Web3 Gaming Continues to Be Blockchain’s Most Promising Frontier. Here’s Why

Over the past few years, digital gaming has witnessed a major shift, especially with its increasing integration with Web3 tech. In fact, the Web3 gaming market is on an explosive growth trajectory, projected to expand from $18 billion in 2023 to a staggering $40 billion by the end of the year. 

This growth is further accented by impressive user engagement metrics, with games like Pixels boasting over 1 million daily active users (DAUs). The momentum behind these titles isn't limited to startups and crypto-native companies since a host of mainstream entities are also making significant moves into this space.

Most recently, Manchester United, one of the world's most renowned football clubs, launched a Web3 football game called 'Fantasy United' for its upcoming 2024/25 season. The initiative includes the release of player trading cards featuring its first-team roster from the men's squad.

Similarly, the National Football League (NFL) has also made a significant impact with NFL Rivals, a Web3 game that blends exciting arcade-style gameplay with digital sports-card collecting. 

The game has struck a chord with football enthusiasts, allowing them to leverage their deep knowledge of stats, plays, and players to build ultimate teams. With an impressive tally of over 5 million downloads to date, NFL Rivals has emerged as a resounding success, further validating the potential of Web3 gaming in attracting mainstream audiences.

Redefining engagement in a decentralized manner

Web3 games have been gaining traction for several compelling reasons. However, their core appeal lies in their ability to reward players with direct ownership, deliver enhanced data privacy, and create real value for a player’s time spent in-game. 

This shift has replaced the conventional microtransaction model with a more robust economy, giving players access to secondary markets where they can capitalize on their skills and achievements.

To put things into perspective as to how powerful the Web3 gaming sector has become, data suggests that almost half of all blockchain activity today is related to the gaming sector. Popular Web3 titles are driving significant adoption, with an estimated 73 million Web3 gamers in 2022-2023, a number that has continued to rise as innovative and immersive titles have continued to enter the market.

Dapp sector’s unique active wallets (UAW) by category (source: dAppRadar)

In this regard, Games like Mighty Action Heroes and Heroes of Mavia have seen impressive engagement, with 2.6 million monthly active users in their first 30 days and over 3 million global downloads. Pixelmon, another successful Web3 game, boasts an engaged on-chain community of over 60,000 wallets purchasing in-game assets.  

However, one project that stands head and shoulders above the rest of the fray is My Pet Hooligan. Developed by AMGI Studios, this multiplayer, social-action game exemplifies the innovative potential of Web3 gaming. Set in Hooliland City, players take on the role of rebels fighting against the evil overlord Metazuckbot, engaging in various activities from fighting and skateboarding to graffiti and socializing.

What sets My Pet Hooligan apart is its integration of cutting-edge technologies. The game leverages proprietary motion capture and AI tech, allowing users to stream and create content as their in-game avatars — blurring the lines between gaming and content creation and offering a unique value proposition to players and creators alike.

Moreover, the game's development team, led by industry veterans with experience from Disney Pixar, Riot Games, and other major studios, brings a level of polish and expertise often missing in the Web3 gaming space.  

Lastly, My Pet Hooligan's success is evident by its early access performance, with over 400,000 downloads on the Epic Game Store and trending second only to Cyberpunk 2077 during its initial release week.  

The Expanding Web3 Gaming Ecosystem

As of July 2024, the Web3 gaming landscape has grown to include over 994 quality, playable games across 70 blockchains, spanning multiple genres. This rapid development is particularly impressive considering that most of these projects were funded around 2021-2022, a timeframe that's significantly shorter than the typical eight-year development cycle for traditional AAA games.

Even during periods of lower daily active user numbers or depressed token prices, gaming remains one of the few areas in Web3 where there are genuinely active and thoroughly engaged crypto users. 

Therefore, as projects like My Pet Hooligan continue to push the boundaries of what's possible within the realm of digital gaming, it is reasonable to see an acceleration in the growth and mainstream acceptance of Web3 gaming. Interesting times ahead, for sure!

***

DISCLAIMER

The views, the opinions and the positions expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent those of https://www.cryptowisser.com/ or any company or individual affiliated with https://www.cryptowisser.com/. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or validity of any statements made within this article. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author. Any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights also remains with them.