Gaming and Web3 outlook, what’s available on the market? Report

March 27, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain gaming is moving fast, are you up-to-speed? Cointelegraph Research’s latest report reviews 20 games of today, and a few to be looking out for tomorrow.

Where gaming and finance meet in Web3 has been termed GameFi, and it has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past few years. There are even several data analytical resources to try and figure out what are the hottest blockchain and Web3 games currently available. Cointelegraph Research dove into this topic head on and developed a top 20 games report.

The report goes over some of the differences between Web2 and Web3 gaming and some of the evolution in GameFi. Discussing play-to-earn and play-to-own, as well as providing some “insider insights” from C-suite executives in the industry, this report gives an overview of the current status of GameFi and potentially where it is moving to next.

Download this report on the Cointelegraph Research Terminal.

In addition to an overview of 20 games, there is also a section on some of the most anticipated games set to be released shortly. This report is equally fit for a casual crypto investor who wants to keep informed on different trends in the industry all the way to anyone looking to find out what Web3 game they will try out next.

GameFi combines blockchain, protocols, devs, investors and users

Web3 gaming goes far beyond a studio creating an engaging story slapped together with some cool-looking graphics. As opposed to Web2 or “traditional gaming,” which uses a gaming engine like Unreal Engine for example, the incorporation of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) makes owning a piece of the game and giving players control over the platform a reality. The use and tokenization of different cryptographic protocols also enable a greater ability to invest in the ecosystem of a particular game, like Axie Infinity.

Source: Cointelegraph Research “Top 20 Blockchain Games Report”

The Cointelegraph Research team

Cointelegraph’s Research department comprises some of the best talents in the blockchain industry. Bringing together academic rigor and filtered through practical, hard-won experience, the researchers on the team are committed to bringing the most accurate, insightful content available on the market.

Michael Tabone is the deputy director of research at Cointelegraph. The research team consists of subject matter experts from across the fields of finance, economics and technology to bring to the market the premier source for industry reports and insightful analysis. The team utilizes APIs from a variety of sources in order to provide accurate, useful information and analyses.

With decades of combined experience in traditional finance, business, engineering, technology and research, the Cointelegraph Research team is perfectly positioned to put its combined talents to proper use with the “Top 20 Games Report 2023.”

The opinions expressed in the article are for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or on any specific security or investment product.

Minecraft, GTA may yet change their tune on blockchain: GameFi execs

March 27, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

It could all be sparked with just one Web3 success story.

While several mainstream game studios have taken a noticeable step back integrating blockchain tech, three blockchain gaming executives say it's only a matter of time before they change their tune.

In July last year, Minecraft developer Mojang Studios announced a ban on NFTs and blockchain technology.

By November, Rockstar Games updated its website to stipulate that fan-operated servers for Grand Theft Auto V can no longer utilize crypto assets, specifically nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

Rip NFT worlds? pic.twitter.com/5bEy5oqtjm
— DeeZe (@DeeZe) July 20, 2022

Walter Lee, gaming growth lead at BNB Chain , argues, however, the ban is more related to NFT activities than general blockchain tech and thinks that once “more regulation is in place” to guarantee player safety, mainstream studios will warm up to the technology.

“There is still a lack of education and regulation around Web3, therefore, some users and companies are still skeptical about the benefits and scams that can often be associated with it,” he said.

Mojang Studios pointed to rug pulls surrounding certain third-party NFT integrations, along with NFT wash trading and issues around digital ownership, as reasons for the ban.

Lee believes player demand will ultimately tip the scale on blockchain tech in mainstream games.

That being said, somegaming enthusiasts have a love-hate relationship with crypto, particularly when NFTs are involved.

French gaming giant Ubisoft Entertainment was forced last year to backpedal on plans to integrate NFTs into its games after player backlash.

An October survey from blockchain entertainment provider Coda Labs found that traditional gamers weren’t fans of cryptocurrencies or NFTs in general, though they didn’t seem to mind NFTs used in gaming as much.

