Back in 2017, we witnessed the early crypto games. Cryptokitties caused some congestion on the Ethereum network, it led to the creation of the ERC-721 NFT standard, and the first game-centric chain Flow.
Then, we saw the art of blending gaming into finance, GameFi, with Axie Infinity. Later, StepN brought GameFi trends such as Play-to-Earn (P2E) and Move-to-Earn (M2E). Games that use blockchain technology expanded to different types and spread beyond Ethereum to faster networks with lower fees.
Many of these games failed because they had simple gameplay and unsustainable token systems. However, a few like Alien Worlds, Farmers World, Splinterlands, and Axie Infinity are still around today, but with fewer active users. The number of people using these games dropped by 57.9% from the highest point in November 2021 to 837,000 active addresses.
Coingecko gave 2023 GameFi’s report in 4 highlights;
- The top 20 most active blockchain games in 2023 attracted an average of 685K daily active addresses, with Alien Worlds leading the rankings.
- Farming/mining gaming genre is the most active, with 253K daily active addresses.
- Skale is the most active chain for gaming by number of active daily GameFi addresses, with over 230K.
- Generalized blockchains have failed to attract GameFi activities, with gaming transactions below 9%.
1. The Top 20 Games Attract 685K Daily Active Addresses
In 2023, games like Alien World, Farmers World, and Splinterlands were quite popular, having around 197.8K, 101.3K, and 75.2K respective active daily players. However, the number of people playing these games decreased during the year.
One notable standout was Sweat Economy, which saw a huge increase in popularity. From just 22k players in January, it soared to 116k daily active players, becoming the most popular Web3 game by November.
Interestingly, among the top 20 games, only two were launched in 2023. Pixels on Ronin, which started in May, and BLCR on Polygon, launched in August, both experienced rapid growth, reaching around 74K and 63K daily active players in November, securing the 4th and 5th positions among the most played games that month.
2. Farming is the Most Active Blockchain Game Genre
Most Active Game Genres, Farming Leads With 253k Daily Active Addresses
In 2023, farming and mining games were the most popular among Web3 gamers, attracting about 253,000 players every day by the end of November. Card games came next with 178,000 active players, followed by Move-to-Earn games with 166,000 players.
Surprisingly, the Metaverse genre became less popular, with only 44,000 active players. The top game in this genre, SecondLive, attracted 16,000 players daily across different platforms like BSC, Arbitrum, and zkSync Era.
Strategy and Shooter games had the fewest players compared to other genres, with only 13,000 and 6,000 players respectively. People seemed less interested in these games, probably because they lacked updates and modern features that players look for in games nowadays.
3. Skale is the Most Active Chain for Web3 Games, With Over 230K Daily Active Addresses
Skale stands out as the busiest blockchain for Web3 gaming, with around 230,000 players engaging daily in November 2023. It’s popular because it doesn’t charge gas fees, making it easier for more people to join and play games.
Axie Infinity isn’t as popular as it used to be, with about 17,000 players actively participating in GameFi daily. However, Ronin has seen a revival thanks to Pixels moving from Polygon, bringing an additional 87,000 active players. This boost makes Ronin the third most active gaming network, mainly fueled by these two games.
In the “Others” category, most of the active players are split between Sweat Economy on Near and BLCR on Binance Smart Chain (BSC). These games are attracting a good number of daily players.
4. The Share of Active GameFi Addresses on Generalized Blockchains Remains Small
It’s interesting to see that chains designed specifically for gaming, like ImmutableX, Wax, and Ronin, have most of their active players involved in GameFi, especially with ImmutableX having 95% of its users engaged in GameFi. Because these chains don’t charge any fees, it’s no wonder that a large chunk of transactions (around 88% on ImmutableX and 91% on Wax) are related to GameFi. However, the Flow seems different. Only 36% of its users are into GameFi, and just 27% of all transactions on the chain are related to gaming.
On chains like Skale and Hive, where a big part of users is into GameFi, gaming transactions make up only about 40 to 50% of all transactions. Interestingly, other transactions on these chains mostly involve social apps, analytics, and creating smart contracts.
Now, when it comes to more general networks like Solana, BNB Smart Chain, and Polygon, they don’t have as many active players or transactions related to GameFi. These networks are mostly known for trading meme coins and DeFi activities instead of gaming.
