September Web3 Game Report Increase in Quantity, Entry of Giants, Challenges Remain in User Acquisition and Retention.

Surging Numbers in September's Web3 Gaming Report, Dominance of Industry Leaders, Yet Obstacles Persist in Attracting and Maintaining Users.

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In September, the price of Bitcoin fluctuated narrowly, rising by a modest 3.7%. The Web3 gaming industry is growing, but games with over 1,000 monthly active users still account for less than 10%. The distribution of games on different public chains remains relatively stable, with BNB leading with a 30.9% share.

As the Web3 gaming market expands and industry giants enter the scene, challenges in user acquisition and retention remain severe. The industry needs to address these issues to ensure sustainable growth and widespread adoption.

Furthermore, the release and operation of games on different public chains have increased the demand for interoperability, and the emergence of potentially disruptive new public chains may threaten the dominance of current market leaders. The future opportunities and challenges for Web3 gaming coexist, and we eagerly anticipate how the industry will develop to meet the needs of players and investors.

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This report’s data is sourced from the Web3 Games research page by Footprint Analytics. It is a user-friendly dashboard that includes essential statistics and metrics for understanding the Web3 gaming industry, continuously updated in real-time. You can click here to learn more about the latest information on prices, projects, financing, and more.

Key Overview

Cryptocurrency Market Overview

• In September, the price of Bitcoin fluctuated within a small range, oscillating between a monthly low of $25,158 and a high of $27,210.

Web3 Gaming Market Overview

• The Web3 gaming industry continues to grow, with a total of 2,607 games currently available, an increase of 2.6% from August and a significant growth of 15.0% from April.

• Major companies in the gaming industry are increasingly venturing into the Web3 gaming sector.

• User acquisition, retention, and survival during market downturns are all significant issues.

Web3 Gaming Public Chain Data

• On Polygon, 39 games attract over 1,000 active users, accounting for 8.6% of the total games on the chain, while BNB accounts for 5.3% and Ethereum for 1.5%.
• On September 28, Sui announced the launch of the Web3 gaming portal Play Beyond, featuring 18 different types of games.

Web3 Gaming Project Overview

• In September, the token prices of 13 gaming projects significantly surged by over 20%.

Web3 Gaming Investment and Financing

• The investment and financing activities in the Web3 gaming industry remain stable, with a total of eight funding rounds attracting substantial investments this month.

• Renowned investment firms like a16z have shown signs of participating in the “buying the dip” strategy.

Market Dynamics This Month

• The latest work of the well-known blockchain gaming project Honor World, “Dream Island,” will soon be released in the zkSync Era.

• Sui has launched the Web3 gaming portal Play Beyond.

• Binance NFT will stop supporting The Sandbox NFT staking plan and the Polygon network on September 26th.

• Crypto gaming company Proof of Play has completed a $33 million seed round of financing, led by a16z and Greenoaks.

• Web3 gaming studio GamePhilos has completed an $8 million seed round of financing, with lead investment from Animoca Ventures and Xterio.

Crypto Market Overview

In September, the price of Bitcoin fluctuated within a small range, ranging from a low of $25,158 to a high of $27,210. The initial price at the beginning of the month was $25,940, resulting in a slight increase of 3.7% throughout the month, closing at $26,899.

Data Source: Market Cap: GameFi Tokens vs BTC

Compared to the previous month, the value of Bitcoin and on-chain activities have increased in September. The increase in on-chain activities may be attributed to investors entering positions and preparing themselves before the potential approval of a Bitcoin ETF by regulatory agencies. Progress has been made in obtaining approval for a Bitcoin ETF in late August.

In addition, the trustee of the Mt Gox cryptocurrency exchange will delay repayment to creditors until October 2024. They currently hold approximately 138,000 bitcoins, worth $3.7 billion, and this decision may reduce market selling pressure, positively impacting Bitcoin performance in September.

Web3 Gaming Market Overview

The Web3 gaming industry continues to grow, with a total of 2,607 games currently available. This represents a growth of 2.6% compared to August and 15.0% compared to April. Despite the increasing number of games, those with over 1,000 monthly active users are still relatively few, accounting for less than 10%. In September, this percentage was 8.7%. These statistics highlight the ongoing challenges faced by Web3 games in user acquisition.

