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Web3 Gaming in 2024: Sidelined in the Crypto Boom?
- Web3 gaming faced notable challenges in 2024 despite its significant achievements. While the number of daily active users surged over 300% to reach 6.58 million and traditional gaming companies made concrete moves into the space, the sector underperformed in market performance, increasing its market cap by 60.5% and significantly trailing behind memecoins and AI projects. Chain competition, ecosystem development, project development, investment landscape, and industry evolution are some of the key areas analyzed in the report by Footprint Analytics and CoinMarketCap Research.
- The industry evolved beyond pure speculation and different chains now compete against each other for gaming projects. Chains are also expanding their capabilities and becoming the essential infrastructure for game developers that goes beyond blockchain infrastructure. Major networks act as hubs for game developers that go far beyond basic blockchain infrastructure. The rise of chains like NEAR, Sui, and Sei into the top 10 by DAU demonstrates the ecosystem's expanding competitive landscape and users' willingness to engage with newer platforms.
- Trading volume and transaction counts showed mixed performance across key metrics in 2024. The total trading volume reached $5.2 billion, representing an 18.5% YoY increase, while total transactions reached approximately 5.3 billion, marking a 30.3% YoY decrease. Daily active users (DAU) grew substantially throughout 2024, from 1.6 million in January to 6.6 million in December.
- Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) gained an incredible traction in 2024, enabling developers to create games that can interact with assets from multiple chains. On the other hand, standardized formats for digital assets, particularly ERC-721 and ERC-1155, have become more widespread, ensuring in-game NFTs can be recognized and utilized across various games and platforms, streamlining asset transfers and interactions.
- Web3 gaming evolved beyond being just another crypto vertical to becoming an essential layer in the future of gaming. Sustainable growth through integration may determine the sector's relevance. Web3 gaming's role in the crypto ecosystem may be less about dominance and more about integration - creating genuine value by bridging the gaps between traditional gaming, social platforms, and blockchain technology.
- Web3 gaming secured $909.4 million across 220 funding events in 2024. Funding increasingly targeted gaming infrastructure and development tools rather than just games themselves. Platform and multi-chain development attracted substantial attention, particularly projects building cross-chain gaming ecosystems.
- In summary, Web3 gaming faced mixed fortunes in 2024, but charts a crucial path towards sustainable future growth. Web3 gaming companies made significant progress with infrastructure development, ecosystem development, chain competition, and cross-platform gaming trends while still facing regulatory challenges, technical barriers, and sustained on-chain engagement.
- Note: Unless otherwise specified, all data in this report reflects market activity through December 15, 2024. Data was sourced from Footprint Analytics and CoinMarketCap.
- This is a joint report by Footprint Analytics and CoinMarketCap Research. CoinMarketCap Research aims to leverage CMC’s data analysis and bring unique insights into the crypto market. Footprint Analytics is a comprehensive blockchain data analytics platform that simplifies complex analysis for businesses and projects in the Web3 ecosystem.
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