DappRadar, a trusted web3 aggregator, launched a report with insights into the web3 industry. The data aggregator covered the metaverse, NFT, and web3 gaming industry during the FTX collapse and shared some eye-opening news.
The trusted data source revealed that despite the failure of FTX, web3 games have successfully raised over $320 million in November alone. The very sight of this news rekindled the flame I had lost when I heard FTX had failed millions of its users.
FTX was at the heart of American Crypto. Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) had successfully coronated himself as the undisputed king of American Crypto.
The self-proclaimed vegan altruist made some monumental partnerships with mainstream companies that were perceivably healthy for the crypto industry.
One of which was very close to my heart, The Team SoloMid (TSM) collaboration. Although I despise Andy ‘Reginald’ Dinh, TSM was a team I fondly watched grow into a force to be reckoned with in the League of Legends Esports scene.
While I still miss the Dream Team with Doublelift and Bjergsen, I watched TSM closely win championship after championship. Unironically, one of my in-game aliases was ‘TSM Alpha.’
The FTX TSM collaboration excited me for the esports scene and web3 gaming in general. From chanting ‘TSM! TSM! TSM!’ to seeing another passion of mine [crypto] intertwining and meeting in the middle.
However, seeing that things didn’t turn out as they should have, including the unfortunate economic state of the world, the war, contagions, and finally, the FTX collapse, I felt like that was it for web3 gaming and the crypto space.
The FTX collapse was undeniably very heart-wrenching, not only for me but for a lot of people.
I had lost hope after TSM suspended its partnership with FTX, along with the crash of the crypto market, thinking that mainstream companies and crypto’s relationship might be tainted forever. Fortunately, I was wrong.
Web3 Games Are Here To Stay
According to the DappRadar report, web3 gaming activity accounted for almost half of all blockchain activity tracked by the data aggregator on over 50 networks.
Additionally, the report shared that over 800,000 Unique Active Wallets (UAW) interacted with games’ smart contracts in November.
Games like AlienWorlds and Spliterlands were some of the most played games in web3, registering over 400,000 daily UAW. The FTX Collapse, surprisingly, did not affect the web3 gaming industry.
According to DappRadar’s data, the web3 gaming industry retained its daily unique active wallets consistently throughout the year. Interestingly, there was very little difference in UAW numbers over the year.
The resilience of the web3 platforms centered around NFTs, Blockchain Gaming, and the metaverse could be seen in different parts of the world, especially in Japan.
According to studies, the Japanese NFT market projects a 53% growth this year, despite the crypto winter. Moreover, the Japanese NFT market spending value is expected to reach $8.8 billion by 2028 from the projected $1.36 billion in 2022.
Surprising, isn’t it?
While the Japanese population has typically been cautious of web3 technology, a significant part of the population has shown keen interest in NFTs and web3 games.
Considering the Japanese population is an aging population and crypto, primarily web3 gaming is very millennial-heavy, the country’s web3 gaming and NFT industry is thriving with new and old prospects.
Sony, Atari, and Square Enix, who are leaders in the gaming sphere, are actively working on integrating web3 technology into their offerings.
Despite the rising interest from the population, Japan’s government also serves a significant role in the industry's success with its crypto-friendly laws and eagerness to integrate the technology into its government’s digital infrastructure.
Web3 games are undoubtedly the most booming sector in the crypto space, and the data shows.
With the crypto market taking hits from the likes of Binance, FTX, 3AC, and Terra Luna, sending prices back to the stone age, crypto games are at the forefront of the space, making important partnerships and preparing themselves for the next wave of gamers.
If you’re looking to try out some games, here are three I think you will enjoy:
Ev.io
If you grew up playing the Halo series, prepare to take a nostalgic trip with Ev.io. Ev.io is a Solana-based Play to Earn (P2E) browser FPS game that has been making strides in the web 3.0 gaming sphere since its release.
The game comes with all the FPS essentials, hosting both free-to-play and NFT-exclusive game modes, including Team Deathmatch, Solo Deathmatch, Sniper Shotgun, and Survival.
In addition, players can equip certain NFTs to gain exclusive perks such as access to locked content, quests, challenges, earning opportunities, and more.
Besides the native game modes, players can create their own mini-games, participate in public lobbies, and earn loot while they’re at it.
Ev.io has undoubtedly been one of the most successful prospects in the web 3.0 gaming domain, bagging nominations for ‘Best Esports Game,’ ‘Best Multiplayer Game,’ and ‘Best Shooter Game,’ in Polkastarter’s upcoming web 3.0 game awards show.
2022 has been an eventful year for the shooter game in terms of partnerships, developments, and events. Heading into 2023, Ev.io expects to bring many new things to the table, including the highly anticipated LAND Sale and NFT leveling mechanism.
MetaBlaze
If you’re someone who loves following a story and is an avid Star Wars enthusiast, then MetaBlaze is something that might catch your eye. Based in Galaxia Blue, MetaBlaze’s metaverse is an infinitely growing metaverse ecosystem filled with NFTs and Games.
MetaBlaze continues to tell its interesting story by putting its users at the center of the story, games, lore, and content.
By crafting immersive experiences through science fiction, fantasy, role-playing, strategy, and action, MetaBlaze encapsulates its players in a new space reality where they can play new games, grow their NFTs, mine and craft materials, and give tax. Yes, Tax.
What’s interesting about MetaBlaze is how it mimics reality. While it has yet to release its upcoming role-playing game, the metaverse has already immersed users into a reality where they are the center of the story, growing the ecosystem with Tax, making a living by mining, and socially integrating with other players.
PlanetQuest
If you’re a fan of No Man’s Sky (NMS), then PlanetQuest is something that might interest you. PlanetQuest is an infinite intergalactic adventure survival game based on the Genesis Engine.
Genesis Engine is the game’s in-house game engine that leverages procedural generation, the same algorithmic method used in No Man’s Sky to create 18 quintillion planets, to render entire planet NFTs in users’ web browsers.
Players can explore new planets in the top-down MOBA 3d shooter game with their friends, beat challenges on new worlds, and discover new locations, lifeforms, and rare artifacts, similar to NMS.
PlanetQuest is an interesting concept that is expected to make its debut in early 2023. While NMS was a marketing failure at launch; however, the game has quickly become one of the best games I’ve played to date.
The developers fought nails and teeth to keep developing and introducing game modes, quests, and challenges. It’ll be interesting to see a web3 alternative that takes advantage of digital ownership.
I can only imagine the utility it can provide players to keep playing for hours, exploring uncharted territories, and putting them up for sale on a marketplace.
Conclusion
Games are taking over web3. The recent chaos administered by questionable practices from major web3 institutions has undoubtedly brought in a lot of fear from a majority of the population.
However, gamers are still confident in web3 gaming to persevere through these hard times and continue to develop. While tech companies like Facebook, Meta, and Twitter have been on a firing spree, web3 games have been actively hiring.