From speculation to entertainment, Web3 games August newsletter
Original Author: lesley@footprint.network
In August, the cryptocurrency market volatility intensified, with Bitcoin prices fluctuating between $23,664 and $30,057. In comparison, the gaming sector remained relatively stable, but from a macro perspective, people's views on Web3 games are undergoing a transformation.
Many institutions and industry builders are gradually realizing that the essence of Web3 games is not just exploiting users in Ponzi schemes, but providing entertainment around gameplay itself. Although the temptation to accumulate wealth quickly is still significant, we see that the focus on speculative behavior in the Web3 gaming sector is diminishing.
With the integration of games, NFTs, and the metaverse, some Web2 giants have brought surprises to the market during the bear market. Well-known gaming giants like Zynga and Sony are investing resources to provide users with a better gaming experience and attract mainstream players to Web3. This trend is becoming more apparent, highlighting the long-term potential and development direction of Web3 games.
However, this emerging field still faces risks and uncertainties. As the speculation frenzy wanes, Web3 games are gradually maturing, and participants of all kinds are starting to shift their focus from speculation to entertainment.
This report data is from Footprint's Web3 Game research page. It is an easy-to-use dashboard that contains the most important statistical data and metrics on the Web3 gaming industry, and is updated in real-time. You can click here to learn about the latest information on prices, projects, financing, and more.
Key Points
Cryptocurrency Market Overview
In August, Bitcoin experienced significant price fluctuations, ranging from $23,664 to $30,057 throughout the month.
Web3 Gaming Market Overview
Games with over 1,000 monthly active users remain relatively scarce, accounting for only about 9% of the total number of games.
The market is currently dominated by projects led by large enterprises. In contrast, smaller companies and startups navigate cautiously, trying to survive in the long slump of the Web3 gaming market.
Web3 Gaming Public Chain Data
Games on BNB chain account for 5.3% of total games with over one thousand monthly active users, while those on Ethereum account for 1.6%, and Polygon leads with a share of 10.2%.
Although SUI chain has technical advantages, it has not yet been converted into sustained adoption.
Overview of Web3 Gaming Projects
In August, CryptoTycoon tokens performed well, with a price increase of 200.23%.
NFT Worlds saw a price increase of 68.23% this month and has grown by 578.31% since the beginning of the year.
Web3 Gaming Investment Situation
The integration of esports and Web3 projects is also flourishing in the market.
The popularity of Artificial Intelligence (AI) still influences this market, with many big companies exploring the synergies between AI and Web3 technologies.
Market Dynamics this Month
Footprint Analytics partners with COMBO to drive data-driven revolution in GameFi and Web3 domains.
Mahjong Meta receives $12 million strategic investment.
Game participation platform developer, Conductive.ai, completes seed round financing.
Singapore Web3 entertainment company, Digital Entertainment Asset (DEA), secures funding from Global Brain Corporation's KDDI Open Innovation Fund III.
Hungri Games raises $1.9 million in financing with a valuation of $23 million.
a16z-backed AIGC company, Irreverent Labs, completes a new round of financing.
Roblox is using AI to generate "richer and more dynamic" games.
Cryptocurrency Market Overview
In August, the value of Bitcoin had a significant fluctuation, ranging from $23,664 to $30,057. On August 1, the submission of 5 Ethereum ETH applications caused a brief surge in the value of Bitcoin, reaching $30,000. However, influenced by the market weakness after the US government credit rating downgrade, BTC and ETH prices quickly dropped.
Market Cap: GameFi Tokens vs BTC
On August 8, Bitcoin once again broke through the $30,000 mark, possibly due to the influence of PayPal's launch of the new stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD). However, it quickly dropped to nearly $25,000. This decline was driven by a series of negative events, including reports of SpaceX selling a large amount of BTC, the crisis of China Evergrande, and the massive liquidation of $1 billion in the crypto derivatives market.
At the end of August, a US appeals court made a ruling favorable to Grayscale in their lawsuit against the US Securities and Exchange Commission, causing the price of Bitcoin to surge from $26,000 to $28,000, and then ultimately stabilize around $26,000.
Web3 Game Market Overview
The Web3 game market is thriving. This month, the number of games increased from 2,471 to 2,540, showing significant growth in the development of new games. However, there is still a relatively small number of games with over 1,000 monthly active users, accounting for only around 9% of the total number of games. In this downturn of the current Web3 game market, user acquisition remains a big challenge.
Monthly Active Games
For Web2 game players, managing private keys and using wallets can be difficult. So Web3 games should prioritize providing a seamless user experience that allows players to not differentiate between Web2 and Web3. Ether France Chairman de Tychey said the focus of game development should be on the game experience.