*The average perception of gaming NFTs according to a 2022 survey. Source: Coda Labs*

“If there becomes an increased demand from players for blockchain integrations, they will likely revisit their policies," Lee argued.

Grant Haseley, the executive director at mobile and Web3 game development company Wagyu Games, told Cointelegraph that one success story is all that is needed to spark mainstream adoption:

“AAA studios will change their mind once they start yielding true market share to Web3 games. It’s just going to take one Web3 game to explode for the others to take flight.”

According to Haseley, mainstream hesitancy around adoption is out of fear it will undercut the current business model of “the consumer strictly paying for entertainment.”

“They have a great thing going right now, the mobile gaming market, for example has breached $100 billion and is trending upward,” Haseley said, adding:

"If you can make a game on the fly and still maintain profitability without changing your model, why would you even consider something radical that could have lasting effects on your consumer base?”

Justin Hulog, chief studio officer at Immutable Games Studio, shared a similar perspective, explaining that because NFTs and crypto fundamentally transfer ownership of digital assets from companies to players, it’s unappealing for mainstream adoption.

“GTA V became the most profitable entertainment product of all time, and it’s no secret that quite a significant portion of these profits result from microtransactions that contain in-game currency,” he said.

“Microsoft also introduced microtransactions in Minecraft some time ago; it’s understandable that both companies would want to retain control over their in-game economies for financial reasons,” he added.

According to a 2020 report from market research firm Junpier Research, loot boxes and other microtransaction related features will net gaming companies $20 billion by 2025.

*Loot boxes and other microtransactions are projected to net gaming companies $20 billion in revenue by 2025. Source: Juniper Research*

“If anything, this can even be interpreted as both companies acknowledging that NFTs and crypto are real-world assets with value attached to them that could potentially threaten their business model,” Hulog said.

While he does think it is “certainly a possibility” that mainstream studios will embrace blockchain tech, he thinks they will “likely start with something like adding support for cryptocurrencies as a payment method for their games and services.”

Sony eyes NFT transfers across multiple game platforms, reveals patent

March 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain Game

Sony’s NFT framework aims to integrate NFTs into gameplay, with the technology representing skins and other popular in-game functionalities.

Sony Interactive Entertainment, the video game goliath running the PlayStation brand, filed a patent for a framework allowing users to transfer and utilize nonfungible tokens (NFTs) across multiple game platforms.

Over several years, Sony’s interest in crypto has been evidenced by numerous partnerships and trademark registrations . Adding to this list, Sony filed a patent titled “NFT framework for transferring and using digital assets between game platforms.”

*Snippet of Sony’s NFT framework patent filing. Source: patentscope.wipo.int*

Sony’s NFT framework aims to integrate NFTs into gameplay, wherein the technology can represent skins and other popular in-game functionalities. Summarizing the patent, the abstract explained the intended features:

“Responsive to the determination, the NFT is provided to the first end-user entity so that the digital asset may be used, via the NFT, across plural different computer simulations and/or across plural different computer simulation platforms.”

Moreover, it added that the NFT’s ownership could be transferred to other end-user entities for their own use across different simulations and platforms. The below diagrams detail Sony’s intended use of NFTs in gameplay.

*Drawing depicting the workflow of Sony's NFT framework. Source: patentscope.wipo.int*

Once implemented, PlayStation 5 users will be able to experience NFT use cases via mainstream gaming titles. As of December 2022, the total number of active users on the PlayStation Network worldwide was 112 million, which continues to grow year-on-year.

To understand what goes behind creating successful games, Cointelegraph recently interviewed former Age of Empires producer Peter Bergstrom.

“There are no black-and-white answers in game design,” Bergstrom said while highlighting that GameFi is about adding a new dimension of compelling gameplay to Web2 games.

According to him, gamers don’t care about the technology behind a good game. As a result, crypto entrepreneurs must incorporate “blockchain, NFTs, play and earn, AI [artificial intelligence], G5, or whatever to make a better game, and gamers will buy.”

