In November 2024, the Web3 gaming market saw significant growth, with a market capitalization of $35.1 billion and 5.5 million daily active users, but it still faces challenges in blockchain integration and mass adoption.
(Background: Blockchain indicators have declined across the board, who killed the vitality of Telegram mini-games?)
(Additional background: Blockchain Game Research Report for October 2024: Aftershocks of the TG game explosion? Ubisoft makes a strong entry!)
In November 2024, the Web3 gaming industry saw significant market growth, but the strategy for mass adoption is still evolving. With Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high and approaching the $100,000 milestone, the gaming sector's market capitalization surged 79.1% to $35.1 billion. Despite the impressive performance of traditional indicators, with daily active users reaching 5.5 million, the industry still faces some challenges in blockchain integration and mass adoption.
Macro Market Review
The cryptocurrency market set new records in November, with Bitcoin's price skyrocketing 39.0% from $69,386 to $96,427. Ethereum followed closely, rising 47.8% from $2,511 to $3,711. Bitcoin's outstanding performance pushed its market capitalization beyond silver and Saudi Aramco, ranking it as the seventh-largest global asset as it approached the $100,000 milestone on November 23.
The U.S. election results became a catalyst for the growth of the cryptocurrency market, potentially influencing comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation and regulatory oversight. The market reacted positively, particularly in the performance of memecoins, decentralized artificial intelligence (deAI) projects, and decentralized science (DeSci).
The broader financial markets also performed strongly. The financial sector led the stock market rally amid expectations of U.S. tax reform and deregulation. However, international markets experienced some volatility, with the Chinese yuan under pressure due to concerns about potential U.S. tariffs, while gold prices fell as election-related uncertainties subsided.
Blockchain Game Market Overview
In November, blockchain game tokens saw significant growth in the cryptocurrency bull market, with their market capitalization surging from $19.6 billion to $35.1 billion.
The sector's daily trading volume exhibited a similar trend, increasing 79.4% to $11.9 million.
Daily active users (DAU) reached a new high in November, averaging 5.5 million, a 15.7% increase from October. This growth was primarily driven by sustained user activity on opBNB and the robust performance of the Ronin ecosystem.
Transaction indicators, however, showed more complexity. While the daily average transaction volume reached 15.3 million (up 3.3% from October), the daily average transactions per user declined from 3.131 to 2.810. The monthly total transaction volume remained stable at 460.4 million, indicating a downward trend in the intensity of new users' utilization of blockchain functionalities.
The approach taken by games like Off The Grid may represent a critical inflection point for the industry. By positioning themselves as traditional games with optional blockchain elements, rather than "NFT games," they reflect that mass adoption may require more nuanced integration of blockchain technology. This "make blockchain features optional and invisible" strategy can help overcome many gamers' initial aversion to cryptocurrencies, reducing friction, but it also raises fundamental questions about the role of blockchain in games.
The technical challenges facing full-chain games remain significant. Existing blockchain infrastructure struggles to meet the demands of real-time gameplay, competitive matchmaking, and the high throughput required by modern games. While Layer 2 solutions and dedicated gaming blockchains are emerging, the gap between traditional gaming performance expectations and blockchain capabilities continues to impact development strategies.
Although the current bull market provides favorable conditions for growth, the Web3 gaming sector has not yet produced a definitively breakthrough moment. The industry appears to be at a crossroads, balancing the need to maintain crypto-native appeal and achieve mass adoption. To succeed, projects must strike this balance and ensure that their technical infrastructure can keep up with their ambitions.
Overview of Blockchain Games
The number of active games on blockchain networks reached 1,696 in November, an increase of 4.6% from October. In terms of game distribution, the market leaders are still BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum, with market shares of 20.9%, 15.4%, and 13.4%, respectively.
The growth momentum of BNB Chain continues, with an average DAU increase of 46.1% compared to October. This growth is mainly driven by its flagship games SERAPH: In The Darkness and MEET48, and the platform also benefits from projects migrating from the BNB Chain.
