49% of the unique active wallets interacts with game dapps
After a strong 2021, the blockchain gaming industry looks ahead to a strong 2022 thanks to over $4 billion in investments. This year a record amount of venture capital flowed into blockchain gaming projects and infrastructure, setting the gaming segment up for reasonable growth in the 12 months to come.
In the BGA Blockchain Game Report for 2021 we’ve highlighted the investments in the gaming industry as one of the key takeaways from the past calendar year. Investment firms have always pumped more money in this industry segment than the $4.5 billion in NFT trading volume set by gaming projects.
However, gaming is one of the blockchain industry’s pillars set up for hyper-growth. This year alone Axie Infinity grew from 20,000 to more than 2 million players. Gaming tokens like GALA and AXS increased their value 31,500% and 20,800% respectively in the past 12 months. The increased mainstream attention for NFTs and blockchain gaming will likely attract more users in 2022, dwarfing the 1.4 million unique active wallets that now connect to game dapps.
Read the full BGA Game Industry Report 2021 here or give one of these games a try.
How is blockchain gaming different
Within the traditional gaming industry, not everybody is enthusiastic about a future with blockchain technology integrated into their favorite games. However, instead of making gamers mere consumers of an entertainment product, with blockchain gaming they become participants in an ecosystem. This complete change of business model will not work for every type of video game. In addition, giving players a bit of ownership over digital assets, seems only fair considering their participation is what eventually makes an online multiplayer game a success.
First and foremost, let’s state that a game needs to be fun. Assuming the game is of a good quality, there are different ways to integrate blockchain technology. Take Ubisoft for example, who added claimable avatar wearables to their online shooter Ghost Recon Breakpoint. These items are collectible, not required to play the game, but add an extra layer and might attract a new audience or introduce a new, goal driven form of playing.
On the other end of the blockchain gaming spectrum we find the games that integrate their entire economy onto the blockchain. Everything from the in-game currency to the game items are tokens on the blockchain, all scarce, limited in supply and tradable by those who hold them. Suddenly gold farming in World of Warcraft is no longer a grey area legally, but it can become someone’s full-time job. You don’t have to play the game as your job, but you can make some money from it. NFT games, play-to-earn games, GameFi, these are different types of products with different types of economies. Some of them barely fall in the gaming category, but that doesn’t make them less interesting to those looking for earning opportunities. Simply take a look at the DappRadar Game Rankings, and you will see:
- Splinterlands, a tactical trading card game
- Alien Worlds, a card based GameFi product
- Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn turn-based battle game
- Upland, a real-estate management universe
- Farmers World, a farming simulation game