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Blockchain Games Key to Onboarding a ‘Critical Mass of Users Onto Web3’ — Claudio Riff

March 22, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Former Age of Empires producer talks blockchain game adoption and GameFi

March 14, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain Game

Web3 gaming is the future, and mainstream veteran Peter Bergstrom reveals how the ecosystem can expedite the inevitable.

The crypto ecosystem has spent over a decade proving it can disrupt the status quo as crypto and blockchain technologies like cryptocurrencies, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), and blockchain-based games go head-to-head against their mainstream counterparts.

While Bitcoin (BTC) has managed to shoulder its way closer to mainstream adoption, the same cannot be said for other crypto subsectors. In the gaming world, blockchain games were afforded hype and passion similar to their mainstream competitors over the years.

However, challenging the status quo of an established industry is no easy feat. As a result, the blockchain gaming industry is tasked with delivering everything mainstream games offer, exceeding gamers’ expectations with new features and experiences.

Considering the potential of crypto innovations to disrupt the mainstream, the crypto community has not given up on GameFi — the fusion of gaming and finance. Building on the foundation laid by crypto entrepreneurs, mainstream gaming veterans have taken up the challenge to deliver a highly-anticipated comeback for the blockchain gaming industry.

For over 25 years, Peter Bergstrom worked at mainstream gaming publishers, including Microsoft Game Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment. As a producer of Age of Empires, he saw what it takes for a game to make an impact across generations. Bergstrom has now stepped into the Web3 world to help bring blockchain gaming up to par with traditional video games.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Bergstrom dives into the factors that make or break a game title. He shares his take on why blockchain games haven’t taken off, and what needs to be done to change that.

Cointelegraph: Despite evident setbacks over the years, both gamers and capital investors continue to bet big on the success of blockchain gaming and the GameFi ecosystem. Looking back and comparing it to the traditional gaming industry, what do you think is missing? Is there a need for rebuilding the ecosystem from scratch, or can we build on the existing winning formula known to the gaming industry for decades?

Peter Bergstrom: The traditional game business has had decades to invent and fine-tune what players find exciting:

A compelling challenge and conflict
The balance between player strategy and how to deal with chance events
Aesthetics
Compelling themes and story
Rewards that are not just money based

The GameFi ecosystem has not had time to come close to making items 1–4 compelling or competitive with traditional games. In regard to rewards, it seems GameFi has primarily relied on earning money/crypto and little else — very complex systems and not compelling to many players.

Besides, there are no GameFi publishers that can come close to competing with the online (or retail) distribution systems of iOS, Android, Steam, Xbox, Playstation and Nintendo. Additionally, too little effort has been made to make onboarding to a GameFi game user-friendly or to play the game easy. Ease of use has largely been ignored.

CT: Will mainstream titles eventually make their way into blockchain/Web3 gaming?

PB: Eventually, AAA game developers will integrate Web3 [...] and make hit titles. By using non-traditional forms of distribution, perhaps through evolved social media, a new artificial intelligence (AI)-driven distribution platform, or an acquisition of an established Web2 publisher — Web3 gaming will eventually find a solid audience

CT: In your experience working for one of the most iconic titles — Age of Empires (AOE) — what was the most crucial factor that helped the AOE franchise develop a relationship with fans and gamers that spans generations?

PB: Age of Empires was and is great because you were allowed to choose your own pace of gameplay. The games begin with you expanding a civilian populace; then, you build a military force to protect them, expand the civilian populace to support the military, and gradually build your empire over the course of a match. Some Age of Empires skirmishes can last for hours because the series places more control in your hands by giving you more options, which results in a slower, more considered and strategic play style.

Age of Empires games come in three basic modes: single-player campaign, single-player skirmish and multiplayer. The campaign and skirmish modes are all about playing against the computer and trying to win a scenario. Multiplayer is a more frantic affair because players are craftier and focused more on total military domination than the computer.

*Screenshot of Age of Empires Definitive Edition. Source: PCGamer*

In Age of Empires, you can win peacefully by building and defending a wonder, like the Great Pyramid or the Colosseum, keeping it standing for 5–10 minutes, or by capturing relics, artifacts, and ruins and holding them for a set period of time. These win conditions have a lot in common with games like Civilization, emphasizing more than just military dominance.

