Blockchain Game Research Report in November 2024
Author: Stella L ( [email protected] )
Data source: Footprint Analytics Blockchain Game Research page
November 2024 Web3 gaming industry market growth is significant, but mass adoption strategies are still evolving. As Bitcoin hits a new all-time high and approaches the $100,000 milestone, the market value of the gaming sector surged 79.1% to $35.1 billion. Despite strong performance in traditional indicators, with 5.5 million daily active users, the industry still faces some issues in blockchain integration and mass adoption.
Macro Market Review
In November, the cryptocurrency market made history, with Bitcoin rising dramatically, soaring from $69,386 to $96,427, a 39.0% increase. Ethereum followed closely behind, rising 47.8%, climbing from $2,511 to $3,711. Bitcoin's outstanding performance has enabled its market value to surpass silver and Saudi Aramco, and after approaching the $100,000 mark on November 23, it has firmly ranked seventh among global assets .
Data source: Bitcoin and Ethereum price trends
The US election results have become a catalyst for the growth of the crypto market, which may have an impact on comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation and regulatory supervision. The market has responded positively, especially in the performance of popular sectors such as memecoins, decentralized artificial intelligence (deAI) projects, and decentralized science (DeSci).
Broader financial markets also performed strongly. The financial sector led the stock market higher on expectations of US tax reform and deregulation. However, international markets were somewhat volatile, with the Chinese yuan under pressure on concerns that the US may increase tariffs, while gold prices fell as election-related uncertainty faded.
Overview of the blockchain game market
In November, blockchain gaming tokens saw significant growth amid the crypto market bull run, with their market capitalization surging from $19.6 billion to $35.1 billion.
Data source: Blockchain game token market value and Bitcoin market value
The sector's average daily trading volume showed similar momentum, increasing 79.4% to $11.9 million.
Data source: Daily transaction amount of blockchain games
Daily active users hit a new high in November, with an average daily DAU of 5.5 million, up 15.7% from October. This growth was mainly due to the continued user activity on opBNB and the solid performance of the Ronin ecosystem.
Data source: Number of daily active users of blockchain games
Transaction indicators are more complex. Although the average daily transaction volume reached 15.3 million (up 3.3% from October), the average number of transactions per user per day fell from 3.131 to 2.810. The total monthly transaction volume remained stable at 460.4 million, and the data showed that the intensity of new users' use of blockchain functions was declining.
Data source: Daily transaction count of blockchain games
The approach to blockchain technology adoption taken by games like Off The Grid may represent a critical inflection point for the industry. By positioning itself as a traditional game with optional blockchain elements, rather than an “NFT game,” it reflects that mass adoption may require a more nuanced integration of blockchain technology. This strategy of “making blockchain features optional and invisible” can help overcome many gamers’ initial resistance to cryptocurrency and reduce friction, but it also raises fundamental questions about the role of blockchain in gaming.
The technical challenges facing full-chain games remain significant. Existing blockchain infrastructure struggles to meet the high-throughput requirements of real-time gameplay, competitive matching, and modern games. While Layer 2 solutions and dedicated gaming public chains are emerging, the gap between traditional game performance expectations and blockchain capabilities continues to influence development strategies.
Although the current bull run has provided favorable conditions for growth, the Web3 gaming sector has yet to produce a defining breakthrough moment. The industry seems to be at a crossroads between maintaining crypto-native appeal and achieving mass adoption. For gaming projects to succeed, they need to balance these two aspects well and let the technical infrastructure catch up with the project's ambitions.
Overview of blockchain game public chain
In November, the number of active games on the blockchain network reached 1,696, an increase of 4.6% from October. In terms of game distribution, the market leaders are still BNB Chain, Polygon and Ethereum , with shares of 20.9%, 15.4% and 13.4% respectively.
