Author: Stella L ( stella@footprint.network )
Data source: Footprint Analytics Games Research Page
In October 2024, the Web3 gaming market performed steadily, in contrast to the broader crypto market growth. Bitcoin rose 15.9% during the month, close to its all-time price high, while the market value of gaming tokens remained at $21.15 billion, close to the previous month. Daily active users reached 5.3 million, mainly driven by Telegram-based games, especially Matchain, Sui and Core blockchains achieved significant user growth by introducing Telegram games.
There were several important developments this month: traditional gaming giant Ubisoft launched its first blockchain game on Oasys, and crypto fund VanEck invested in Gunzilla Games. Meanwhile, funds continue to flow into the industry, such as Azra Games receiving $42.7 million in financing.
Macro Market Review
Crypto markets had mixed performances in October, with Bitcoin showing notable strength while other sectors saw more modest gains. Bitcoin rose 15.9% from $60,764 to $70,398. Notably, Bitcoin hit $72,751 on October 29, close to its all-time high of $73,104 set on March 14, 2024. In contrast, Ethereum had a more muted performance, rising from $2,453 to $2,519, an increase of only 2.7%.
Data source: Bitcoin and Ethereum price trends
Crypto markets in October were significantly impacted by the macro environment. The dollar strengthened, the Chinese yuan weakened, and concerns about trade tensions and tariff risks increased. This currency volatility was accompanied by rising bond yields and gold prices, indicating a complex shift in global risk perceptions and investment flows.
As the US election approaches, political factors are increasingly affecting market sentiment. Bitcoin's gains have accelerated as investors make arrangements ahead of possible policy changes, and the market has weighed the impact that different election results may have on digital asset regulation and financial policy.
Institutional activity remained strong this month, with Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) recording large net inflows. This continued institutional interest, coupled with the significant divergence in Bitcoin performance from the rest of the crypto space, shows that large investors are becoming increasingly selective in their positioning.
Regulatory developments continue to influence the market landscape. The FBI’s investigation into NexFundAI tokens through a “fishing enforcement” was a major milestone, resulting in market manipulation charges against three cryptocurrency companies and 15 individuals. Meanwhile, Crypto.com’s legal action against the SEC highlights the ongoing tensions between industry participants and regulators.
Overview of the blockchain game market
In October, the blockchain gaming industry showed mixed signals, with stable token market capitalization but significant changes in user metrics. The blockchain gaming token market capitalization rose slightly from $21.07 billion to $21.15 billion.
Data source: Blockchain game token market value and Bitcoin market value
User engagement metrics showed even greater change, with daily active users (DAU) reaching a new high of 5.3 million in October, up 11.3% from September. This growth was mainly driven by Matchain’s user metric peak between October 10 and 13, when it launched four games in the Telegram ecosystem. The surge in Telegram game-related activity continues to reshape user acquisition patterns.
Data source: Number of daily active users of blockchain games
The number of transactions showed a modest increase, with the average daily transaction volume reaching 9.3 million, a slight increase of 2.1% from September. However, this growth rate was still lower than the growth of DAU, and the number of transactions per user remained the same as in September.
Data source: Daily transaction count of blockchain games
The transaction amount showed a slight contraction, with the average daily transaction amount falling by 1.9% to 7.5 million.
Data source: Daily transaction amount of blockchain games
These metrics are particularly meaningful in the context of the broader cryptocurrency adoption. a16z published its “ State of Crypto 2024 ” report, estimating that current active crypto users are between 30 million and 60 million, representing 5-10% of the total number of 617 million global crypto users reported by Crypto.com in June 2024. This significant gap highlights a key opportunity: converting existing cryptocurrency holders into active users. While Web3 games have long been seen as an important catalyst for widespread blockchain adoption, their performance in the current market cycle shows that there are still challenges to realizing this potential.
How can blockchain game builders adjust their strategies to bridge this participation gap? We will explore this more below.
Overview of blockchain game public chain
The number of active blockchain games reached 1,606 in October, a slight increase of 1.6% from September. BNB Chain , Polygon and Ethereum ranked first with market shares of 22.5%, 18.4% and 13.6% respectively.
Data source: Percentage of active game projects on each public chain
The DAU metric shows a change in the competitive landscape, with opBNB, Ronin , and the emerging Matchain becoming the best performing chains. These chains had an average DAU of 1.2 million, 886,000, and 548,000, respectively, and occupied 25.6%, 13.1%, and 11.2% of the DAU market share by the end of October.
Data source: Daily number of active game users on each public chain
opBNB saw strong growth, with daily average DAU up 10.5% from September, driven primarily by GombleGames and Alliance Games, which saw user growth of over 100% and 78%, respectively. Interestingly, this growth reflects the BNB chain’s shift to blockchain games over opBNB, while the BNB chain itself saw a 43.8% drop in daily average DAU.
