Web3 gaming sees record user growth amid a stable market cap in October.

【Key Words: GameFi, Web3 Game, Blockchain Game, GameFi Data, Ronin, opBNB, Sui, TON, Matchain, Nebula, Telegram Games, Off The Grid, TomTalk】

Author: Stella L (stella@footprint.network)

Data Source: Footprint Analytics Games Research Page

October 2024 showed mixed signals in Web3 gaming, with stable market performance amid broader crypto market gains. While Bitcoin surged 15.9% and approached its all-time high, gaming tokens’ market cap held steady at $21.15 billion. Daily active users hit 5.3 million, driven significantly by Telegram-based games, particularly on chains like Matchain, Sui, and Core, which saw substantial user growth through Telegram game integration.

Several key developments shaped the month: traditional gaming giant Ubisoft launched its first blockchain game on Oasys, established players like VanEck’s crypto fund backed Gunzilla Games’ nuanced approach to blockchain integration, and significant funding continued to flow into the sector, exemplified by Azra Games’ $42.7 million raise.

Monthly Market Review

October witnessed divergent performance across crypto markets, with Bitcoin demonstrating remarkable strength while other segments showed more modest gains. Bitcoin surged from $60,764 to $70,398, posting a robust 15.9% increase. Notably, Bitcoin reached $72,751 on October 29, approaching its all-time high of $73,104 set on March 14. In contrast, Ether’s performance was more subdued, rising from $2,453 to $2,519, a modest 2.7% gain.

The macro environment played a significant role in October’s market dynamics. The U.S. Dollar appreciated while the Chinese Yuan weakened, potentially reflecting growing concerns about trade tensions and tariff risks. This currency movement coincided with rising bond yields and increasing gold prices, suggesting a complex shift in global risk perceptions and investment flows.

Political considerations increasingly shaped market sentiment as the approaching U.S. elections emerged as a significant market driver. Bitcoin’s gains accelerated as investors positioned themselves ahead of potential policy shifts, with markets carefully weighing the implications of different electoral outcomes for digital asset regulation and broader financial policy.

Institutional activity remained robust throughout the month, with Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) recording substantial net inflows. This sustained institutional interest, coupled with the notable divergence between Bitcoin’s performance and other crypto segments, points to increasingly selective positioning by large investors.

Regulatory developments continued to impact the market landscape. A landmark FBI investigation involving the creation of NexFundAI token led to charges against three cryptocurrency companies and 15 individuals for market manipulation. Meanwhile, Crypto.com’s legal challenge against the SEC highlighted ongoing tensions between industry players and regulators, particularly regarding the “regulation by enforcement” approach.

Overall Web3 Game Market

In October, the blockchain gaming sector showed mixed signals, with stable token valuations but notable shifts in user engagement patterns. The market cap of blockchain game tokens demonstrated resilience, moving marginally from $21.07 billion to $21.15 billion.

User engagement metrics painted a more dynamic picture, with daily active users (DAUs) reaching a new milestone of 5.3 million in October, representing an 11.3% increase from September. This growth was notably influenced by intense activity on Matchain during October 10–13, driven by the launch of four games within the Telegram ecosystem. The surge in Telegram-based gaming activities continues to reshape user acquisition patterns.

Transaction metrics showed modest improvements, with average daily transactions reaching 9.3 million, a 2.1% increase from September. However, this growth rate lagged behind the DAU increase, with per-user transaction rates remaining consistent with September’s levels.

Trading volumes showed a slight contraction, with daily averages declining by 1.9% to 7.5 million.

These metrics take on particular significance when viewed against the broader crypto adoption landscape. The State of Crypto 2024 report from a16z estimates current monthly active crypto users between 30 to 60 million, representing just 5–10% of the 617 million global crypto owners reported by Crypto.com in June. This stark disparity highlights a significant opportunity: converting existing crypto owners into active users. While Web3 gaming has long been viewed as a potential catalyst for mass adoption, its performance in the current market cycle suggests challenges in fully realizing this potential.

The question remains: how are builders in this sector adapting their strategies to bridge this engagement gap? The following sections will explore October’s developments and innovations.

Web3 Game Chains

October’s blockchain gaming landscape saw continued evolution in chain dynamics, with active games reaching 1,606, a modest 1.6% increase from September. The established market leaders maintained their positions in game distribution, with BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum commanding shares of 22.5%, 18.4%, and 13.6%, respectively.

The DAU metrics revealed a shifting competitive landscape, with opBNB, Ronin, and newcomer Matchain emerging as the top performers. These chains recorded average DAUs of 1.2 million, 886.3K, and 548.4K respectively, holding market shares of 25.6%, 13.1%, and 11.2% by month’s end.

opBNB continued its impressive trajectory, posting a 10.5% increase in average DAU from September. This growth was notably driven by GombleGames and Alliance Games, which saw user increases exceeding 100% and 78% respectively. Interestingly, this growth aligns with BNB’s strategic shift toward opBNB development, especially the gaming sector, while its Layer 1 experienced a 43.8% decline in average DAU.

Matchain, a decentralized AI blockchain focused on data and identity sovereignty that launched its mainnet in August, emerged as October’s breakthrough story. The chain transformed from just 78 users daily in September to an average DAU of 548.4K in October, primarily driven by Telegram-based games like LOL, Jumper, and Digiverse. During October 9–13, Matchain’s performance peaked with an average DAU of 2.0 million, reaching its highest point of 3.3 million on October 12. While the numbers experienced a significant drop afterward, they stabilized at around 614.8K in the last week of October. This dramatic surge from 78 to 548.4K DAU demonstrates both the potential and challenges of Telegram-based user acquisition: a pattern observed across the entire Web3 gaming industry as projects struggle to maintain the momentum of initial user influx.