CT: What’s more important for mass adoption — a good gaming experience or more rewards?

PB: Both — There are no black-and-white answers in game design. What makes the game business so successful is that brilliant game designers continually design new and different ways of gameplay and incorporate this into the rest of what’s already there seamlessly. This will surely happen with GameFi Web3 games as well. Not everything will happen at once but a little at a time by different game designers and developers.

CT: Many believe that gameplay, not payments, attracts gamers. Who is the primary target audience for the GameFi industry — crypto investors, gamers, or both?

PB: Obviously, gamers are the primary target — GameFi is about adding a new dimension of compelling gameplay to Web2 games. Crypto investors are the new Web3 financiers of games, venture capitalists (VC) and individual investors alike — as opposed to the traditional Web2 publishing funding model that is primarily controlled and monopolized by large tech companies.

CT: What are your thoughts on the claim that, unlike NFTs, the GameFi ecosystem has lower dependence on the price of cryptocurrencies?

PB: Because the GameFi tokens and its ecosystem is part of a proven business model that has experienced growth for 35 years, there are 3.09 billion gamers globally, generating $185 billion as of 2022. Some of these gamers will likely become early adopters of Web3 gaming (as we already have seen in the Philippines with Axie Infinity). Even a 1% slice of the game business amounts to 31 million players. Most business analysts look at the huge consumer installed base and likely incorporate that in their investment recommendations — thus incentivizing investors where they should put their investments.

CT: In your experience, what can blockchain games do to mend their reputation and come up to par with mainstream publishers?

PB: Players don’t care about the technology behind a good game. Drop the blockchain/NFT/play-to-earn (P2E)/metaverse/Web3 talk. Make a good game and invisibly incorporate blockchain, NFTs, play and earn, AI, G5, or whatever to make a better game, and gamers will buy. They don’t care if it’s a Unity or Unreal engine in the game — as long it’s a good game. They just want to have an entertaining playing experience — not a science lesson.

CT: What is the fastest way to GameFi adoption — Mobile, PC, consoles, virtual reality (VR)? And what does the full potential of GameFi look like to you?

PB: When it comes to expedited GameFi adoption, PC takes the cake because it is the least monopolized by tech giants that oppose Web3 gaming. It is also not hardware sales-dependent like VR. However, your guess is as good as mine when it comes to predicting the future. That is for our brilliant game designers and developers out there to create.

CT: Finally, what is your advice for the GameFi ecosystem entrepreneurs and developers?

PB: After the investment boom in 2021 and 2022, 2023 is about cutting costs and lengthening your financial runway, then building your game and inventing new, more attractive solutions to the gameplay while you wait for the VC money to reappear. Also, network for connections, alliances and partnerships with companies that are synergistic for you in your space. Exchanges, Tier 0,1,2,3 blockchains, metaverse builders, avatar plugins, Web3 game publishers, middleware providers etc., and, of course, never stop looking, and make friendly contacts with VCs and other investors.

Bergstrom ended the discussion by highlighting that gaming will be the single biggest consumer application of blockchain in 2023, bar none — given the size of the total gaming market and current momentum.

Unity Gaming Engine Launches Blockchain and Web3 Integration Options

March 3, 2023 Bitcoin.com

GameFi analytics help blockchain gamers sift through crypto games

March 2, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

How and where to get analytics on the emerging projects in the GameFi space.

From the massive fall of Bitcoin’s (BTC) price to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, 2022 was full of upheaval for the blockchain industry. But the blockchain community has always been resilient, finding new ways to develop in the most challenging times.

A striking example of optimism and growth is the development of the GameFi industry, which combines gaming, decentralized finance (DeFi), nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse.

In 2021, GameFi became a growth leader in the crypto space, with successful projects like Gala Games, Decentraland, The Sandbox and Axie Infinity.

