Blockchain gaming's struggles continue as active users drop 30% in three months: Messari
Quick Take
- Messari reported monthly active users and new users in blockchain gaming, which dropped by 30% and 34%, respectively.
- Investment in blockchain gaming has remained robust as venture-capital firms demonstrate their faith in the sector’s long-term prospects.
Web3 gaming has been a bright spot in an otherwise down year for an industry that has seen funding dry up. That might not be the case for much longer if interest in blockchain gaming continues to wane.
The number of active users for such games dropped 30% since October, crypto market researcher Messari said. The number of new users dropped by 34%.
After an initial wave of simple “play-to-earn” games like Axie Infinity gained popularity during crypto’s bull run, a new class of more sophisticated games developed by seasoned developers has entered the market. Crypto enthusiasts continue to see blockchain gaming as a surefire way to eventually convince consumers to embrace web3, possessing digital wallets and owning digital assets.
But Axie Inifity's popularity collapsed as the bear market set in. So far there have not been any new blockchain game – Yuga Labs's recent headline-grabber Dookey Dash may or may not qualify, depending on how one defines a web3 game – which have managed to attract a large number of gamers.
During the last several months, a sharp reduction in cryptocurrency prices and non-fungible token trading volumes has caused sentiment to sour. But investment in blockchain gaming and NFT projects has remained robust, pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars in fresh venture capital each month. The trend continued last month with the NFT-gaming vertical securing the most funding among all categories, outpacing both infrastructure and financial services, according to The Block Research.
Well-funded game developers are generally optimistic about the months to come.
“We’re starting to see games that get into millions of players,” Mythical Games CEO John Linden said last month. Linden is encouraged by the growth of web3 gaming and how well his company’s game Blankos Block Party is performing, but he knows there’s a long way to go.
“Blankos has a million players. Axie has a couple million players. But that’s not really that big, to be super honest, in gaming. Call of Duty mobile has 500 million. Niantic has a billion. We’re still in the infancy.”
Mythical Games achieved a value of $1.25 billion after it raised $150 million in 2021 from investors including Andreessen Horowitz.
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