Active Users & Chg%
Carrom Blitz and Trickshot Blitz changed the trend of active users this month. It can be seen that the number of active users in the market increases by 110,000 people every Friday, accounting for 15% of the total number of users, but then slightly decreases. These two games were developed by Joyride on the Flow blockchain. However, other indicators such as transactions and trading volume did not show similar periodic growth, indicating that although these games performed well in driving user participation, their impact on user spending or interaction with contracts may not be significant.
The market is currently dominated by projects led by large enterprises, such as the collaboration between Animoca Brands and Yuga Labs. nWay, a game developer under Animoca Brands, is launching a new fighting game licensed by Yuga Labs. This trend is also extending to game giants like Bandai Namco, which is releasing an AI virtual pet NFT game.
Web3 gaming is attracting many big companies. Many industry giants, including Zynga and Sony, have entered this field, leveraging their rich experience in game design and architecture to support the industry's development. As they fully realize the potential of blockchain technology, they are likely to take significant actions.
On the other hand, smaller companies and startups are proceeding cautiously, trying to survive in the long downturn of the Web3 gaming market.
Web3 Gaming Public Chain Data
Games Shared by Chain
The distribution of games on different blockchains remains relatively stable, with BNB Chain having the most games, followed by Ethereum and Polygon. When looking at games on the chains with over a thousand monthly active users, those on the BNB Chain account for 5.3% of the total games, Ethereum accounts for 1.6%, and Polygon takes the lead with a share of 10.2%.
Sui Network
According to SuiVision, after the Sui blockchain reached a record high of 65.84 million transactions on July 27, the transaction volume experienced a sharp decline. By August 2, Sui's daily transaction volume had dropped to approximately 1.479 million transactions, only 2.2% of the peak. The number of daily active users also experienced a similar sharp decline.
This decline is related to the Bullshark event by MystenLabs which ended on July 28. This event brought a large number of users to the game SUI 8192, thereby increasing the visibility of the SUI blockchain, but it was difficult to establish lasting user habits and high retention rates.
Although SUI chain technology has advantages, it has not yet translated into sustainable adoption. As the hype decreases, monitoring the operation mode that does not rely on incentives will be crucial for evaluating the true attractiveness and market adaptability of the blockchain.
Layer 2 public chains such as opBNB and Starknet have also attracted attention in the gaming field. However, the current data does not show any obvious trends for them.
Web3 Gaming Project Overview
CryptoTycoon
CryptoTycoon is a lightweight DeFi gaming platform built on the BNB chain. In August, the tokens in this project performed well with a price increase of 200.23%. Since the beginning of the year, the value of the token has increased by 76.59%. In a speculative market, tokens that can continue to grow are worth paying attention to.
Game Token Price Changes in August
There are also some other projects with long-term growth in tokens, such as NFT Worlds, which saw a growth of 68.23% this month and a growth of 578.31% since the beginning of the year. Another notable project is Fabwelt, which saw a price increase of 25.76% this month and a value growth of 466.78% since the beginning of the year. The sustained growth highlights the potential of these projects and their ability to attract investor interest in the crypto world.
Web3 Game Investment and Financing Situation
Investments continue to flow into the Web3 gaming sector, with five major funding rounds attracting considerable attention, including significant investments in companies such as Mahjong Meta ($12 million), Conductive.ai (undisclosed), Digital Entertainment Asset (undisclosed), Hungri Games ($1.9 million), and Irreverent Labs (undisclosed).
Mahjong Meta
The integration of esports and Web3 projects is also thriving in the market, with projects like Sorare embodying this trend. This month, Mahjong Meta secured $12 million in funding, becoming a highlight in the market. The fusion of traditional games like mahjong with the cutting-edge world of Web3 games is increasingly gaining attention.
MechaFightClub
The heat of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to impact the market. Many large companies are exploring the synergy between AI and Web3 technologies, with Irreverent Labs at the forefront. As a metaverse game developer, Irreverent Labs recently secured a new round of funding led by Samsung Next, indicating ongoing investor interest in AI-based projects. Irreverent Labs sees its game MechaFightClub as a large-scale machine learning model (LLM) and plans to enable users to create videos using various input methods (such as images, text, and audio) by the end of the year, once again demonstrating the continued significance of AI in the technology and gaming industries.
This article is contributed by the Footprint Analytics community.
The Footprint Community is a global collaborative data community where members use visualized data to create impactful insights. In the Footprint community, you can get help, build connections, and exchange knowledge and research on topics related to Web 3, metaverse, GameFi, and DeFi in the blockchain space. Through mutual motivation and support, an active, diverse, and highly engaged user community has been established to contribute data, share insights, and drive community development.
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