The GameFi sector has continued to develop, attracting more and more investment. In 2022, the volume of venture investments in Web3 games and the metaverse amounted to $7.6 billion. Some analysts predict a valuation of $2.8 billion for the GameFi sector by 2028.

However, a sudden influx of investors in this growing sector has also resulted in many low-quality games suffering from poor in-game economics, as well as monotonous and underdeveloped gameplay.

How can a gamer looking for a good project find the right one? Cointelegraph has found several GameFi analytics resources to help potential gamers weigh the pros and cons of each platform.

DappRadar

DappRadar is one of the most popular decentralized application (DApp) analytics services. Founded in 2018, it provides statistics on DeFi, GameFi and NFTs. The platform has data for over 2,000 NFT games.

Pros

One of the most popular features of DappRadar is located in the “rankings” tab, which allows users to rank several DApps related to GameFi, DeFi projects, gambling, exchanges, NFT collections, marketplaces, social networks and different blockchains. DApps are ranked according to criteria such as the number of unique active wallets (UAW), number of transactions, transaction volume and the total balance of funds in the smart contract.

The page of an individual project contains its rating, tags and links to social networks, as well as its description. In the middle of the page, standard indicators (UAW, number of transactions, volume, balance) are displayed in addition to a graph of changes for different periods.

General statistics on DApps can be obtained in the “Industry Overview” tab after selecting the period, category and protocol. DappRadar also periodically publishes analytical notes, which are located in the “Reports” and “Blog” sections.

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There are two additional options for NFTs. First is the NFT Explorer, in which users can sort not only the general list of collections, but also the NFTs of an individual collection and even a general gallery of NFTs from different collections. The page for an individual NFT shows its name, owner, minimum price, last sale price, blockchain, NFT metadata and trading history. A second option is the NFT Value Estimator, which displays the expected price of an NFT based on current and past price performance.

For game developers, DappRadar has a “Developers” section where game founders can promote a new product through advertising campaigns and other marketing techniques.

Cons

The wealth of information provided for each project could prove difficult to navigate for newcomers who may only want basic information about a project.

Another disadvantage of the platform is that, for a long time, the selection of NFT games was limited to those on the Ethereum blockchain, while projects on other blockchains were not taken into account.

The situation improved this year when the site increased the number of monitored blockchains from three to 48. Considerable funds have also been allocated for the development of new technical solutions.

Dapp.com

Dapp.com is the world's largest DApp distribution platform. Dapp.com lists over 8,000 DApps built on more than 20 blockchains like Ethereum, EOS, TRON, Steem, TomoChain, IOST, Stacks and others. The platform showcases DApps based on data analytics, community feedback and user comments.

Pros

The platform has a built-in wallet called DappStoreWallet so that users can easily access and use DApps associated with various blockchains.

The ecosystem of the project is powered by Dapp Token (DAPPT). Token holders are able to participate in voting on the platform, launch projects on the platform through staking, and more.

The platform has a “Market Report” section where users can view quarterly reports in various areas, including games.

The advantages of the platform include a simple interface and navigation, where users can view game ratings according to various criteria — for example, by increasing or decreasing prices for tokens, by user reviews, or by level of risk.

Users of the platform can not only see the ratings of NFT projects themselves, but also read general news about NFT projects.

Cons

For an inexperienced user, it is almost impossible to find the quarterly analytical reports section. The link to the page with reports is at the very bottom of the page and represented by small text.

At the same time, the reports themselves clearly stalled for a couple of years, with the most recent appearing for Q2 of 2020. At the same time, the quality and depth of analytics is almost on par with that of DappRadar.

The project listings are not informative and contain only a brief description of the project in a couple of sentences without the current price of the token or the number of active users. Such information must be viewed in the overall rating of projects, which is inconvenient. The majority of the page for each project is occupied by user comments, which are very important, but it seems that Dapp.com is primarily aimed at creating a community and not at providing analytics.

CryptoSlam

CryptoSlam is an NFT market data aggregator. The platform can be used to analyze trading volumes in the NFT market, identify the most popular collections of digital assets, and track release dates for new tokens.

