Web3 Games Continue to be a Driving Force for the Dapp Industry: DappRadar

DappRadar's Report states, Blockchain games and metaverse projects raised a cumulative $1.3 billion

First six months of the year 2022 have been full of surprises for the crypto community. In Q3 also nothing changed, in fact last three months were extremely volatile for the market. The effects of the same were observed on crypto projects in multiple ways, wherein blockchain games noted a significant preference from users and investors. DappRadar, the global app store for decentralized applications, and the Blockchain Game Alliance, have revealed in its latest gaming report that gaming activity is driving Web3 with close to half of all blockchain activity in Q3.

Blockchain games and metaverse projects raised a cumulative $1.3 billion in venture capital between July and September, according to DappRadar's latest BGA Games Report. While this figure was down 48% compared to the second quarter, it was nearly double the total amount raised in 2021.

According to the report, the Unique Active Wallets (UAW) observed a decline ranging from 2% to 42%, with only Solana registering growth. Despite being home to only 4.82% of gaming activity, Solana marked a 269% increase in UAW.

Regardless, the gaming industry in the crypto space is holding its ground, with 48% of all blockchain activity accounting for blockchain gaming. Metaverse, on the other hand, has registered its highest decline in 2022 in the last quarter.

The report shows that the trading volume of virtual world projects has decreased by 91.61% in the third quarter, with land sales falling by 37.54%. Except for the month of May, trading volume has always been under $200 million, gradually declining to approximately $6.6 million in Q3.

However, among the top six blockchains used for gaming projects, Solana (SOL) was the only one that recorded an increase compared to the previous quarter, gaining as much as 269%. Elsewhere, Finbold earlier reported on the metaverse projects that offer the highest return on investment (ROI), pinpointing metaverse game Axie Infinity (AXS), as well as two virtual environments where you can purchase metaverse land – The Sandbox (SAND) and Decentraland (MANA) – as the most profitable.

To acquire this data, DappRadar tracked blockchain activity across 50 networks, finding that, despite the decline in investments compared to Q2, they have, in fact, nearly doubled from last year's total. Additionally, the 'Blockchain Games Report' has discovered that blockchain gaming projects raised $156 million through investments and partnerships in September 2022 alone.

In conclusion, the report found that given the crypto gaming sector is still at an early stage, "a large number of games and studios are expected to see quick expansion and a subsequent decline in the near future. The many similarities between the origins of free-to-play and blockchain gaming, however, imply that early entrants in the sector need close observation, because of the potential market growth dynamics." In short, while the Web3 gaming industry is still at an early stage in its development, by the same token there is significant room for expansion. "Blockchain gaming's future is bright, and it is on track to become the frontrunner for Web3," the report concluded.

About DappRadar

Founded in 2018, DappRadar is the The World's Dapp Store: a global decentralized applications (dapps) store, which makes it easy for its base of more than one million users per month to track, analyze, and discover dapp activity via its online platform. The platform currently hosts more than 12,000 dapps from across 50 blockchains and offers a plethora of consumer-friendly tools, including comprehensive NFT valuation, portfolio management, and daily industry-leading, actionable insight.

As well as the starting point for dapp discovery DappRadar acts as a distribution channel for dapp developers that are looking to reach new consumers. With the DAO launched in late 2021 members of the community can vote on new proposals. The aim is to make DappRadar a decentralized organization where the community has as much say in decisions as the CEO.