Author | Joey @IOSG
Methodology
This study focuses on two main points:
- Analyzing the internal structure of game sub-sectors;
- Constructing a panoramic map of the current mainstream projects in the market.
To this end, we screened top projects with a market capitalization of over $50 million, and included large games that have not yet issued tokens but have high visibility and attention in the community. If certain projects involve multiple fields, they are classified into the most relevant vertical track.
Game Ecosystem Map
As of January 2025, the Web3 game ecosystem can be divided into three major vertical domains: infrastructure, games, and ecosystem.
#Infrastructure
Infrastructure covers the technical foundation of Web3 games, including development frameworks, game engines, AI tools, data management systems, and DePIN (decentralized physical infrastructure network).
To avoid excessive layering, the classification standard is relatively broad. For example, the "data" category includes both data analysis platforms and game data rights confirmation protocols (such as IP protocols).
#Games
It includes all playable Web3 game types, further divided into different gameplay categories. Among them, "AA+ games" represent higher-quality vertical tracks.
#Ecosystem
Ecosystem projects aim to build network effects, covering platforms, studios, game guilds, task systems, and incubators/launch pads. Platforms mainly refer to aggregation portals that provide game distribution channels.
For specific project names, please refer to the appendix at the end of the article.
Market Panorama
Overall Trends of Web3 Games
#Annual Transaction Volume
Although the transaction volume remains high, it has declined from the peak in 2022.
#Annual Capital Scale
It has plummeted from $84 billion in 2021 to $5.58 billion in 2024.
- 2021-2022: Speculative sentiment drove capital inflows, with NFT assets, GameFi tokens, and "play-to-earn" models dominating the market, but lacking sustainable user stickiness.
- 2024-2025: Speculative capital has decreased, and the actual player participation has increased, indicating that the industry is transforming towards real gaming demand.
#Daily Active Players
The user base continues to grow, and the game adoption rate continues to improve.
#Web3 Game Market Capitalization (CoinMarketCap Data)
After excluding the abnormal peak at the end of 2021, the current market capitalization is not significantly different from the early stage, reflecting the improvement in the industry's health:
Early Stage (2021-2022): High speculation, with few users but NFT and token speculation driving up market capitalization.
Current Stage (2024-2025): Speculation has subsided, and the market is dominated by real players.
Game Type Trends
#Developer Structure
The proportion of independent developers has increased, mainly due to the reduction in venture capital and the maturity of development tools. With the improvement of tools, the number of games is expected to experience explosive growth in the future.
#Project Survival Rate
With the end of the 2023 bear market, studios and publishers have regained interest in Web3 games, and the number of new projects has increased significantly.
Web3 Ecosystem Dynamics
#Performance of Top Chains
Immutable and Arbitrum ecosystems have seen the fastest growth in the past 12 months:
- Immutable: Added 181 new games (up 71% year-over-year), with 33% of the projects migrating from Polygon.
- Arbitrum: Added 119 new games (up 68% year-over-year) using the Orbit framework, including 23 dedicated Web3 game chains.
#User Distribution
In terms of user base, WAX and BNB Chain still occupy a dominant position.
#Migration Trends
Polygon has become the chain with the most outgoing projects, indicating fierce ecosystem competition and the need for further stability improvement.
Smart Contract Development Environment
#EVM Dominance
81% of new game chains are still based on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), mainly because:
- The development tools for non-EVM chains are not yet mature;
- The migration cost is relatively high.
#Developer Preferences
Project teams are actively seeking better development environments, forcing ecosystems to continuously innovate to maintain competitiveness.
Conclusion
Web3 games are transitioning from speculative drive to a focus on real users and sustainable development. Although the transaction scale has declined, the growth in daily active users indicates that the industry is maturing.
- Infrastructure Layer:
The improvement of tools has attracted more independent developers, and DePIN and AI technology have further strengthened the technical foundation.
- Ecosystem Competition:
Immutable and Arbitrum have become the main migration destinations, while EVM chains still dominate the market.
- The main challenges in the future lie in ecological stability, project retention rate, and the development of high-quality games. The next stage will focus on:
- Innovation;
- In-depth on-chain integration;
- User experience optimization.
Decentralized games will enter a new stage of development.
Appendix
Infrastructure
- Development tools: thirdWeb, Metaplex, Altura, Stardust, reNFT
- Engines: MUD, Blade Games, Cartridge, Reflekt
- AI: PlayAI, Carv, Aethir, Arc, Neural, Freysa, MomoAI
- Data: Story Protocol, Helika, Chromia, Spaceport
- DePIN: Deeplink, Gaimin, Shaga, Beamable, Cudos
Games
- FOCG: Pirate Nation, Primordium, Alien Worlds, Downstream, Sage Labs
- Speculative: Duper, RPS.live, Force Prime, Pump.fun
AA+ Level:
- Card: Parallel, Axie Infinity, Gods Unchained, Splinterlands
- Shooting: My Pet Hooligan, Shrapnel, Off the Grid, Deadrop
- RPG: Metacene, Pixels, Cornucopias, Illuvium, Star Atlas, Mines of Dalarnia, Fusionist
- Metaverse: Zentry, Decentraland, Sandbox, Nifty Island, Wilder World, My Neighbor Alice, Mobox, (RACA) Radio Caca
- Telegram/Mini-games: Notcoin, Hamster Kombat, Catizen, Wizzwoods, WATC, STEPN
Ecosystem
- Game Guilds: YGG, Merit Circle
- Platforms: B3.fun, Gala Games, Game7, SuperVerse, BORA, TreasureDAO, Myria, Ultra, Ancient8, Sonic
- Studios: Nexus Interactive, Big Time, Mythos, Vulcan, Dapper Labs, Gomble, Ready Games, Playmint
- Quest System: Perion
- Incubators: Seedify, Everyrealm