The CryptoSlam team has included various information about the projects on the pages of the collections and the individual NFTs themselves. The project description has a section on online sales statistics, which the system updates as owners change. The platform can also be used to collect data on NFTs of interest.

Pros

The main feature of the platform is its real-time data showing movement in the NFT industry. Featured data includes the volume of sales of NFT tokens, the number of token holders, on which blockchain an NFT resides, and the number of holders.

It is convenient that users can sort NFT projects in several tables on one web page by various parameters like sales volume within a particular game, or by the price of tokens.

One unique feature of the platform is its live sales section, where one can see which user sold an NFT token and at what price, including from which address and to which address. This parameter is constantly updated automatically.

This platform is a very convenient service for the continuous tracking of the work of an NFT project, within which real transactions can be traced.

Another plus of the platform is that it is developing. In January 2023, the Forkast.News company and CryptoSlam teamed up to create the Forkast Labs project. The product could offer users a new media analytics platform for the digital economy. According to the team, the decision to create Forkast Labs was made due to the lack of a standard methodology for determining the true value of digital assets, which is mainly measured by current prices for cryptocurrencies. The timing of the launch of the project is still unknown.

Cons

One con is that the platform doesn’t have any analytical reports. The service only allows for the monitoring of NFT projects, albeit in real time, but does not evaluate activities for a particular period. Perhaps this defect will be corrected after the launch of the Forkast Labs project.

Another downside is the inability to separate NFT projects by indstury — gaming, gambling or finance, for example. If the user wants to see only NFT gaming projects and allocate them to a separate slot or table, then they will not be able to do this since the service does not have such a function.

Just like Dapp.com, this platform contains a lack of detailed information about projects, such as creators, at what stage of development the project is, news about collaborations, etc.

Conclusion

The main reason for using NFT analytics tools is to help limit the amount of fraud in the major marketplaces. Investing in NFTs can be time consuming, somewhat risky and nearly impossible unless users spend hours on social media platforms and NFT trading platforms looking through the myriad NFTs available.

As can be seen from the description of the most popular analytics platforms, there is no perfect one that contains all relevant information in one place, but such projects are critical for crypto enthusiasts.

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Sebastien Borget, president of the Blockchain Game Alliance, told Cointelegraph that he believes that analytics platforms should pay more attention not only to numbers, but to players and users:

“NFT games analytics platforms should expand beyond just the on-chain transaction data to reflect what's happening in a game or how popular it actually it, and work on broadening to all the activities games have to offer to players — to show that games are first and foremost fun entertainment products where people spend time, and transactions are not the only gameplay in them.”

HyperPlay game aggregator alpha launched, features in-built Web3 wallet

March 2, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The game aggregator will allow users to link their Web3 wallets to various games through crypto wallet provider MetaMask.

HyperPlay, a Web3-native game launcher with a built-in crypto wallet, has announced its early access launch.

The online game launcher was built in collaboration with crypto wallet provider MetaMask, aimed at integrating players’ crypto wallets with game libraries such as Epic Games Store, GOG (formerly Good Old Games), and its own HyperPlay Store.

The new platform, founded by former MetaMask operations lead JacobC.eth, doesn’t charge developers any commissions and instead plans to rely on crypto services such as swaps and bridges to monetize the platform.

Today, we’re excited to celebrate the early access alpha launch of https://t.co/tXbk7iBEWb, a game launcher that brings Web3 wallets into native games.

We aggregate the @EpicGames store, @GOGcom, and our own store to overlay @MetaMask into game experiences. pic.twitter.com/s7pGX9I8qg
— HyperPlay @ ETH Denver 2023 (@HyperPlayGaming) March 1, 2023

Users of the newly launched alpha version of the platform can create new MetaMask wallets within its interface and can even import their existing wallets through an “import” button.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, JacobC.eth said that this wallet can be overlaid on top of a game, allowing users to quickly confirm transactions while playing.

According to the March 1 announcement, HyperPlay has launched its platform with 21 Web3 titles, including The Sandbox, Another World, Bionic Owl, DeFi Kingdoms an Moonblasters. In addition, it is connected to both the Epic Games and GOG stores, allowing players to launch the games they own from these other platforms using it.

