According to Newzoo’s 2021 Global Gaming Market Report, the number of global gamers grew by 5.3% from 2015 to 2021 compared to 2020, and now exceeds 3 billion. In the same year, total global gaming revenue grew 1.4% year-over-year to 2020 and currently stands at $18.03 billion, with mobile gaming revenue set to account for 52% of the total global market.
Gaming is an enormous, irreplaceable form of entertainment. And now, it’s also combined with the blockchain, bringing forth a new gaming model: GameFi.
During the first half of 2021, the idea of GameFi really took shape, defined as a combination of gaming + DeFi + NFTs. Axie Infinity was the first major game to demonstrate how decentralized finance and non-fungible digital assets could work with gameplay.
During the second half of 2021, GameFi overtook DeFi as the hottest sector in the crypto market. With Facebook’s name change to Meta, the metaverse became a widely-known term.
GameFi’s Transactions Ended theYear 2,934% Up
According to Footprint Analytics, GameFi began a period of explosive growth in March, which lasted until August, when transactions stabilized. GameFi’s transactions also went through two growth peaks during this period, on Apr. 9 and Dec. 27.
The two developments that drove these peaks were:
- WAX chain introduces the ability to create, buy, sell and trade digital goods all-in-one: The WAX chain, which attracts most users with improved throughput of supported games and cheaper gas fees than ETH, is a blockchain-focused on game props and digital collections.
- Hive is a very innovative decentralized blockchain ecosystem: In the second half of 2021, Hive—whose number of users consists primarily of the game Splinterlands—Add PvP(Player versus Player) combat mode and launch SplinterShards (SPS) game governance tokens in August, which increased trading volume in GameFi to $44.2 billion.
Hive, WAX, BSC, and Ether are the main battlegrounds for GameFi in 2021.
The Top 5 GameFi Games of 2021
The top 5 games in terms of trading volume, according to Footprint Analytics, were:
- DeFi Kingdoms: A play-to-earn game based on Harmony, with a variety of functions that allow users to earn while they play and have a great experience.
- Axie Infinity: With a unique economic model, providing liquidity based on rarity, it was the first game that started exploding and made GameFi popular.
- Bomb Crypto: A play-to-earn game where the player manages a group of bomb heroes to fight monsters and anyone can earn tokens by playing skillfully and contributing to the ecosystem.
- Elfin Kingdom: A decentralized financial farm and non-fungible token with gamification elements merged into a gaming platform to earn revenue. However, this game is still in its early days and has not yet had an IDO (Initial Digital Assets Offering).
- Nine Chronicles: A free-to-play RPG that uses its own blockchain and cryptocurrency.
GameFi Funding Peaks in Q4
As the crypto market for GameFi grows rapidly, major investment institutions continue to enter the blockchain world. According to Footprint Analytics, the fourth quarter was the peak of funding for GameFi.
Looking Ahead to GameFi 2.0
2021 saw NFTs and DeFi gain mainstream acceptance, while GameFi had its first explosion.
What will the next iteration of GameFi be in 2022? At Footprint Analytics, we believe GameFi 2.0 will:
- Include more social elements. Integrating the attributes of DAOs, games will let players have more say in the development of the games.
- Be more playable. While most current GameFi projects are focused on profit, the next innovation in GameFi will be to make games that are actually fun.
- Have a lower barrier of entry.
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Date & Author: Jan 13th 2022, [email protected]
Data Source: Footprint Analytics – 2021 GameFi Dashboard
This article is part of our Year in Review series.
What is Footprint Analytics
Footprint Analytics is an all-in-one analysis platform to visualize blockchain data and discover insights. It cleans and integrates on-chain data so users of any experience level can quickly start researching tokens, projects and protocols. With over a thousand dashboard templates plus a drag-and-drop interface, anyone can build their own customized charts in minutes. Uncover blockchain data and invest smarter with Footprint.
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