despite the heightened excitement, Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have remained relatively stable, suggesting traders remain cautious following the ETF approval.

At the same time, the focus of the broader crypto market has turned to exploring synergies between the crypto industry and AI. Against the background of the Federal Reserve's decision to maintain interest rate stability, the market value of stablecoins has steadily increased. This period marks a subtle evolution that the crypto space is undergoing, both in terms of institutional adoption through the approval of a Bitcoin ETF and in balancing considerations with continued expectations for macroeconomic and technological developments.

Blockchain game market overview

Blockchain Game Active Users

< p>In January 2024, according to statistics from Footprint Analytics, the average number of active users in the blockchain gaming field surged by 54.67% compared to the annual average in 2023, and the growth trend began to appear in November 2023. At the same time, the average number of active users in January increased by 14.42% from December. However, despite the significant increase in user engagement and interest, the market is still affected by the previous bear market, and transaction volume and transaction value in January have not fully recovered to the levels of the same period last year.

The blockchain game industry is rapidly introducing artificial intelligence technology to generate images and enhance player experience. Square Enix, for example, is using Midjourney, an AI image generation tool, for character design in its new games to help make game environments visually rich and interactive. Nvidia also mentioned Ubisoft's use of AI technology to create more realistic and immersive non-player-controlled characters, which demonstrates the trend of the gaming industry working toward deeper immersive experiences.

The blockchain game industry is also working to improve transaction processing capabilities to promote market growth and improve the quality and stability of games. The Solana network experienced congestion issues during the Jupiter airdrop, which exposed deficiencies in transaction processing. The game Crypto Unicorns moved to Arbitrum’s Xai network due to rising operating costs and compromised player experience due to surging gas costs on the Polygon network.

Blockchain game public chain data

Active Gamers Shared by Chain

According to player activity rankings, Ronin, Near and BNB Chain have become the blockchain platforms with the largest number of active users, accounting for 29.9%, 10.2% and 9% of the total respectively. In terms of trading volume, BNB Chain, Ronin and Ethereum are at the top.

Ronin Daily Txn & Growth Rate

In January, Ronin’s trading volume and The number of active users has grown sharply, and transaction volume has surged by 213.41% compared to December. This growth is driven by continued improvements to the platform and the expansion of its ecosystem. Ronin’s game wallet has added support for mainstream blockchains such as Ethereum, Polygon and BNB Chain. This month, it also activated the platform’s activities through airdrops of projects such as Pixels and Apeiron.

As the gaming industry develops, new blockchain infrastructure is being designed to meet its specific needs. Key players in the industry are leading the development of innovative infrastructure. Among them, TreasureDAO is a striking example. As a pioneer of blockchain focusing on games, it is striving to develop its own public chain. At the same time, BNB Chain’s NFT market Tabi is about to launch Tabi Chain, which is planned to be launched on Cosmos and focus on the gaming field.

Blockchain game overview

Monthly Active Games

The total number of blockchain games increased from 2,081 in January 2023 to 2,877 in January 2024, however, the proportion of games with more than 1,000 users (unique wallets/addresses) dropped from 11% to 8%. The data shows that although the number of games has increased, it has not been accompanied by a simultaneous improvement in quality.

Jon Jordan’s large blockchain game list data reveals the high volatility of the blockchain gaming industry. In 2023, 31% of games (407 out of 1,322) ceased operations due to financial pressures and market challenges. Regulatory uncertainty also complicates the situation.

Anichess

Despite the challenges, the blockchain gaming industry is still making progress. Animoca Brands has launched Anichess, a decentralized chess game that brings new life to the traditional game. Azuki plans to enter the gaming industry later this year with the launch of a hyper-casual mobile game starring BEANZ. Yuga Labs is also preparing to release the Dookey Dash Unclogginged game in early 2024.

Bomb Crypto, Singularity and Blockchain Brawlers saw their token values ​​soar by more than 200% this month. This not only demonstrates their long-term commitment to the development of the gaming field, but also demonstrates their ability to survive through the bear market. User capabilities.

Other games also performed well. StarryNift emerged as the leader in attracting new and active users on the BNB chain in January, setting an all-time high for wallet transactions. Yuliverse and Smart Cats have performed particularly well on the Polygon network over the last month. Meanwhile, the Carv wallet also reported an all-time high in the number of transactions.

Blockchain game investment and financing situation

• Web3 social game Forgotten Playland has completed a seed round of US$7 million in financing .

• Arcade2Earn has raised $4.8 million for its P2E platform in a funding round led by Crypto.com Capital.

• AOFverse raises $3 million from The Arbitrum Foundation.

• Triple-A gaming platform SkyArk Chronicles raises $15 million.

• Nebula Revelation raised $4.5 million on January 10, 2024.

• 3thix, a monetization platform for Web3 games, raises $8.5 million.

• Abyss World developer Metagame has raised funding at a $100 million valuation.

• Little Dragon completed a pre-seed round of funding.

• Ta-da closes $3.5 million in funding and is ready to launch.

• The gaming studio behind Matr1x Fire has raised $10 million for its NFT mobile shooter.

• Mon Studios has raised a $1.4 million funding round.

The game industry is becoming increasingly popular, but investments tend to be rational, and investment events with particularly high financing amounts have not been seen. It is worth mentioning that SkyArk Chronicles, a AAA gaming platform, successfully raised US$15 million. Other notable investments include the upcoming Web3 social game Forgotten Playland and the space-themed open world game Nebula Revelation.

Multiple game platforms and developers received financial support, including Arcade2Earn, Abyss World, ArenaX Labs, 3thix, 10n8 Little Dragon and Ta-da. Ta-da, an entertainment-oriented Web3 artificial intelligence data market, has received $3.5 million in financing.

Game developers such as AOFverse, Matr1x and Mon Studios also received investment. These developments demonstrate the growing interest within the crypto industry in applying blockchain technology and Web3 to gaming.

News of the month

• Animoca Brands partners with iCandy to launch Snaky Cat.

• Treeverse studio Endless Clouds has chosen Immutable zkEVM as the basis for its NFT game.

• Animoca Brands announces the release of chess game Anichess.

• GameStop (GME) is shutting down its NFT market.