Research on the Blockchain Game Industry in November 2024: The Development Path of GameFi in the Context of a Bull Run

In November 2024, the Web3 gaming industry showed significant performance in market growth but still faces challenges in large-scale adoption strategies. With Bitcoin prices reaching an all-time high and approaching the $100,000 mark, the gaming sector's market value surged by 79.1% to $35.1 billion. Despite traditional indicators performing well, with daily active users reaching 5.5 million, the industry still has some issues with Blockchain integration and large-scale adoption.

Macroeconomic Market Overview

In November, the cryptocurrency market made history, with Bitcoin soaring from $69,386 to $96,427, an increase of 39.0%. Ethereum followed closely, rising 47.8% from $2,511 to $3,711. Bitcoin's outstanding performance enabled it to surpass the market capitalization of silver and Saudi Aramco, firmly securing the seventh position among global assets after nearing the $100,000 mark on November 23.

The results of the US election have become a catalyst for growth in the cryptocurrency market, possibly impacting comprehensive cryptocurrency legislation and regulatory oversight. The market has reacted positively, particularly reflected in the performance of popular sectors such as memecoins, decentralized artificial intelligence (deAI) projects, and decentralized science (DeSci).

The broader financial markets are also performing strongly. The financial sector is leading the stock market under expectations of U.S. tax reform and deregulation. However, there has been some volatility in international markets, with the renminbi under pressure due to concerns over potential increased tariffs from the U.S., while gold prices have fallen as election-related uncertainties have eased.

Blockchain Game Market Overview

In November, blockchain game tokens saw significant growth in the crypto market bull run, with market capitalization soaring from $19.6 billion to $35.1 billion. The average daily trading volume in this sector showed a similar trend, increasing by 79.4% to $11.9 million.

The daily active users reached a new high in November, with an average DAU of 5.5 million, representing a 15.7% increase compared to October. This growth is mainly attributed to the sustained user activity on opBNB and the solid performance of the Ronin ecosystem.

The trading indicators present complexity. Although the average daily trading volume reached 15.3 million transactions (a 3.3% increase compared to October), the average daily transactions per user fell from 3.131 to 2.810. The total monthly trading volume remains stable at 460.4 million transactions, and the data indicates a declining trend in the intensity of new users' usage of Blockchain features.

Some games' adoption of blockchain technology may represent a critical turning point for the industry. By positioning themselves as traditional games with optional blockchain elements rather than "NFT games," it reflects that large-scale adoption may require a more nuanced integration of blockchain technology. This strategy of "making blockchain features optional and invisible" helps to overcome many gamers' initial resistance to cryptocurrency and reduces friction, but it also raises fundamental questions about the role of blockchain in gaming.

The technical challenges faced by the entire chain of games remain significant. The existing Blockchain infrastructure struggles to meet the demands of real-time gameplay, competitive matching, and the high throughput required by modern games. Although Layer 2 solutions and dedicated gaming public chains are emerging, the gap between traditional gaming performance expectations and Blockchain capabilities continues to impact development strategies.

Despite the favorable conditions for growth provided by the current bull run, the Web3 gaming sector has yet to produce a defining breakthrough moment. The industry seems to be at a crossroads of maintaining its crypto-native appeal and achieving mass adoption. For gaming projects to succeed, they need to strike a good balance between these two aspects and ensure that the technological infrastructure keeps pace with the ambitions of the projects.

Blockchain Game Public Chain Overview

In November, the number of active games on the Blockchain network reached 1,696, an increase of 4.6% compared to October. In terms of game distribution, the market leaders remain BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum, with market shares of 20.9%, 15.4%, and 13.4%, respectively.

The growth momentum of opBNB continues, with a 46.1% increase in average DAU compared to October. This growth is mainly driven by its flagship games SERAPH: In The Darkness and MEET48, while the platform also benefits from projects migrating from the BNB chain.

Ronin has shown significant recovery, with DAU doubling from 600,000 to 1.2 million in November, thanks to new partnerships that brought in multiple game studios, the launch of the new game Fableborne, and the resurgence of player numbers in the existing game Lumiterra.

The TON gaming ecosystem is facing challenges, with DAU down 41.9% to 116,400, highlighting the on-chain retention challenges of games based on Telegram. However, there are always some exceptions in the industry. Sui's average DAU in November was 233,300, an increase of 23.1% from the previous month. The Telegram game BIRDS contributed most of the user base, with an average DAU of 224,900, and its weekly new user retention rate can be considered a model in the current Blockchain gaming industry.

The Web3 gaming industry continues to coexist with challenges and opportunities. More industry participants are getting involved in the blockchain gaming infrastructure, and more gaming public chains are emerging. As one of the largest Web3 gaming guilds, a certain organization has launched its Studio Chain, building its own gaming infrastructure.

At the same time, B3 launched the Open Gaming Layer, and Prime Chain is the first blockchain it introduced. Developed by Echelon Prime Foundation, Prime Chain will provide the infrastructure and development power for the ambitious sci-fi card game Parallel.

Blockchain Game Overview

As of the end of November, there are a total of 3,602 blockchain games in the industry, of which 1,361 are actively engaged. Among these games, 298 have attracted more than 1,000 monthly active users (MAU), accounting for 21.9% of active games.

Analyzing the game metrics on Telegram, we can see a significant gap between platform users and Blockchain participation. As of November 30, Hamster Kombat ranks second in monthly active users among Telegram games with 26.16 million MAU, but it has only 736 on-chain users. Even MemeFi, which achieves the highest conversion rate among the top 10 games, has an on-chain participation rate of just 7.96%, with 1.36 million TON users.

Despite facing these conversion challenges, the success of the Telegram gaming ecosystem is inspiring broader imitation by social media platforms. As an instant messaging platform dominated by Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia, Line has announced plans to launch 30 mini dApps by the end of January, with an expansion to 150 by the end of Q1 2025. These mini dApps will be built on the Kaia Blockchain, with gaming applications making up the largest portion, along with social and DeFi applications.

At the same time, the Solana-based project Sonic X has integrated over 1 million KYC-verified users through a certain short video platform. The success of this platform is attributed to its seamless onboarding process. Users can directly access the game through their short video platform accounts, while Solana wallets are automatically created in the background. This achievement demonstrates the potential of this short video platform as a gateway to Web3 gaming.

Blockchain Game Investment and Financing Situation

In November, Web3 games secured 18 funding rounds, totaling $73.6 million. Although the number of events increased by five compared to October, the total amount decreased by 22.3%. Additionally, eight events did not disclose specific funding amounts.

Monkey Tilt leads this month's financing with $30 million in Series A funding, led by an investment institution. The platform combines gaming, entertainment, and gambling features, achieving a monthly betting volume of $200 million since its launch in March. The platform includes social features such as in-game chat and user tipping, but remains unavailable in major markets like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia due to regulatory reasons. Despite facing regulatory challenges, the gambling sector continues to attract attention, with FanDuel, BRKT, and BoxBet also securing funding.

Other noteworthy financing news includes an investment firm adding an additional $10 million to its investment in Mocaverse, building on a previous investment of $31.88 million. This investment includes warrants to acquire MOCA Coin tokens at a fully diluted valuation of $1 billion, supporting Mocaverse's further development of interoperable infrastructure for mainstream cryptocurrency adoption.