Since the beginning of 2024, the market value of Web3 games has fallen by 33%, but still accounts for 30% of dApp activity, and is expected to have a positive impact on the market through the issuance of new games in the future.
Written by: Stacy Muur
Translated by: Plain English Blockchain
Since the beginning of 2024, the performance of Web3 games has lagged behind other areas of crypto altcoins, with its market value dropping by 33%, while the altcoin market has fallen by 14%.
Nevertheless, Web3 games remain a strong participant, accounting for 30% of all dApp activity, with a daily active wallet count of 2.1 million.
Let's delve into the key insights from the latest Delphi research on Web3 games.
Key Highlights
Funding for Web3 games peaked between February and March, with monthly investments ranging from $60 million to $100 million, totaling $673 million in 2024. However, this only accounted for 41.35% of the first quarter's trading volume in 2022.
In 2024, over 50 games were launched, with significant increases in games such as Xai, Pixels, and Notcoin.
Xai raised $40 million within 3 months. Pixels reached a peak FDV of $4.8 billion and 1 million DAU within 3 weeks of its launch. Notcoin attracted 35 million users and achieved a market value of $1 billion without external funding.
Portal's FDV dropped from $4 billion to $280 million, and Overworld Incarnas' value shrank by 75%. After TGE, Mavia and Pixelmon also dropped by over 60%.
Shooting games continue to lead in Web3, with Off the Grid standing out due to its $110 million funding and collaboration with Sony and Microsoft.
In MMORPG, the most anticipated is "MapleStory Universe," with a funding amount of $100 million.
"Pirate Kingdom" is a fully on-chain game that has been continuously developing over the past 6 weeks, with 100,000 active players and revenue reaching $1 million.
Mobile games like "Fate King" and "Dragon Fire" have rapidly developed, attracting tens of thousands of users. "Dragon Fire" has been downloaded over 3.5 million times.
The Ronin and TON ecosystems lead Web3 games. Ronin benefits from the success of Axie Infinity, while TON provides seamless integration with Telegram and access to 900 million users. The success of Notcoin and Hamster Kombat further confirms this.
This summary focuses on the key points from Delphi's "Mid-Year Game Review" report.
1. Notable Web3 Games
Below, I highlight some recent games worth paying attention to, most of which have not been tracked on DappRadar. For statistics on the hottest games, please use this dashboard.
1) Off the Grid [Shooting]
Description: "Off The Grid" is a cyberpunk-themed battle royale game developed by Gunzilla Games.
Blockchain: Avalanche
Funding: $101 million
Overview: "Off the Grid" has attracted over $110 million in funding, with a team of over 380 people, and a collaboration with Sony and Microsoft to release the game on PlayStation and Xbox, setting new industry standards.
2) MapleStory Universe [MMORPG]
Description: "MapleStory Universe" expands Nexon's famous "MapleStory" IP into a virtual world ecosystem and hosts various applications based on this beloved game series.
Blockchain: MapleStory Subnet, supported by Avalanche
Funding: $100 million
Facts: In 2023, MapleStory Universe received over $100 million in funding from Nexon. MapleStory Online has attracted over 100 million lifelong players and remains a significant player in the MMORPG space.
From July 24 to August 2, NEXPACE invited over 1,000 players to participate in the MapleStory N Pioneer Test. The peak concurrent players reached 714, and 92% of participants returned multiple times during the test. The team reported a retention rate of 79.97% seven days later.
3) EVE Frontier [MMORPG]
Description: EVE Frontier is a single-shard survival game set in a dark, dystopian space where humans struggle to survive and rebuild a shattered world. In March 2023, CCP announced that they had raised $40 million for the game's development.
Funding: $40 million
Facts: Leveraging validated IPs will provide significant advantages in user acquisition, allowing them to target loyal fan bases of "MapleStory" and "Star Wars: Galaxies."
