Author: stella@footprint.network
Data source: Footprint Analytics GameFi Research
In March 2024, Bitcoin continued to break records and successfully crossed the mid-month low. Benefiting from the positive macroeconomic situation, the entire cryptocurrency market performed outstandingly. At the same time, the convening of the 2024 Game Developers Conference (GDC 2024) has become another important driving force for the development of the blockchain game industry, helping the market value of blockchain game tokens increase by 24.1% and the number of daily active users increase by 17.5%. Game industry giants and public chains are investing in cultivating the Web3 game ecosystem. Let us pay attention to how these initiatives will be implemented and what results they will bring.
The data for this report comes from Footprint Analytics’ Web3 Games research page. This is an easy-to-use dashboard that contains the most important statistics and metrics for understanding the Web3 Games industry, updated in real time.
Market review this month
In March, Bitcoin experienced significant ups and downs between "breakthroughs" and "volatility". It started at $61,213 at the beginning of the month, quickly broke through the previous high of $69,000, and hit a record high of $73,068 on March 14. Although it fell back 15.1% to $62,047 in the middle of the month, it recovered at the end of the month and finally closed at $69,656, a monthly increase of 13.8%. In contrast, Ethereum's increase was relatively stable, starting at $3,344 and closing at $3,648, an increase of 9.1%.
Data source: Bitcoin and Ethereum price trends - Footprint Analytics
Cryptocurrency markets performed strongly in March, mainly due to market expectations of lower interest rates despite strong overall economic performance. This outlook has heightened inflation concerns, making assets such as Bitcoin and gold more attractive. Bitcoin's price movements are closely linked to the performance of US Bitcoin spot ETFs. The mid-month price decline was mainly affected by the slowdown of Bitcoin spot ETF fund inflows and traditional traders reducing leverage. However, the market's expectations for the Bitcoin halving event in April have maintained its upward momentum.
Although Ethereum's growth is slightly lower than Bitcoin, it still maintains steady growth, partly because the prospects for the approval of spot ETFs in the United States seem unclear. On March 13, Ethereum's important network upgrade (Dencun Upgrade) aims to reduce Ethereum's transaction costs, thereby promoting activities within its ecosystem.
In March, the AI industry became the focus of the market. Nvidia released the Blackwell GPU and GB200 super chip at the AI event GTC 2024, which not only ignited the enthusiasm of the US and global stock markets, but also attracted widespread attention in the cryptocurrency market, driving the rise of the crypto AI sector.
Overview of the blockchain game market
This month, the market value of blockchain game tokens increased by 24.1% to $24.1 billion. This growth is not only due to the booming cryptocurrency market, but also to the promotion of the 2024 Game Developers Conference (GDC 2024). The conference further stimulated the activity of Web3 game developers and significantly increased the market's attention to game tokens.
Game Developers Conference (GDC)
Driven by market dynamics and major industry events, the average daily number of active users (wallets) continued to grow in March, reaching 2.7 million, an increase of 17.5% from February.
Data source: Number of daily active users of blockchain games - Footprint Analytics
However, while transaction volumes have recovered since the third quarter of 2023, they have not yet returned to the peak levels of the second quarter of 2022.
Data source: Blockchain game quarterly transaction volume-Footprint Analytics
Blockchain game public chain data
In March, the game player rankings showed that Ronin, Polygon and BNB Chain were the platforms with the largest number of active players, accounting for 35.4%, 20.9% and 10.8% of the market share respectively. It is worth mentioning that Ronin and Polygon further consolidated their leading positions, with their market shares increasing by 6.3% and 7.8% respectively compared to February.
Data source: Percentage of active game players - Footprint Analytics
In terms of transaction volume ranking, Ethereum, Ronin, and BNB Chain dominate. In March, Ronin's transaction volume reached $81.7 million, a month-on-month increase of 35.1%, while BNB Chain saw a 13% decline. With less than 10 games, Ronin has a strong momentum in market share expansion. As Ronin continues to add new games, its growth potential is expected to increase further.
