The crypto gaming industry, though facing challenges in the broader crypto and gaming markets, continues to attract significant venture capital investment. According to a report from crypto data firm DappRadar, blockchain games secured approximately $600 million in funding during Q3 2023. While this is a substantial sum, it represents a 38% decrease from the $973 million in crypto gaming investment recorded in Q2 2023.
Crypto gaming registers a 38% decline from Q2 investments
The total investment in crypto games for the year stands at approximately $2.3 billion. Despite the impressive figures, it is worth noting that this amount is only 30% of the total funds raised in the entire preceding year. The year 2023 has proven to be a challenging period for game studios both within and outside the crypto sphere. Across the gaming industry as a whole, GamesIndustry.biz reported that over 6,100 jobs were eliminated in the past year. Well-established firms like Epic Games, Telltale Games, and Team17 have all had to lay off staff in the past month.
Notably, even gaming-focused crypto companies such as Star Atlas studio ATMTA and Otherside developer Yuga Labs have also undergone staff reductions in 2023. DappRadar’s report highlights that a significant portion of the funding in the crypto gaming sector during the past quarter was directed toward investment firms with a focus on gaming. This indicates that venture capitalists and their various accelerators and funds remain key sources of startup capital for emerging blockchain game studios. Between July and September of this year, $262 million was allocated to investment firms in the crypto gaming space.
Meanwhile, $213 million went directly invested in crypto gaming and metaverse projects. The report also notes an additional $125 million was channeled into blockchain gaming infrastructure. Axie Infinity, which experienced a surge in popularity in 2021 with approximately half a million unique active wallets before encountering a $622 million hack in early 2022, led the way in terms of NFT transaction volume during the past quarter. According to DappRadar, Axie Infinity saw a total volume of $90 million in transactions over the three months. The NFT trading card game Gods Unchained secured the second spot, accumulating $55 million in transaction volume in Q3.
Axie Infinity leads the way as the gaming ecosystem continues to grow
Axie Infinity’s continued dominance in the blockchain gaming sector can be partly attributed to the fact that many highly-anticipated NFT games are still in development and have not been fully released. Games like Parallel, Shrapnel, Deadrop, and MapleStory Universe are eagerly awaited but not yet available to the public. However, the team behind Axie Infinity, known as Sky Mavis, has also been proactive in keeping the game’s community engaged. Despite experiencing a rollercoaster ride of hype, followed by a significant economic downturn in early 2022, Axie Infinity remains popular.
Jeffrey Zirlin, co-founder of Sky Mavis, emphasized the vibrancy of Axie’s esports scene. Zirlin revealed that Sky Mavis rewards players with 112,000 AXS tokens (equivalent to roughly $472,000) every season, which lasts about six weeks. The game also continues to host weekly tournaments. While Zirlin acknowledges a “consolidation” in the Web3 guild space (comparable to esports team organizations in traditional gaming), he sees the bear market as an opportunity for evolution. Zirlin noted that the bear market makes things hard but it is needed for a great evolution.
He noted that projects will not be able to evolve if they are going through a good period at all times. Zirlin added that although projects will change in good periods too, the bear market is what triggers the best kind of changes in projects. Crypto gaming projects received substantial venture capital, with investment firms and game projects benefitting from this support. Axie Infinity continues to lead the way in the sector, and the resilience of the blockchain gaming community is evident in its ability to adapt and thrive in the ever-changing crypto landscape.