Sui demonstrated strong growth with a 105.1% increase in average DAU to 189.5K. This growth was driven by multiple Telegram-based projects: BIRDS, a memecoin and GameFi mini-app, and MemeFi, which notably shifted its token launch from Ethereum L2 Linea to Sui just weeks before the event. This strategic blend of memecoins and gaming appears to be Sui’s approach to maintaining sustained user activity.

Core’s average DAU rose 75.7% to 108.5K, supported by both traditional Web3 games like World of Dypians and Pixudi, and new Telegram-based initiatives. The “Talk-to-Earn” and “Tap-to-Earn” game TomTalk made a significant impact, accumulating over 1 million users on Core within a month. Core’s strategy appears focused on long-term ecosystem development through strong support, as evidenced by their collaborations with both TomTalk and Pixudi.

TON saw a 27.7% decrease to 195.3K DAU, reflecting post-TGE activity decline in several games. However, TON’s pioneering success in Telegram-based user acquisition has sparked a broader industry trend. Beyond TON, multiple chains are now actively pursuing the Telegram ecosystem’s user base. While Matchain, Sui, and Core have shown notable success, newer entrants including Sei, Ancient8 Chain, and Viction Chain are also implementing similar strategies.

Meanwhile, established chains faced their own challenges and opportunities. The Arbitrum gaming community faced internal challenges as concerns emerged over the $220 million Gaming Catalyst Program (GCP). A proposal to return the allocated 220 million ARB tokens to the treasury highlighted growing demands for operational transparency in gaming initiatives.

In contrast, Immutable zkEVM made a strategic move toward greater accessibility by removing its Deployer Allowlist and enabling Permissionless Deployment. Since its beta launch in March 2024, Immutable claims impressive growth, reporting over 2.5 million monthly active on-chain users in its first quarter of operation.

Web3 Games Overview

By the end of October, the blockchain gaming ecosystem had 3,503 games, with 1,336 maintaining active engagement. These metrics remained stable, with 283 games attracting over 1,000 MAU, accounting for 8.1% of total games and 21.2% of active games.

The Telegram gaming phenomenon continued to shape the industry landscape, though with emerging challenges in sustainability. Hamster Kombat led the gaming mini apps with 51.9 million MAU as of October 31. However, the disparity between claimed users (300 million in August and September) and actual engagement, coupled with a 70% decline in token price from its all-time high post-TGE, suggests that projects face both opportunities and challenges in converting initial user interest into sustained participation.

October marked a significant milestone with Ubisoft’s entry into blockchain gaming through Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles, launched on Oasys Layer 2 Home Verse on October 23. This tactical RPG, focusing on PvP battles and team assembly mechanics, represents a major traditional gaming company’s strategic approach to blockchain integration.

A noteworthy development in the investment landscape came with VanEck’s private crypto fund backing Gunzilla Games, following their previous investment in Parallel. Gunzilla’s approach with Off the Grid, launched in early access on PlayStation 5 and Epic Game Store, exemplifies a nuanced strategy toward blockchain integration. Operating on their own blockchain Gunzilla (upgraded from an Avalanche Subnet to an L1), their explicit positioning — “not an NFT game” but rather a battle royale game with “optional NFT elements” — reflects a growing trend of making blockchain features complementary rather than central to gameplay, potentially offering a blueprint for mainstream adoption.

This evolving approach to blockchain integration, particularly from established gaming companies, suggests a maturing market where the technology serves to enhance rather than define the gaming experience. This subtle shift might prove more effective in bridging the gap between traditional and Web3 gaming communities.

Investment and Funding

In October, the Web3 gaming sector demonstrated robust growth in investment activity, securing $94.6 million across 13 funding events, a significant 44.2% increase from September’s figures. Four of these events did not disclose their funding amounts.

The month’s standout funding event came from Azra Games, which secured $42.7 million in Series A funding. Led by Pantera Capital and supported by industry giants a16z crypto, A16Z GAMES, and NFX, this investment underscores the growing confidence in advanced mobile gaming experiences. Azra’s vision for the “4th generation of mobile RPGs” represents a significant evolution in mobile gaming, promising console-quality experiences with open worlds, sophisticated camera systems, real-time battles, and extensive PvE campaigns. We see more investors are betting on the convergence of console-quality gaming experiences with mobile platforms, suggesting a shift in how Web3 games might be consumed.

The infrastructure sector also saw notable activity, with Alliance Games raising $5 million in Series A funding. Led by Animoca Brands and Asymm Ventures. Alliance Games’ focus on AI-powered decentralized infrastructure addresses a critical need in the ecosystem, potentially democratizing access to advanced gaming technologies for developers of all sizes.

Data for this report was obtained from Footprint’s Games Research page, a real-time dashboard with comprehensive and trusted Web3 game stats. Please contact us if you notice any chain or game not included and would like it integrated. You can also submit contracts here.

About ABGA

ABGA is a groundbreaking club centered around Web3 games, supported by prominent institutions in the Web3 industry. By integrating the collective strength of the Asian gaming industry, ABGA is dedicated to shaping a promising future for the global Web3 gaming arena.

About Footprint Analytics

Footprint Analytics is a blockchain data solutions provider. It leverages cutting-edge AI technology to help analysts, builders, and investors turn blockchain data and combine Web2 data into insights with accessible visualization tools and a powerful multi-chain API across 30+ chains for NFTs, GameFi, and DeFi.