We are live on @HyperPlayGaming!!! https://t.co/yeex4uX1MT pic.twitter.com/i2GnY2MiFi
— Another World (@anotherworlddao) March 1, 2023

The platform’s founder told Cointelegraph that a new game aggregator is needed because Web3 games are being deplatformed and overtaxed by major stores, as he explained:

“Today, Web3 game developers are being deplatformed by Apple, Steam, Google, and those legacy Web2 stores are also forcing the developers’ to accept 30% taxes on every in-game action that happens in their economies, so we wanted to create a more competitive market between game stores.”

He also argued that the platform can give players a universal wallet that doesn’t require them to alt-tab out of a game every time they do a transaction, stating:

“We built Hyperplay as a native desktop application that allows the player to pass their wallet into every game that they play, and we want to make interoperability, permissionless extensibility, and great UX the default for Web3 gaming.”

JacobC.eth emphasized that HyperPlay is in an alpha build and may not be stable. The team hopes to get feedback from playtesters and improve the product as it moves toward a full public launch in the future.

According to a recent DappRadar report, gaming transactions made up nearly half of all blockchain activity in the month of January. However, Web3 games still struggle to reach mainstream adoption due to complex onboarding processes. Square Enix recently announced that it will be making major investments in the space, as it considers blockchain technology to be essential to the gaming industry of the future.

Gamers made up nearly half of all blockchain activity in January: DappRadar Report

February 21, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain gaming

A new report from DappRadar revealed that during the first month of 2023, blockchain gaming made up 48% of all DApp activity.

Play-to-earn blockchain gaming experienced a downturn over the last year as gamers prioritized improving the gameplay experience.

However, according to a new report from DappRadar, in the first month of 2023, gamers made up nearly half (48%) of all blockchain activity.

January also saw the market caps for top gaming tokens increase by 122% on average, with Gala (GALA), the digital utility token of the Gala Games ecosystem, surging by 218%.

According to the report, the rise in interest in these gaming tokens comes as industry buzz hits mainstream audiences. For example, Gala Games made headlines after it acquired a new mobile gaming studio with more than $20 million in assets under management and 15 games.

Blockchain analyst at DappRadar, Sara Gherghelas, told Cointelegraph that based on on-chain metrics from the past two years, it’s safe to assume blockchain gaming will continue to be a significant sector in the industry.

“This is because blockchain gaming is already a vertical in the traditional industry. As blockchain gains more traction, it will bring more adoption to Web3 games which will become mainstream.”

The Wax blockchain continues to have the most active gaming activity, with 331,000 unique active wallets. The top three blockchain gaming ecosystems all saw an increase in gaming protocols from the end of 2022 to the beginning of 2023, except for the BNB Chain.

The beginning of 2023 saw increased activity as strong funding set the stage for what many call blockchain gaming’s “buidling” year. This term encapsulates the industry’s focus on building more powerful, high quality games.

Gherghelas said the amount of investments toward this vertical is “increasing significantly,” with overall investment in 2022 around $7.6 billion — a 105% increase from 2021. Investments into the blockchain gaming industry topped $156 million in January alone.

Additionally, the report highlighted the metaverse’s role in the uptick in blockchain gaming activity this year. The data revealed that the trading volume for January in virtual world-related games hit $44.5 million, a 114% increase from the month prior.

Although sales decreased by 19%, the overall growth can be attributed to the success of major metaverse platforms such as The Sandbox and Decentraland, with an increase in trading volume of 114% and 83%, respectively.

According to at 2022 report from DappRadar, Web3 gaming accounted for nearly half of all blockchain-based transactions in the year.

Sony and Astar Network Launch Web3 Incubation Program for NFT and DAO-Focused Projects

February 19, 2023 Bitcoin.com

gaming

GameFi combines blockchain, protocols, devs, investors and users

The Cointelegraph Research team

DappRadar

Dapp.com

CryptoSlam

Conclusion

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