Web3 gaming leader Telegram accounts for 21% of new games entering the market in 2024. According to the latest report from Game7, a community dedicated to advancing blockchain technology in gaming, this.
Created in collaboration with research firm Naavik, the 2024 State Of Web3 Gaming Report examines how developers and publishers have adopted the popular messaging app to help drive acquisition and engagement in the rapidly growing blockchain gaming sector.
That surge in Telegram’s influence is part of a more significant trend within the industry of challenging traditional app platforms like Apple’s App Store and Google Play, which have been criticized for their restrictive policies and ambivalent regulatory stance.
Telegram’s open ecosystem and the way it enables communication between people have made it the tool of choice for Web3 developers, so they can bypass the copious drawbacks of a regular app store and talk to their audience directly.
Interestingly, the report provided vital insights into what platforms are growing Web3 gaming the most. Two ecosystems that are doing well are Immutable and Arbitrum. Immutable has stood out, with its 71% year-over-year growth and announcement of 181 new game titles. Many of these titles have migrated from Polygon to Immutable’s more scalable and efficient solutions.
As another blockchain ecosystem, Arbitrum has experienced a 68 per cent growth, mostly due to the Orbit Framework, which has helped establish 23 new gaming networks. Compatible with Ethereum, Layer 2 and Layer 3 solutions like Immutable and Arbitrum are helping to define the new standard for blockchain gaming, with scalable solutions and reduced transaction costs compared to traditional blockchain networks.
Geographical Distribution and Developer Stability
In the geography department, the Web3 gaming space remained dominated by the Asia Pacific (APAC), South Korea, and Singapore. For example, 39% of all new game launches were in the region, and the United States closely followed at 36%.
Despite new announcements dropping 36 per cent year over year, the industry is looking up, with 84 per cent fewer developer exits. This speaks to a more mature industry with a stronger base of developers who are interested in creating for the long term.
While there are positive signs, the report notes that blockchain support is present in just 34 per cent of games, lagging behind the bridge from traditional gaming to the Web3 ecosystem. With that in mind, major platforms like the Epic Games Store have adopted blockchain technology, as it released 81 Web3 titles in 2024. However, Steam’s commitment to keeping blockchain games away hasn’t managed to deter developers from exploring other distribution methods.
Meanwhile, 2024 saw initial blockchain adoption on console games, too, but companies like Sony and Microsoft are reluctant to embrace this technology. The fact that many developers are creating console games that don’t include any blockchain features at all is a sign that full-scale integration of blockchain gaming in consoles may take longer than some are expecting.
Fund Growth and Trends for the Industry
According to Web3 Gaming, Q3 2024 funding rose 17% year over year but shifted away from large to smaller and more strategic rounds. In these rounds, most of the focus is on the token launches as opposed to huge amounts of capital going into game development. Funding growth is good, but the industry still has some work to do. This is tempered by macroeconomic uncertainty, which means there’s no breakout hit like “Axie Infinity.”
Compared to 2020, gaming token launches spiked 200% year over year, with 74% of all gaming-related token launches being game titles. With the growing integration of blockchain-based economies in games, token launches increased.
Game7’s report does a fine job of giving an overview of where Web3 gaming sits today, but it also points out blind spots in how we currently measure blockchain gaming. The report mentioned that the problem with the wallet activity and on-chain data alone does not provide a complete picture of how the users participate. We would likely get a more reliable metric when monitoring development activity and the ecosystem’s growth.
In Web3 gaming, understanding evolving market dynamics was crucial, said Co-Founder Naavik Aaron Bush. ”As new Web3 games are ushering the dawn of the new era in the category, the model of understanding the market dynamics, technologies, and their best practices is essential for setting up tomorrow’s leaders,” he added.
On the user engagement front, the Web3 shooter game Off The Grid (OTG) recorded a significant rise, peaking at an all-time high of 207,450 unique active wallets (UAW) on November 12, as blockchain-based games became more popular.
The rise of Telegram as a critical platform in Web3 gaming and Ecosystem growth like Immutable and Arbitrum represents a fast-changing landscape of blockchain gaming.
The sector that still supplies much of the world’s transportation energy remains volatile but shows signs of both innovation and stability as developers and publishers look for alternative distribution channels and new technologies to explore. Year after year, the numbers emerged to measure the success of Web3 gaming funding, which continues to rise.
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