In November 2024, the Web3 gaming market experienced significant growth, reaching a market value of $35.1 billion and daily active users (DAU) of 5.5 million, but still faces challenges in blockchain integration and widespread adoption.
(Background: On-chain indicators have seen a comprehensive decline—who killed the potential of Telegram mini-games?)
(Additional context: October 2024 Chain Game Research Report: Will TG Games experience a resurgence? Ubisoft makes a strong entry!)
In November 2024, the Web3 gaming industry saw notable market growth, but large-scale adoption strategies are still evolving. With Bitcoin reaching a historic high and nearing the $100,000 milestone, the gaming sector saw its market value surge by 79.1% to $35.1 billion. Despite the strong performance of traditional indicators, with DAU reaching 5.5 million, the industry still faces issues with blockchain integration and widespread adoption.
**Macroeconomic Market Review**
The cryptocurrency market made history in November, with Bitcoin experiencing a remarkable increase, soaring from $69,386 to $96,427, a 39.0% rise. Ethereum followed closely, rising by 47.8%, from $2,511 to $3,711. Bitcoin’s exceptional performance pushed its market cap past silver and Saudi Aramco, firmly establishing it as the seventh-largest global asset after approaching the $100,000 mark on November 23.
The U.S. election results have become a catalyst for growth in the crypto market, potentially influencing comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation and regulatory oversight. The market has reacted positively, particularly in sectors such as memecoins, decentralized AI (deAI) projects, and decentralized science (DeSci).
The broader financial markets also showed strong performance. The financial sector led the stock market rise due to expectations of U.S. tax reforms and regulatory relaxations. However, international markets saw some volatility, with the Chinese yuan under pressure due to potential U.S. tariff increases, and gold prices dropping as election-related uncertainties diminished.
**Blockchain Gaming Market Overview**
In November, blockchain gaming tokens saw significant growth in the cryptocurrency bull market, with market value surging from $19.6 billion to $35.1 billion.
The sector’s daily trading volume showed a similar trend, increasing by 79.4% to $11.9 million.
DAU hit a new high in November, reaching an average of 5.5 million, a 15.7% increase from October. This growth was largely driven by sustained user activity on opBNB and the strong performance of the Ronin ecosystem.
Transaction indicators show complexity. Although the daily transaction volume reached 15.3 million transactions (a 3.3% increase from October), the average number of transactions per user dropped from 3.131 to 2.810. Monthly total transactions remained steady at 460.4 million, indicating a decline in the intensity of blockchain feature usage among new users.
Games like *Off The Grid* may represent a key turning point in the industry’s blockchain adoption. By positioning themselves as traditional games with optional blockchain elements, rather than “NFT games,” they reflect that large-scale adoption may require more subtle integration of blockchain technology. This “making blockchain optional and invisible” strategy helps overcome initial resistance to cryptocurrencies among many gamers, reducing friction but also raising fundamental questions about the role of blockchain in gaming.
The technical challenges faced by full-chain games remain significant. Existing blockchain infrastructures struggle to meet the real-time gameplay, competitive matchmaking, and high-throughput requirements of modern games. While Layer 2 solutions and dedicated gaming blockchains are emerging, the gap between traditional gaming performance expectations and blockchain capabilities continues to impact development strategies.
Despite the current bull market providing favorable conditions for growth, the Web3 gaming sector has yet to produce a defining breakthrough moment. The industry seems to be at a crossroads between maintaining the native appeal of crypto and achieving widespread adoption. Game projects need to balance these two aspects and ensure that the technical infrastructure keeps pace with their ambitions.
**Blockchain Gaming Public Chain Overview**
In November, the number of active games on blockchain networks reached 1,696, a 4.6% increase from October. In terms of game distribution, market leaders remain BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum, with shares of 20.9%, 15.4%, and 13.4%, respectively.
opBNB continued its growth momentum, with an average DAU increase of 46.1% compared to October. This growth was primarily driven by its flagship games, *SERAPH: In The Darkness* and *MEET48*, while the platform also benefited from projects migrating from BNB Chain.
