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ToggleSolana Foundation Chair Lily Liu delivered a death sentence on X, effectively sealing the fate of the entire blockchain gaming industry.
"Blockchain games are not coming back."
The catalyst for this statement was that Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg was considering abandoning the Metaverse project after investing over $80 billion. Lily Liu echoed this sentiment, expressing disappointment with the entire narrative of "Web3 games changing the world."
A total drop of 87%
The market capitalization of crypto gaming has plummeted from a peak of $35 billion in 2022 to approximately $4.5 billion today, a drop of nearly 87%. During this period, top firms such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Framework Ventures, and Animoca Brands invested billions of dollars in the sector, but the returns have been dismal.
Solana was initially considered one of the most promising underlying public blockchains in the blockchain gaming industry. Its high efficiency, low cost, and ability to support real-time interaction sounded like the perfect gaming infrastructure. However, neither the once-popular Star Atlas nor StepN could break through the ceiling of the Play-to-Earn model. Players came to make money, not to play games, and once the token price dropped, the users all left.
Continuous artillery fire
Lily Liu's remarks have sparked a very strong reaction within the Solana ecosystem.
Vibhu Norby, Product Chief of the Solana Foundation, issued a "crisis public relations statement" stating that Lily Liu's remarks were "factually correct and extremely based on reality," while solemnly stating that this had caused "irreparable damage" to the gaming ecosystem.
Solana Gaming's official account also joined in the fun, congratulating Liu on becoming the "new head of gaming" at the Solana Foundation.
However, Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko took a completely different approach. Instead of joining in the mockery, he challenged the developers: "Go and prove her wrong."
Survivors of blockchain game transformation
The blockchain gaming sector isn't completely dead. Some communities have mentioned two projects, such as the one below, that are still adjusting their direction and have achieved considerable success:
- Mythical Games: Gradually de-emphasizing on-chain elements, making blockchain functionality an "optional" feature rather than a core gameplay element.
- Gunzilla Games: They also adopted a similar strategy: focus on making a good game first, then talk about Web3.
The failure of blockchain games in the past was not due to the blockchain itself, but rather to prioritizing the "money-making mechanism" over the "game itself." Players (users) want fun games, not on-chain financial projects where they can make money through gameplay.
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