Data source: Ronin Popular Games - Footprint Analytics
Competition in the public chain field is becoming increasingly fierce, and major public chains have increased their investment and are committed to promoting the prosperity of the Web3 game ecosystem.
The Arbitrum Foundation has announced a proposal to distribute 200 million $ARB tokens over two years to support gaming projects on its blockchain. Of these, 160 million $ARB will be allocated to game publishers and developers, while the remaining funds are planned to be used to improve infrastructure. The proposal requires approval from the Arbitrum DAO.
At the same time, the Starknet Foundation is also taking active action and has established a dedicated gaming committee to promote the development of the Starknet gaming ecosystem. The committee plans to distribute 50 million $STRK tokens to support gaming projects recognized by the committee, especially those that can incentivize game development and player participation.
In addition, Immutable, King River Capital and Polygon Labs have jointly launched a $100 million "Inevitable Games Fund". This fund will combine the three parties' expertise in the fields of games and blockchain to find and invest in potential game studios and Web3 infrastructure.
Overview of Blockchain Games
In March, the number of active blockchain games remained stable at 2,879, with no significant market fluctuations. However, the industry generally expects major breakthroughs to significantly increase user engagement.
Data source: Number of active blockchain games per month - Footprint Analytics
In this context, a question arises: Will Notcoin, the hot game this month, become the game changer that the market expects? This simple click game, based on the Telegram messaging app, has attracted more than 35 million players in just a few months. Players can earn game coins by simply interacting with the Notcoin robot through Telegram, inviting friends and starting the game. However, what motivates 35 million users to invest in this seemingly simple "click the screen to get game coins" game? The answer lies in the upcoming airdrop event. Notcoin announced that it will use The Open Network (TON) in April to migrate its huge game coins to the blockchain. This move has attracted great attention from the market. But this raises another question: If only the game coins are on the chain, and other game elements such as game mechanisms, equipment, and data are not on the chain, can a game be called a "blockchain game"?
At the same time, several games and platforms have emerged in March. Among them, Gala Games' token $GALA rose by as much as 69.6%. Gala is committed to building a massive AAA gaming platform that aims to give players unprecedented freedom, control and generous rewards.
On the other hand, Illuvium, an open-world fantasy combat game based on Ethereum, has also made considerable progress, successfully completing a $12 million Series A round of financing. Positioned as the first AAA game on Ethereum, Illuvium stands out with its full 3D environment, in stark contrast to other blockchain games. In March, the value of its $ILV token rose by 18.2%.
Illuvium
Blockchain game investment and financing
The movie industry ushered in an investment boom, raising a total of US$151 million, an increase of 80.6% month-on-month, involving 26 rounds of financing. This significant growth highlights the continued favor and high attention of capital to this industry.
Investment and financing events in the blockchain gaming sector in March 2024 (data source: crypto-fundraising.info)
As the industry's infrastructure, public chains are actively investing in gaming projects to consolidate their position and promote ecological expansion. Among them, Solana is particularly outstanding. Its Solana Ventures invested in Parallel, while the Solana Foundation invested in Elixir Games. Parallel raised $35 million, becoming the largest project in terms of financing that month.
Meanwhile, Avalanche has also made significant progress. The Avalanche Foundation has strongly supported two projects: BloodLoop and Crystals of Naramunz. In addition, the Avalanche ecosystem fund Blizzard Fund provided financial support to Gunzilla Games, making the latter the second with a financing amount of US$30 million in March.
Gaming giant Square Enix not only develops its own blockchain products, but also invests in potential Web3 projects. In March, Square Enix injected funds into gaming platforms Elixir Games and HyperPlay, and plans to introduce its game Symbiogenesis to the HyperPlay platform.
Traditional crypto funds were also active. a16z Crypto backed MyPrize and MadWorld, while Animoca Brands backed Illuvium, MetaCene, and gaming infrastructure firm Param Labs.
