DappRadar has released a comprehensive report for Q1 2022 performance of the blockchain industry. The conflict in Ukraine and the poor performance of the crypto market hampered the steady expansion of games at the start of this year. Even so, if we put it in perspective, the growth rate in 2021 for blockchain gaming was an eye-watering 2,000%. Venture capitalists and other investors continue to pour money into blockchain-based games and metaverses.
Overall, gaming dapps gobbled up 52% of blockchain space during the period under review. During the first quarter, the Polygon sidechain attracted an average of 114,000 daily UAW, with a peak of 173,000 in March. From the end of December, Polygon’s gaming activity increased by 219%, thanks to titles like Crazy Defense Heroes.
Game dapps’ utilization on the Binance network has been erratic, to put it politely. The third-largest blockchain gaming network is BNB Chain. A year after Ronin’s first launch, the company is still facing significant difficulties. In the first quarter, it had 33% fewer daily UAW than in December, at 165,000.
Gaming has seen a spike in activity, even as the rest of the blockchain ecosystem slows down. The $4 billion raised in 2021 is set to be dwarfed by the amount of money invested in blockchain games in Q1. VCs and investors poured at least $2.5 billion into this industry in the first three months of 2022. This year, $10 billion will be added to the economy through play-to-earn and metaverse-related projects.
A few days back, hackers exploited a vulnerability in Ronin bridge and stole $600 million worth of assets. This put Axie Infinity in a tight spot. However, the game remains just as popular, with over 1.5 million DAUs, putting it among the top 10 most played games on Facebook. Furthermore, its on-chain activity peaked in January.
The Sky Mavis team was dealt a serious hit by the Ronin bridge vulnerability. As a result of the attack, Binance raised $150 million in new capital. Also, Axie has since launched a $1 million bug bounty program o reinforce its core security system.
More than 366,000 UAW gamers a day were playing Splinterlands and Hive’s trading card game in March. Two of this year’s best-selling iPhone games are Crazy Defense Heroes (CDH) and Pegaxy. Mobox’s blockchain activity is up 10% from the previous quarter.
Other game dapps like as Avalanche’s Crabada or IMX-owned Gods Unchained may fight the incumbent for the game’s blockchain activity lion’s share.
Between 2021 and 2022, virtual world trading volume decreased by 12%. The average price of land has plummeted by 40% in Decentraland and The Sandbox. For $2.4 million, Metaverse Group purchased Boson Protocol’s Fashion District on the platform’s Fashion District.
A blockchain-based metaverse is on the verge of becoming a reality. Notably, several major corporations are already attempting to build their brands in the metaverse, such as Microsoft, Google, Disney, Sony, and others. Only The Sandbox ($113M) produced more trades than NFT Worlds ($95M).
Although the market for Web3 games has slowed, game dapps continue to drive the majority of on-chain activity in the sector. Blockchain games will be the cornerstone of a decentralized and interoperable metaverse. According to Morgan Stanley, the metaverse is potentially an 8 trillion economy, underlining its immense growth prospects.
This post was last modified on Apr 20, 2022, 17:45 BST 17:45