Data Source: Monthly Active Games

Throughout the month, the daily active users of Web3 games remained around 1 million, showing a growth of approximately 15% compared to August.

Data source: Active Users & Growth Rate DoD

The major players in the gaming industry are increasingly entering the Web3 gaming sector. South Korea, known for its passion for esports and blockchain games, has a huge fan base and consumers with a strong interest in diverse gaming cultures. Neowiz, a publicly listed game publisher in South Korea, recently revealed plans to develop games on Avalanche through its Web3 subsidiary, Intella X. NHN Corporation, a Korean entertainment group, announced a partnership with Sui to launch an on-chain game in 2024.

These industry giants, leveraging their expertise and capabilities in delivering high-quality games and managing in-game economies, are expected to accelerate the adoption of blockchain games on a large scale.

However, user acquisition, retention, and survival in the market during downturns are important challenges for all participants in the Web3 gaming industry.

Web3 Gaming Public Chain Data

In September, the distribution of games on various public chains remained relatively stable, with BNB leading by a distribution rate of 30.9%; followed by Ethereum with 24.7%; and Polygon with 14.9%. In contrast, the second tier, including Wax, EOS, and Avalanche, accounted for less than 5.5%, highlighting the gap between them and the top tier.

Data source: Games Shared by Chain

Since 2022, the distribution of games on different public chains has shown a consistent trend. With the booming development of the Web3 gaming market, people expect more emerging public chains to challenge the long-standing dominance of the top three public chains.

Data source: Monthly Games by Chain

In September, the total number of games with more than 1,000 active users on BNB, Polygon, and Ethereum was 228. BNB had the largest share at 21.0%; followed by Polygon at 17.1%; and Ethereum at 4.8%. On Polygon, 39 games attracted more than 1,000 active users, accounting for 8.6% of the total number of games on the chain. The proportion was 5.3% for BNB and 1.5% for Ethereum.

On September 28th, Sui announced the launch of the Web3 game portal Play Beyond, which has already gone live with 18 different games. The portal provides users with the opportunity to delve into their favorite games and also offers resources for learning Sui blockchain technology for game development and iteration. The focus of the portal is to provide a seamless gaming experience without the need for users to understand cryptocurrency knowledge. This aligns with the trend for 2023 which emphasizes immersive and enjoyable gaming experiences rather than complex underlying technology.

Web3 Game Project Overview: In September, the token prices for a total of 13 game projects skyrocketed by over 20%. This continuous growth rate demonstrates the potential of these projects and their ability to attract investor attention and interest in the vibrant GameFi field.

Nakamoto Games is a game platform built on the Polygon chain, offering various on-chain games with a “play to earn” model. The native token of this platform has gained significant attention in the GameFi space, with an 80.4% price increase just this month. Impressively, the token’s value has skyrocketed by 661.0% since the beginning of this year.

Web3 Game Funding Situation: The enthusiasm for funding in the Web3 gaming sector remains stable, with eight funding rounds this month attracting substantial investment amounts. These investments include significant funding for different types of companies and projects, including GAM3S.GG ($2 million), BulletChain ($2 million), BlockGames (undisclosed), GamePhilos ($8 million), Podium (€2 million), Salvo Games ($1.5 million), Fableborne ($7.8 million), and Proof of Play ($33 million).

Prominent investment firms like a16z have shown signs of engaging in a “buying the dip” strategy. It’s worth noting that from June to August 2023, a16z’s investment activity was relatively low, with only one investment per month. However, their recent recovery is evident as they made four investments in September, including a notable investment in Proof of Play.

Proof of Play, a cryptocurrency gaming company led by the co-creator of FarmVille, Amitt Mahajan, has successfully raised $33 million in seed funding. This funding round was led by a16z and Greenoaks. FarmVille is the most popular game in Facebook’s history, with over 300 million players. Proof of Play’s first game is a social role-playing game called Pirate Nation.

Pirate Nation

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