4) MetaCene [MMORPG]
Description: MetaCene is developing a blockchain-based MMORPG set in a hyper-real post-apocalyptic world. Players redefine civilization using various NFTs. The game aims to create an accessible Web3 experience, focusing on player-centric entertainment, governance, and AIGC-driven creation.
Blockchain: Rangers, with Apostle NFT collections on Ethereum
UAW (30 days): 38.32k
UAW ATH: 57.06k (March 25, 2024)
Facts: MetaCene was founded by game experts with over 20 years of industry experience from companies such as Shanda Games, Blizzard, and Perfect World.
In the past 30 days, its UAW has significantly increased from 898 to 371,000, a growth of 4031.4%.
5) Avalon [MMORPG]
Description: Avalon is the world's first multi-chain, truly open-world MMORPG, built using the Unreal Engine and integrating multiple blockchains. The game is set in a fantasy medieval kingdom, where players use their NFTs to explore the world and compete for cryptocurrency and rare NFT rewards. The game's setting is inspired by the legends of King Arthur and the alternative history of the Knights Templar.
Blockchain: ImmutableX, Base
Facts: Both MetaCene and Avalon are led by industry veterans who played a key role in shaping "Endless Quest" and "Legend II," defining the MMORPG genre.
6) Big Time [MMORPG]
Name: Big Time
Description: Big Time is a multiplayer action role-playing game for PC, combining fast-paced combat with an open game economy. Players actively generate and exchange in-game items. The game seamlessly integrates Web3 elements to ensure they do not hinder the entertainment experience, attracting a wider audience.
Blockchain: Ethereum
Facts: Big Time has revitalized the Web3 gaming landscape after the bear market, generating over $100 million in revenue since the preseason and positioning itself as a strong native Web3 competitor.
7) Pirate Nation [Fully on-chain game]
Description: "Pirate Nation" is an innovative game developed by Proof of Play, integrating the game with blockchain technology. Players collect pirates and send them on adventures to gather crafting materials, treasures, and pirate coins. Through multiple adventures, the pirates gain experience and level up.
Blockchain: Ethereum, Apex Chain
Facts: Pirate Nation achieved an astonishing 2,400% growth in just three months. This growth, along with impressive in-game revenue of $1 million over the past six weeks, highlights its strong position in the FOCG field.
The Apex Chain aims to support the Pirate Nation ecosystem and is one of the most active chains, processing over 2.5 million transactions daily. In terms of transaction volume in the past month, it is second only to Base in EVM Layer 2 solutions.
8) Infinigods [Mobile Game Studio]
Projects: Infinimerge, Immortal Siege, King of Destiny
Description: Infinigods is a Web3 game studio focused on providing cross-platform experiences for web and mobile devices. Infinigods aims to create a casual gaming ecosystem, interconnecting games through its unique NFT series and intellectual property, all inspired by ancient mythology.
Blockchain: Ethereum
Facts: "King of Destiny" is a Web3 luck-based combat game developed by Infinigods, with a quietly growing user base, nearing 1 million downloads, and over 250,000 monthly active users (MAU).
9) Other games worth observing include:
Capsule Heroes - a free PvP fighting game.
Matr1x - an entertainment platform involving Web3, AI, and esports, with 24,000 independent wallets last month.
Fableborne - an isometric multiplayer game with 77,000 downloads.
Treeverse - an MMORPG being developed by the Endless Clouds team.
Dypians World (WoD) - an MMORPG with 700,000 30-day independent active wallets on DappRadar, the highest number.
Source: DappRadar
2. Conclusion
Delphi states that there are currently no clear signs that games will be favored in the fourth quarter in the current market (where meme coins and the Solana ecosystem outperform most other Web3 areas). Additionally, a large number of issuances are expected in the next six months, which may intensify competition and further dilute liquidity.
However, they hope that games like Off The Grid, Maple Story Universe, and Fableborne will have a positive impact on the sentiment of the Web3 and Web2 markets. Such content should still be seen as the best Trojan horse in the cryptocurrency space, and they believe there is reason to be optimistic in the short to medium term.
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