Interpretation of Web3 Games in 2024: Development, Trends, and Market Dynamics
The number of players in the Web3 gaming industry has significantly decreased. Despite the bull market driving up asset prices, the industry is still in a cooling period.Author: Elsa
Translation: Baihua Blockchain
The Web3 gaming industry has undergone significant evolution since its inception. Initially driven by the "Play-to-Earn" (P2E) model, the industry is now shifting towards a more balanced "Play-and-Earn" approach, prioritizing the appeal of games alongside their earning potential. This transition addresses the sustainability issues of the pure P2E model, especially in developing countries where gaming guilds play a crucial role.
As we examine the development status of Web3 gaming in 2024, these foundational shifts lay the groundwork for analyzing current market trends, player behavior, and economic impacts…
1. Player Base Dynamics
Since 2023, the number of players in Web3 games has gradually declined. The player base has shrunk from 6.03 million in 2023 to approximately 1 million monthly active users currently.
January 2024 was the month with the highest player count in the first half of the year, with about 1.73 million players. Notably, compared to the peak of around 21 million players in November 2021, the current player count is one-twentieth of that time.
2. Player Classification and Activity
Current data shows that the vast majority of game addresses are inactive. Only 1,970 addresses are classified as active, while 1,450 are categorized as inactive investor addresses. Remarkably, only 14 addresses are identified as hardcore players across all Web3 games. This distribution paints a picture of a market with only a small number of core, highly engaged users.
3. Blockchain Distribution of Game Contracts
In terms of the number of active game smart contracts, Polygon leads with approximately 12,400 contracts. BNB Chain follows closely, but its contract count is only about one-tenth of Polygon's. Ethereum and Avalanche lag significantly behind, with only a few hundred game contracts on each blockchain. Factors contributing to this distribution include transaction costs, speed, and ecosystem support.
4. Token Standards in Games
Among all game contract addresses, ERC20 Tokens are the most common, with a quantity more than three times that of ERC721 Tokens. ERC1155 Tokens are the least common, with approximately 18.9 million instances.
5. Game Performance and User Engagement
Over the past six months, some games have performed exceptionally well, such as Matr1x, Cellula, and Yuliverse. They rank high in the number of active unique wallets, indicating very high user engagement.
6. Asset Minting in Games
CryptoMines leads in asset minting volume, with approximately 24.8 million NFTs, followed by Bomb Crypto and Flowerpatch.
The volume of new game assets minted fluctuates monthly, peaking in December 2023 with about 318,000 new assets.
Although the bull market at the beginning of 2024 drove asset prices up, on-chain data indicates that the gaming industry is still in a cooling period, with no significant real growth.
7. Game Activity Patterns
Analysis of game activity shows that participation is highest during the afternoon hours in the UTC time zone, with transaction frequencies exceeding 95 million. This time corresponds to morning in the U.S. and evening in Asia. Activity levels are lowest during the UTC night, dropping to about two-thirds of peak levels.
Weekly patterns indicate that Thursday is the most active day for on-chain transactions, averaging about 277 million, followed by Tuesday and Wednesday. Weekend activity is noticeably lower.
Note: Images in this article are sourced from bitsCrunch.
