In 2023, the emerging blockchain gaming industry continued to grow, with more refined gaming experiences beginning to emerge, but at a slower pace than in 2022.
According to reports released by DappRadar and BGA, the investment in blockchain games reached $1.4 billion from May to November 2023 alone, but the investment amount and transaction value in the broader gaming industry continued to decline.
According to a report by Game7, the majority of blockchain games are independent or medium-sized projects, with AA and AAA funding levels accounting for only 6% of the market. Game7 found that half of all new blockchain games this year came from Asia, and the number of game-centric blockchains increased by 84% year-on-year.
In its third-quarter gaming report for this year, Pitchbook referred to blockchain games as "forgotten but not gone," believing that while the initial hype cycle for such games has faded, some "important games" are still in development. So, what changes will occur in the blockchain gaming industry in 2024?
Maintaining the Entertainment Value of Games
Based on the roadmap of some blockchain game projects, we can predict that 2024 will be the year when many blockchain games are finally released. We saw many promising games emerge in 2023, but many are still unfinished or in the early access stage. Nevertheless, they are steadily moving towards their goals. Many in the industry have realized that these games need to be optimized to provide enjoyment. It is evident that many new games indeed include the entertainment value that games should have.
Josh Jones, Co-founder and Co-CEO of the open-world blockchain game Cornucopias, stated that in the new year, games that truly focus on improving user experience—games that are fun, easy to use, and have engaging storylines—will be a major theme. We may see many blockchain-based games attempting to eliminate jargon so that both cryptocurrency-native users and non-cryptocurrency users can easily get started. Jones sees cryptocurrency jargon as a barrier to entry into Web3 games and believes that the narrative surrounding crypto games will not change before this. The Co-CEO of Cornucopias also emphasized that generative AI may bring more improvements to games in 2024, allowing for more customization based on player choices.
Fred Li, a research analyst at Ryze Labs, stated that on-chain games will tend to become open-world games where players can set the rules. He expects to see autonomous worlds reminiscent of "Minecraft": people are no longer satisfied with being consumers of PGR (professionally generated rules) games; the demand to be creators of UGR (user-generated rules) games is increasing, and fully on-chain games enable people to create autonomous worlds.
Despite Platform Restrictions, Games Will Find Audiences
Although Epic added a large number of blockchain games in 2023, a game called "Gods Unchained" was delisted shortly after being added to Epic because the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) rated it as "Adults Only." According to the ESRB, any game that offers players items with "real-world value" (such as NFTs or cryptocurrencies) may receive such a rating, which would prevent them from being listed on some potential gaming platforms.
Although Gods Unchained was relisted after being delisted for investigation, and Epic stated that they would no longer prevent games rated "Adults Only" purely because they integrated blockchain, such events remind us that blockchain games still cannot guarantee distribution on Web2 third-party platforms.
In contrast, Web3 native game distribution platforms are a more common solution. Although this will hinder many Web2 users, if blockchain games are attractive enough to players, they will find audiences regardless of other potential limitations.
Trends in Blockchain Games in 2024
Meanwhile, the number of blockchain games in Asian countries will continue to increase. According to a study conducted by DappRadar and the Japanese crypto company Pacific Meta, it is expected that Asian gamers will dominate the Web3 gaming market. The study found that Asia already accounts for 55% of the global gaming population and 1.7 billion players, and is likely to make up 80% of all Web3 game players.
Sy Lee, CEO and Co-founder of the crypto IP company Story Protocol, predicts that by 2024, blockchain games will dominate wallet activity, surpassing the current range of 30-40% of all Dapp transactions. Lee also believes that more and more game developers will support user-generated content and mods; games like Deaddrop and Shrapnel already place great emphasis on supporting community-made game content.
Urvit Goel, Business Development Lead at Polygon Labs, believes that although funding in 2023 decreased significantly compared to 2022 and 2021—down by about 70% year-on-year—the relatively small funding rounds in 2023 will not prevent some excellent games from being launched in 2024.
Chris Akhavan, Chief Gaming Officer of the NFT marketplace Magic Eden, stated that the release of Web3 games in 2024 may achieve enough success and popularity to attract the attention of major traditional game studios, prompting non-Web3 game companies to restart Web3 development efforts, and investors will continue to invest heavily in Web3 games.
In 2024, there may be more Web2 players entering blockchain games through the adoption of mature games with encrypted technology. We may see two or three large Web2 native IPs and games merge or switch to the Web3 infrastructure layer, which will be a catalyst for the blockchain gaming industry.
References:
https://dappradar.com/blog/blockchain-gaming-34-industry-share-145m-investments#Chapter-4
https://dappradar.com/blog/asia-has-potential-to-dominate-web3-gaming-market
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