January 2025 Blockchain Game Research Report

Author: Stella L ( stella@footprint.network)

*Data Source: * Footprint Analytics Blockchain Game Research Page

Despite the overall strength of the crypto market, the gaming sector's market capitalization has decreased by 19.3% to $22.3 billion. This month's market focus has been primarily on social platforms, with TON receiving exclusive authorization for Telegram's blockchain infrastructure, while LINE launched the Mini Dapps ecosystem through Kaia.

Macroeconomic Market Review

Bitcoin rose from $94,577 to $102,180, an increase of 8.0%. In contrast, Ethereum showed weakness, dropping from $3,353 to $3,292, a decline of 1.8%, with the ETH/BTC ratio hitting a new low since September 2024. Data Source: Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Trends

Several significant policy developments have notably influenced the trends in the crypto market. The cryptocurrency regulatory executive order issued by the Trump administration provided unprecedented clarity for the industry, particularly emphasizing the protection of self-custody rights and supporting the development of stablecoins. However, comments made by Trump at the end of the month regarding international trade tariffs raised concerns about global economic growth, leading to a cooling of market sentiment.

The launch of $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens by the Trump family on Solana triggered significant volatility in the Memecoin sector. This wave of speculation notably diverted market attention and funds away from other crypto sectors, including blockchain gaming.

DeepSeek's groundbreaking advancements in artificial intelligence have also impacted market dynamics. This progress has accelerated the focus on decentralized AI infrastructure within the crypto ecosystem, leading to an increase in AI-related tokens this month.

Overview of the Blockchain Gaming Market

In January, despite the overall strength of the crypto market, the Web3 gaming sector faced resistance. The market capitalization of blockchain gaming tokens fell from $27.6 billion to $22.3 billion, a decrease of 19.3%. Data Source: Blockchain Gaming Token Market Capitalization and Bitcoin Market Capitalization

On-chain activity metrics also showed weakness, with monthly transaction counts decreasing by 7.2% to 550 million, and transaction volume dropping by 12.4% to $230 million. Data Source: Daily Transaction Counts in Blockchain Gaming

On January 21, the TON Foundation announced it had received exclusive authorization for Telegram's blockchain infrastructure, marking a significant turning point for the ecosystem. This exclusive collaboration requires all Telegram-based applications to migrate to TON within 30 days, putting pressure on projects built on other chains. Although the TON Foundation will provide incentives for early adopters who complete the blockchain migration before February 21, it has indeed posed substantial technical and community challenges for the affected gaming projects.

The day after this announcement, LINE launched Mini Dapps and Dapp Portal through LINE NEXT, reflecting the emerging competitive landscape in the social platform gaming sector. The Kaia Wave plan will initially launch 32 Mini Dapps, showcasing a more controlled, ecosystem-oriented approach compared to Telegram's relatively open development environment.

These platform-level changes, combined with the decline in market indicators, suggest that the Web3 gaming sector is entering a consolidation phase, where platform integration and user experience may take precedence over token economics. The approaches of Telegram and LINE could significantly influence how blockchain gaming projects handle user acquisition and retention strategies in 2025.

Overview of Blockchain Gaming Public Chains

In January 2025, the number of active blockchain games reached 1,697, a slight increase of 1.4% from December. Traditional market leaders maintained their positions in game distribution: BNB Chain (24.2%), Polygon (15.6%), and Ethereum (13.1%). However, the stability of this game distribution stands in stark contrast to the significant changes in on-chain activity.

Transaction activity showed a clear concentration trend, with three chains dominating. WAX led with 180 million transactions, accounting for 32.4% of all gaming activity. opBNB followed in second place with 87.2 million transactions (15.9% share), while Aptos recorded 37.5 million transactions (6.8% share). Together, these three chains accounted for over 55% of all gaming transaction counts in January. Data Source: Daily Transaction Counts by Public Chain

In terms of transaction volume, Aptos topped the list with $51.9 million in transaction value (22.1% share), followed closely by Ronin with $49.5 million (21.1% share). Immutable X ranked third with $19 million in transaction value (8.1% share). Data Source: Daily Transaction Amounts by Public Chain

Competition among chains for developers has intensified, with aggressive incentive programs being launched. The Sonic SVM and Galaxy Interactive's multimillion-dollar funds target the intersection of Web3 gaming and AI, reflecting the market's growing interest in AI-enhanced gaming experiences. Meanwhile, Ronin Network's $10 million grant program extends beyond gaming to consumer applications and DeFi protocols, aiming to build a more comprehensive ecosystem.

Blockchain Gaming Investment and Financing Situation

In January 2025, investment activity in Web3 gaming continued its downward trend, with 6 financing events raising a total of $31.2 million. The decrease in financing activity reflects broader market dynamics. The surge in speculative activity has significantly diverted market attention and funds away from other crypto sectors, including blockchain gaming. January 2025 Blockchain Gaming Investment and Financing Events (Source: crypto-fundraising.info)

Pixion Games led the financing activity this month, raising $4 million in a strategic round led by Delphi Ventures, with participation from Spartan Capital, Sky Mavis, and Animoca Brands. The studio's flagship game, Fableborne, combines ARPG mechanics with strategic base-building elements. The game's success on Ronin is particularly noteworthy. Other notable gaming financing events include Drift Zone, BeraTone, and Nakamoto Games.

Infrastructure development remains a key focus for investors, with two significant financings: ZKcandy raised $4 million for its ZKsync-based game-specific Layer 2 chain after successfully completing the open testnet phase. Additionally, Hyve Labs raised $2.75 million for the development of its core infrastructure, including launching testnet chains, its first game, and other on-chain assets.

The data in this report is sourced from Footprint Analytics' Games Research* page, which is a real-time data dashboard providing comprehensive and reliable Web3 gaming statistics. If you find any chains or games that are not included and wish to have them added to the dataset, * please contact us. You can also submit contracts through this link*. *

The content of this article is for industry research and communication purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice. The market carries risks, and investment should be approached with caution.