Gaming remains one of the main factors driving blockchain adoption. However, there is a problem. According to data provided by Big Blockchain Game List, over 30% of games based on this technology announced in 2023 have been withdrawn or canceled altogether. So Web3 games won't prove to be a breakthrough?
Web3 games and a serious problem
Let's look not at percentages, but at numbers. Of the 1,318 blockchain-based Web3 games that have ever been included on the Big Blockchain Game List since the initiative's launch in 2021, 407 are currently classified as withdrawn or canceled.
But why do these gaming projects fail? The most frequently cited reasons are financing challenges and general market conditions resulting from the cryptocurrency bear market.
In the second half of 2023, 17% of 162 withdrawn games were marked as multi-chain, reflecting the growing trend of games integrating two or more blockchains.
How do games based on single blockchains fare? The most such bankrupt productions were recorded in the BNB networks (11%), Polygon (10%), Ethereum, Sui and Solana (6% each).
New blockchain-based games
In the fourth quarter of 2023, 65 new games based on blockchain technology appeared on the list. Of these, 11% are based on at least 2 chains. In terms of games deployed on a single blockchain, the most significant growth was seen in Arbitrum (9%), followed by Optimism, Immutable and Ethereum (8% each), as well as StarkNet and Avalanche (6% each).
In a survey conducted by the Blockchain Game Alliance among 526 participants from Web3 gaming companies, as many as 19.8% of respondents expressed the belief that the entry of traditional game studios into the world of blockchain will have a positive impact on the industry this year.
How to evaluate the above, despite all negative data? Yat Siu, executive chairman of Animoca Brands, believes that the industry's “year of cleansing” is behind us. In other words, weak projects failed, but the more interesting ones survived.