Ronin has shown a significant recovery, with November DAU doubling from 600,000 to 1.2 million, thanks to new partnerships, the introduction of multiple game studios, the launch of the new game Fableborne, and the renewed growth of the existing game Lumiterra.
The TON game ecosystem faces challenges, with DAU declining 41.9% to 116,400, highlighting the on-chain retention challenges of Telegram-based games. However, the industry has some exceptions. Sui's average DAU in November was 233,300, an increase of 23.1% from the previous month. The Telegram game BIRDS contributed most of the user base, with an average DAU of 224,900, and its weekly new user retention rate can be considered a benchmark for the current blockchain gaming industry.
The Web3 gaming industry continues to be a coexistence of challenges and opportunities. More industry participants are getting involved in the blockchain gaming infrastructure, and more game-specific blockchains are emerging. As one of the largest Web3 gaming guilds, Yield Guild Games (YGG) has launched its Studio Chain, building its own gaming infrastructure.
Meanwhile, B3 has launched an Open Gaming Layer, with Prime Chain being the first blockchain it has launched. Developed by the Echelon Prime Foundation, Prime Chain will provide infrastructure and development momentum for the ambitious sci-fi card game Parallel.
Overview of Blockchain Games
As of the end of November, the industry had a total of 3,602 blockchain games, with 1,361 remaining active. Among these games, 298 have attracted more than 1,000 monthly active users (MAU), accounting for 21.9% of active games.
Analyzing the Telegram game metrics, we can see a significant gap between platform users and blockchain engagement. As of November 30, Hamster Kombat ranked second in Telegram games with 26.16 million MAU, but had only 736 on-chain users. Even for MemeFi, which achieved the highest conversion rate among the top 10 games, its on-chain user participation rate is only 7.96%, with 1.36 million TON users.
Despite these conversion challenges, the success of the Telegram game ecosystem is driving the broader imitation of social media platforms. As a leading instant messaging platform in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia, Line has announced plans to launch 30 mini dApps by the end of January and expand the suite to 150 by the end of the first quarter of 2025. These mini dApps will be built on the Kaia blockchain, with games being the largest component, along with social and DeFi applications.
Meanwhile, the Solana-based project Sonic X has surpassed 1 million KYC-verified users through its TikTok integration. The platform's success is due to its seamless onboarding process, where users can access the game directly through their TikTok accounts, with Solana wallets automatically created in the background. This achievement demonstrates TikTok's potential as a Web3 gaming gateway.
Blockchain Gaming Investment and Financing
In November, Web3 games received 18 financing rounds, totaling $73.6 million. Although the number of events increased by five compared to October, the total amount decreased by 22.3%. Additionally, eight events did not disclose the specific financing amount.
Monkey Tilt led the month's financing with a $30 million Series A round, led by Pantera Capital. The platform combines gaming, entertainment, and gambling features, and has achieved a monthly betting volume of $200 million since its launch in March.
The platform includes in-game chat and user tipping features, but due to regulatory reasons, it is still unavailable in major markets such as the US, UK, and Australia. Despite regulatory challenges, the gambling segment continues to attract attention, with FanDuel, BRKT, and BoxBet also receiving financing.
Other notable financing news includes Animoca Brands' additional $10 million investment in Mocaverse, on top of the previous $31.88 million investment. This investment includes warrants to acquire MOCA Coin tokens at a fully diluted valuation of $1 billion, supporting Mocaverse's further development of interoperable infrastructure for mainstream cryptocurrency adoption.
The data for this report is sourced from the Games Research page of Footprint Analytics, a real-time data dashboard that provides comprehensive and reliable Web3 gaming statistics. If you find any chains or games that are not included and would like to have them added to the dataset, please contact us.
The content of this article is for industry research and exchange purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice. The market has risks, and investments should be made with caution.