Data source: Daily number of active game users on each public chain
opBNB continued its growth momentum, increasing by 46.1% compared to its average DAU in October. This growth was mainly driven by its flagship games SERAPH: In The Darkness and MEET48, while the platform also benefited from projects migrating from the BNB chain.
Ronin showed a significant recovery, doubling its DAU from 600,000 to 1.2 million in November, thanks to new partnerships, the introduction of multiple game studios, the launch of the new game Fableborne, and renewed growth in the number of players in the existing game Lumiterra.
The TON gaming ecosystem faces challenges, with DAU falling 41.9% to 116,400, highlighting the on-chain retention challenges of Telegram-based games. But there are always exceptions in the industry. Sui's average DAU in November was 233,300, up 23.1% from the previous month. The Telegram game BIRDS contributes most of the user base, with an average DAU of 224,900, and its weekly new user retention rate can be said to be a model in the current blockchain gaming industry.
Data source: BIRDS game user weekly retention rate
The Web3 gaming industry is still full of challenges and opportunities. More industry participants are participating in the blockchain gaming infrastructure, and more public gaming chains are emerging. As one of the largest Web3 gaming guilds, Yield Guild Games (YGG) launched its Studio Chain and built its own gaming infrastructure.
At the same time, B3 launched the Open Gaming Layer, and Prime Chain is its first blockchain. Developed by the Echelon Prime Foundation, Prime Chain will provide infrastructure and development power for the ambitious sci-fi card game Parallel.
Overview of Blockchain Games
As of the end of November, there were 3,602 blockchain games in the industry, of which 1,361 maintained active participation. 298 of these games attracted more than 1,000 monthly active users (MAU), accounting for 21.9% of active games.
Data source: Number of monthly active blockchain games
Analyzing Telegram game metrics, we can see a significant gap between platform users and blockchain engagement. As of November 30, Hamster Kombat ranked second in monthly active users among Telegram games, with 26.16 million MAUs, but it only had 736 on-chain users. Even MemeFi, which achieved the highest conversion rate among the top 10 games, had a user on-chain engagement rate of only 7.96%, with 1.36 million TON users.
Data source: MAU of popular Telegram games and their corresponding MAU on the TON chain
Despite these conversion challenges, the success of Telegram’s gaming ecosystem is spawning broader emulation by social media platforms. Line, the dominant messaging platform in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia, announced plans to launch 30 mini dApps by the end of January and expand to 150 by the end of the first quarter of 2025. These mini dApps will be built on the Kaia blockchain, with gaming applications being the largest component, while also including social and DeFi applications.
Meanwhile, Solana-based project Sonic X surpassed 1 million KYC-verified users through TikTok integration. The platform’s success stems from its seamless onboarding process. Users can access the game directly through their TikTok account, and a Solana wallet is automatically created in the background. This achievement demonstrates TikTok’s potential as an entry point for Web3 gaming.
Blockchain game investment and financing
In November, Web3 games received 18 financings totaling $73.6 million. Although the number of events increased by five compared to October, the total amount decreased by 22.3%. In addition, eight events did not disclose the specific financing amount.
Investment and financing events in the blockchain gaming sector in November 2024 (Source: crypto-fundraising.info )
Monkey Tilt led the month with a $30 million Series A led by Pantera Capital. The platform combines gaming, entertainment, and gambling features, and has achieved $200 million in monthly betting volume since its launch in March. The platform includes social features such as in-game chat and user-to-user tipping, but is still unavailable in major markets such as the US, UK, and Australia for regulatory reasons. Despite regulatory challenges, the gambling sector continues to gain traction, with FanDuel, BRKT, and BoxBet also receiving funding.
Other notable financing news includes Animoca Brands’ additional investment of $10 million in Mocaverse, building on its previous investment of $31.88 million. The investment includes warrants for MOCA Coin tokens at a fully diluted valuation of $1 billion, supporting Mocaverse’s further development of interoperable infrastructure for mainstream cryptocurrency adoption.
