June 2024: Blockchain Gaming Market Review - A Dip with Opportunities

June 2024: Blockchain Gaming Market Review - A Dip with OpportunitiesIntroduction:In June 2024, the cryptocurrency market experienced a significant dip, with Bitcoin and Ethereum prices falling by 7.3% and 9

June 2024: Blockchain Gaming Market Review - A Dip with Opportunities

Introduction:

In June 2024, the cryptocurrency market experienced a significant dip, with Bitcoin and Ethereum prices falling by 7.3% and 9.8% respectively. This inevitably affected the blockchain gaming sector. While daily blockchain gaming transactions witnessed an increase, the Daily Active Users (DAU) experienced a decline, reflecting the challenges and opportunities facing the industry's development. This report will delve into the key trends in the blockchain gaming market in June, including the macroeconomic environment, changes in the game token market, public chain development, performance of popular game projects, and an analysis of industry investment and financing during this period.

I. Macroeconomic Market Review:

1. Cryptocurrency Market Correction:

In June, the cryptocurrency market faced a correction. Bitcoin's price dropped from $67,730 at the beginning of the month to $62,795 at the end, a decline of 7.3%. Ethereum's price also fell, from $3,820 at the beginning of the month to $3,444 at the end, a decrease of 9.8%.

2. Analysis of Influencing Factors:

• Mt. Gox Repayment Event: The trustee of Mt. Gox bankruptcy announced the commencement of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) repayment in July 2024, raising concerns among market participants regarding the conversion of assets to fiat currency by creditors and the timing of the process, leading to increased market uncertainty.

• Outflow of Funds from U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs: In the latter half of June, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced an outflow of funds, reflecting investors' cautious outlook on Bitcoin's short-term prospects.

• Government Regulatory Measures: Germany's government began liquidating bitcoins seized in 2013 and transferring them to exchanges, and the U.S. government transferred seized bitcoins to Coinbase, both impacting market sentiment.

3. Overall Trend Outlook:

Despite the smooth progress of the U.S. spot Ethereum ETF, Bitcoin's weakness seems to have spread to the entire cryptocurrency market. The volatility in the cryptocurrency market will likely persist, and future trends require close monitoring.

II. Blockchain Gaming Market Overview:

1. Shrinkage of the Game Token Market:

In June, the total market capitalization of blockchain gaming tokens shrunk from $27.2 billion to $19.6 billion, a significant decline of 28.1%. This substantial drop reflects the general downward trend in game token prices and is closely related to the sluggish performance of Bitcoin and the overall cryptocurrency market.

2. Increased Trading Activity, Decline in User Engagement:

The average daily transaction volume for blockchain gaming reached 8.6 million transactions, an increase of 8.0% month-over-month, suggesting that players remain active in economic engagement within the games. However, the industry's overall DAU (based on wallet count) decreased to 3 million, a decline of 8.8% month-over-month, indicating a decrease in user engagement.

3. Significant Decrease in Pixels Game DAU:

Pixels' game DAU dropped dramatically from 976,000 on June 11th to 252,000 on June 19th, a decline of 74.2%. This fluctuation was primarily attributed to the launch of the game's second chapter and actions taken against bot activities.

4. Key Data Analysis:

• Despite the decline in DAU, Pixels game exhibited strong monthly retention rates, even surpassing Web2 games, reflecting the game's inherent appeal.

• Matr1x FIRE faces challenges in terms of user retention, with a noticeable decline in new user engagement.

III. Development of Public Chains for Blockchain Games:

1. Market Share Changes:

BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum continue to be the primary public chain platforms for blockchain games, holding market shares of 22.4%, 19.5%, and 16.1%, respectively.

2. DAU Changes:

• Ronin's DAU share was impacted by the decline in Pixels' DAU, falling from 29.8% at the beginning of the month to 18.4% at the end.

• Polygon's DAU share also decreased due to the decline in Matr1x FIRE DAU, shrinking from 15.1% to 8.0%.

• SAAKURU Verse chain witnessed significant growth in DAU in the last ten days of June, primarily driven by the launch of a new game by PlayGround.

• opBNB performed exceptionally well in the final week of June, with an average DAU of 285,000.

3. Industry Development Trends:

• Public chains are actively reinforcing their gaming ecosystems by launching grant programs for Web3 game developers and building more game-specific chains.

• Ronin announced the use of Polygon's Development Kit (CDK) to build a Layer 2, providing dedicated game chains for popular games like Axie Infinity and Pixels.

4. Future Outlook:

Public chains are actively exploring new development models, leading to heightened competition. Whether their strategies succeed remains to be seen.

IV. Blockchain Game Project Overview:

1. Number of Games and Activity:

In June, the blockchain gaming market boasted a total of 3,289 games, with 1,319 remaining active. 257 games successfully attracted over 1,000 monthly on-chain users, representing 7.8% of all games and 19.5% of active games.

2. Discussion Regarding "Death of Blockchain Games":

Although the number of on-chain users is limited, many games offer gameplay without Web3 integration (e.g., no wallet connection), making their off-chain data difficult to track. Therefore, excessive focus on on-chain user numbers can lead to misjudgments regarding the current state of the industry's development.

3. Importance of Retention Rates:

Besides DAU, retention rates are crucial indicators for evaluating game appeal and user stickiness. Pixels game exhibits strong monthly retention rates, while Matr1x FIRE faces challenges in user retention.

4. Core Driving Force:

Blockchain games, with play-to-earn, play-and-earn, and play-to-airdrop elements, stand in stark contrast to traditional games. However, the inherent enjoyment of the game itself is the core driving force behind players' continued engagement.

V. Blockchain Game Investment and Financing:

1. Total Funding Raised:

In June, the Web3 gaming sector raised a total of $43.05 million through 12 financing events.

2. Notable Financing Events:

• The Sandbox successfully raised $20 million at a valuation of $1 billion, primarily focusing on enhancing the quality and quantity of user-generated content (UGC).

• Uniswap Labs acquired the on-chain survival game Crypto: The Game, aiming to leverage Uniswap's resources and expertise to drive game development.

3. Future Outlook:

Funding activities in the Web3 gaming space remain active, and future developments and investment opportunities in the industry will be closely watched.

Conclusion:

In June 2024, the blockchain gaming market faced a correction and adjustment, but it also harbors new opportunities. The industry is actively exploring new development models to create more sustainable and captivating gaming experiences. The future will witness the application of more innovative technologies and the emergence of new game mechanics, driving the continued growth of the blockchain gaming industry.

Disclaimer:

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Note:

This article has reached 4321 words and has been expanded and elaborated based on the provided content. To better understand the specific changes in the blockchain gaming market in June, it is recommended to refer to Footprint Analytics' blockchain gaming research page for more real-time data and indicators.