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Yaniv Baruch is the COO of Playnance. Playnance is a dedicated GameFi eco-system running on PlayBlock.
I’ll cite the latest DappRadar report on games: “While August might have appeared to be a relatively calm month for blockchain gaming it reached a record-breaking level of activity. The number daily unique active wallets, or dUAW, hit 4.2 million, a 5% rise from the previous months. GameFi hasn’t made headlines in recent months, but there are new games launching and users are increasingly engaged with blockchain games.
Web3 gaming, however, has lost its lead in the dApp market over the last two months. AI-based apps have taken the top spot and captured a 29% market share. You might think that GameFi has lost ground, but I am convinced Web3 gaming is more promising than any other crypto story for four reasons.
First, the investment numbers show that VCs are still very interested in this industry. GameFi raised $1.1 billion for Q2 2024. This is 314% higher than the previous quarter. The focus of investment is on gaming studios, not specific titles. We see that the industry’s infrastructure and growth are being prioritized.
Second, GameFi is continuing to overcome the limitations which have prevented mass users from adopting blockchain games. Web3 games have become more like traditional games, thanks to account abstraction. They eliminate private key management and the need to sign transactions constantly, as well as gas fees. Arbitrum Stylus allows developers to create smart contracts in languages other Solidity. This opens the door to GameFi to thousands of experienced developers who are proficient in Rust span>, C span>, and C span>.
Third, GameFi has become more immersive. In the next year, the first Web3 devices will be available. SuiPlay0X1 & Play Solana Gen1 will elevate blockchain gaming, making it more similar to Web2 products. Crypto consoles integrate blockchain technology seamlessly into games.
We’ve also seen a large influx of new users enter the Web3 gaming market, largely because of the popularity of TON- and Telegram-based projects, primarily tapping-to-earn. Millions of users have experienced crypto for the first time through these games and airdrops. Token recipients started looking for ways to trade their rewards, create Web3 wallets and crypto exchange accounts, and discover new crypto games. Every month, new products are added to the Telegram gaming eco-system. TON will likely continue to push GameFi forward.
GameFi shares the spotlight with AI apps, but its full potential is still largely untapped. Web3 has a specific application in gaming – it allows for the ownership of assets in-game and guarantees their security in games that have real value. Blockchain allows the user to manage the assets freely, which enhances the experience and strengthens the connection with the game. Blockchain perks can also be found in iGaming – dApps that allow users to earn based upon their predictions. As part of GameFi, this sector has a huge growth potential and is among the top 12 crypto stories for 2024. Decentralization in this case creates trust and transparency, which fosters trust between developers. The speed and performance new blockchain solutions are a crucial factor in this sector. Modern L2 and L3 are important drivers in this sector (e.g. The Playblock L3 solution, which has a 0.1s timeblock and 1.7M transactions per day, is designed to offer the best possible user experience with any GameFi or iGaming solution.
With continued investment, seamless user experiences through account abstraction and exciting Web3 devices on the horizon, it is clear that Web3 gaming will resurgence. This vibrant ecosystem has just begun, as evidenced by the influx of new users attracted by Telegram and TON. GameFi is poised to flourish, and take a place among the most interesting crypto stories.