Ronin showed significant recovery, with its DAU doubling from 600,000 to 1.2 million in November, thanks to new partnerships, the addition of multiple game studios, the launch of the new game *Fableborne*, and a rebound in player numbers for the existing game *Lumiterra*.
TON’s gaming ecosystem faced challenges, with DAU dropping by 41.9% to 116,400, highlighting on-chain retention challenges for Telegram-based games. However, there were exceptions in the industry. Sui saw its November average DAU rise by 23.1% to 233,300. Telegram game *BIRDS* contributed the majority of this user base, with an average DAU of 224,900 and an impressive weekly new user retention rate, considered a model for the blockchain gaming industry.
The Web3 gaming industry remains a space where challenges and opportunities coexist. More industry participants are engaging in blockchain gaming infrastructure, and more gaming public chains are emerging. Yield Guild Games (YGG), one of the largest Web3 gaming guilds, launched its Studio Chain, building its own gaming infrastructure.
Meanwhile, B3 introduced the Open Gaming Layer, with Prime Chain as its first blockchain. Developed by the Echelon Prime Foundation, Prime Chain will provide infrastructure and development support for the ambitious sci-fi card game *Parallel*.
**Blockchain Games Overview**
By the end of November, the industry had 3,602 blockchain games, with 1,361 remaining active. Of these, 298 games attracted over 1,000 monthly active users (MAU), accounting for 21.9% of active games.
Analyzing Telegram game indicators, a significant gap between platform users and blockchain engagement is evident. As of November 30, *Hamster Kombat* ranked second in monthly active users within Telegram games, with 26.16 million MAU, but only 736 on-chain users. Even for MemeFi, which achieved the highest conversion rate in the top 10 games, its on-chain user participation rate was only 7.96%, with 1.36 million TON users.
Despite these conversion challenges, the success of the Telegram gaming ecosystem is prompting broader imitation by social media platforms. Line, an instant messaging platform dominated by Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia, announced plans to launch 30 mini dApps by the end of January and expand the suite to 150 by the end of Q1 2025. These mini dApps will be built on the Kaia blockchain, with gaming applications making up the majority, alongside social and DeFi applications.
Meanwhile, Solana-based project Sonic X broke through 1 million KYC-verified users through TikTok integration. The platform’s success stems from its seamless onboarding process, where users can directly access the game via their TikTok accounts, with Solana wallets automatically set up in the background. This achievement demonstrates TikTok’s potential as an entry point for Web3 games.
**Blockchain Gaming Investment and Financing**
In November, Web3 gaming raised $73.6 million across 18 funding rounds, a 22.3% decrease from October, despite a five-round increase. Additionally, eight rounds did not disclose specific funding amounts.
*Monkey Tilt* led the month’s financing with a $30 million Series A round, led by Pantera Capital. The platform, combining gaming, entertainment, and betting features, achieved $200 million in monthly betting volume since its March launch.
The platform includes in-game chat and user tipping features but remains unavailable in major markets such as the U.S., U.K., and Australia due to regulatory challenges. Despite these regulatory hurdles, the betting sector continues to attract attention, with FanDuel, BRKT, and BoxBet also securing funding.
Other notable funding news includes Animoca Brands’ additional $10 million investment in Mocaverse, building on the previous $31.88 million investment. This investment includes warrants for MOCA Coin tokens at a $1 billion fully diluted valuation, supporting Mocaverse’s development of interoperable infrastructure for mainstream cryptocurrency adoption.
This report’s data comes from Footprint Analytics’ Games Research page, an up-to-date data dashboard providing comprehensive and reliable Web3 gaming statistics. If you notice any chains or games missing and wish to have them included, please contact us.
This report is for industry research and communication purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. The market carries risks; investment should be made cautiously.
