Q3 Blockchain Game Report confirms a shift toward play-to-earn games, says Dragos Dunica
According to DappRadar’s latest report, the blockchain industry registered 1.54 million daily unique active wallets (UAW) on average during Q3. More interesting is that 49% of these interacted with blockchain-based games. With in-game NFT collectibles also representing 22% of all NFT trading volume, it looks like games and gamification might just be the vehicle that carries blockchain technologies into the mainstream.
As NFTs start to intersect with blockchain games and DeFi mechanics, DappRadar CDO Dragos Dunica believes that it is this emerging segment that will propel the industry toward mass adoption. We dug a bit deeper into his thoughts around what many in the industry see as a key moment for the entire blockchain space.
For some, blockchain gaming is a 2021 revolution. But those of us inside the industry have been watching it mature for quite some time. After all, Axie Infinity, the play-to-earn game that generated $2.08 billion in Q3 alone and represented a fifth of the entire NFT trading volume during the same time period, will celebrate its fourth birthday next March. Blockchain games are certainly not new. What’s new is the DeFi-esque token mechanics being introduced to make them more appealing to players.
“As we examine gaming’s performance, we see how vast its impact has been on the blockchain industry and just how powerful a propeller the play-to-earn narrative has become. Gaming accounts for half the industry’s usage and a fifth of the NFT trading volume for what’s been a record-breaking quarter. Axie beating blue-chips like CryptoPunks and NBA Top Shots to become the most traded collection ever poignantly illustrates this,” says Dragos.
Metaverse-based games (not including Axie Infinity) have gathered steam as well, generating over $56.4 million in trading volume during Q3, showing the massive potential of a space that is still finding its feet. Meanwhile, other platforms such as Arc8 are attempting to crack the mobile gaming market. A sector worth over $79 billion with over 2.5 billion players worldwide.
“Zoom out and we see these trends coming together into something even bigger and potentially all-encompassing: the metaverse. As things stand, we’re headed towards a complete shift in how we form communities, how we create, play, trade, and socialize — how we live. It’s not that this shift wasn’t there before — we’ve been living a nomadic sort of digital life across disparate platforms for a while now — but blockchain gaming is catalyzing the creation of single virtual spaces where we can settle,” concludes Dragos.
The latest Blockchain Game Report highlights a shift in full swing. Furthermore, the play-to-earn movement has become one of blockchain’s main headlines. Besides Axie Infinity, which has reached stratospheric levels, games like Splinterlands, Alien Worlds and Upland, might become important players in the search for mass adoption. BSC games also took a big step forward during Q3, while Polygon is mounting a serious charge. If the other Layer 2 solutions like Avalanche, Solana, or other relevant game networks like Gala, are added into the equation, it feels like there has never been a better time to be involved in blockchain games.
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