Matchain is a decentralized AI blockchain focused on data and identity sovereignty, which launched its mainnet in August. The chain's average daily users surged from 78 in September to 548,000 in October, driven primarily by Telegram-based games such as LOL, Jumper, and Digiverse. Matchain's performance peaked between October 9 and 13, with an average DAU of 2 million, and even peaked at 3.3 million DAU on October 12. Although the number of users has dropped significantly since then, it stabilized at around 615,000 in the last week of October. The surge in DAU from 78 to 548,000 demonstrates the potential and challenges of user acquisition in the Telegram ecosystem. This is a common problem faced by the Web3 gaming industry, and it is difficult for projects to maintain the momentum of initial user growth and continue organic growth.
Data source: Matchain Daily active game users
Sui performed strongly, with daily average DAU increasing by 105.1% to 186,000. Multiple Telegram-based projects drove this growth: BIRDS (a Memecoin and gaming mini-program) and MemeFi. The latter switched its token issuance from Ethereum L2 Linea to Sui a few weeks before the airdrop. This strategic combination of Memecoin and gaming seems to be Sui’s way of keeping users active.
Core ’s daily average DAU grew 75.7% to 109,000, driven by traditional Web3 games such as World of Dypians and Pixudi , as well as new Telegram-based games. TomTalk, a “Talk-to-Earn” and “Tap-to-Earn” game, achieved significant results, accumulating more than 1 million users on Core in one month. Core’s strategy seems to be focused on long-term ecosystem development through strong support, such as its partnerships with TomTalk and Pixudi.
TON’s daily average DAU fell by 27.7% to 195,000, reflecting the decline in activity of several games after the TGE. However, TON’s success in acquiring users on Telegram has sparked emulation across the industry. In addition to TON, multiple chains are now actively courting the user base of the Telegram ecosystem. Matchain, Sui, and Core have achieved significant success in this regard, while emerging chains including Sei, Ancient8, and Viction are implementing similar strategies.
At the same time, other chains also face their own challenges and opportunities. The Arbitrum community has proposed a proposal around the $220 million plan for the Game Catalyst Program (GCP), suggesting that the 220 million ARB tokens allocated by the foundation be returned to the treasury, highlighting the need for transparency in GCP’s finances and operations.
In contrast, Immutable zkEVM has taken a strategic step towards decentralization by removing its deployment whitelist and enabling permissionless deployment. Since launching its testnet in March 2024, Immutable zkEVM claims to have achieved significant growth, with more than 2.5 million monthly active users on the chain in the first quarter.
Immutable
Overview of Blockchain Games
At the end of October, there were 3,503 games in the blockchain gaming ecosystem, of which 1,336 were active. 283 games attracted more than 1,000 monthly active users (MAU), accounting for 8.1% of the total number of games and 21.2% of active games.
Data source: Number of monthly active blockchain games
The Telegram Gaming phenomenon continues to shape the industry landscape, but also faces challenges in terms of sustainability. Hamster Kombat topped the Telegram Gaming Mini App in October with 51.9 million MAUs. However, the gap between the claimed number of users (nearly 300 million in August and September) and the latest retained user numbers, coupled with the 70% drop in its token price from its all-time high after the TGE, shows that the project still faces opportunities and challenges in converting initial user interest into sustained engagement.
Data source: Popular Telegram Mini Apps list
Elsewhere, Ubisoft entered the blockchain gaming space with Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles, a tactical RPG launched on Oasys’ Layer 2 Home Verse on October 23rd that focuses on PvP combat and team-building mechanics.
One notable event on the investment front was VanEck’s crypto fund announcing an investment in Gunzilla Games. VanEck previously invested in Parallel. Gunzilla launched its highly anticipated game Off the Grid on PlayStation 5 and Epic Games this month. Off the Grid is built on its blockchain Gunzilla (recently upgraded from the Avalanche subnet to L1), but the official Q&A clearly positions the game as “ not an NFT game ” but a battle royale game with “optional NFT elements.” This reflects a trend of using blockchain features as a secondary mechanism for games rather than a core key.
Off The Grid
This evolving approach to blockchain integration, especially from established gaming companies, indicates a maturation of the market, with technology being used to enhance rather than define the gaming experience. This subtle shift could potentially build a bridge between traditional and Web3 gaming.
Blockchain game investment and financing
In October, the Web3 gaming industry showed strong growth in investment activity, raising a total of $94.6 million across 13 funding events, a significant increase of 44.2% over September’s figures. Four of these events did not disclose their funding amounts.
Investment and financing events in the blockchain gaming sector in October 2024 (Source: crypto-fundraising.info )
The highlight of this month is Azra Games raising $42.7 million in Series A funding, led by Pantera Capital and backed by industry giants such as a16z crypto, A16Z GAMES and NFX, demonstrating the industry’s confidence in advanced mobile gaming experiences. Azra’s vision of a “fourth generation mobile RPG” marks a significant evolution in mobile gaming, offering a console-grade gaming experience with an open world, a sophisticated camera system, real-time combat, and extensive PvE activities. More and more investors are betting on the convergence of console-grade gaming experiences with mobile platforms, indicating a potential shift in the way Web3 games are consumed.
The infrastructure sector was also active, with Alliance Games securing $5 million in Series A funding led by Animoca Brands and Asymm Ventures. Alliance Games focuses on AI-driven decentralized infrastructure, addressing key needs in the ecosystem.
