The number of users of GameFi projects grew by more than 130% since last April. Against this background, the interest of large VCs in the Web3 gaming sector is increasing.
Between April 18, 2023, and April 17, 2024, the number of unique active wallets (UAW) that interacted with Web3 games rose from about 0.96 million to 2.22 million, according to data from DappRadar.
Footprint Analytics, another on-chain analytics service, reported that UAWs in the GameFi sector exceeded 2.6 million as of April 16. The total number of blockchain games grew from ~2,500 to 3,400 over the past year, but the number of active projects today is about 80.
The most popular blockchain networks among GameFi project developers include BNB Chain, Ronin, and Polygon.
The top five projects with the most UAWs in a day include:
- Alien Worlds — 156,400;
- Neopets Meta — 112,7000;
- Seg Finance — 81,000;
- Farmers World — 77,400;
- OasChoice — 76,800.
The sector’s active development doesn’t go unnoticed by large investment companies. Andreessen Horowitz attracted $7.2 billion in new venture funds, of which $600 million will be directed to the GameFi sector and the development of Web3 gaming projects. Andrew Chen, a16z General Partner, who oversees its Games Fund One, confirmed this information. He said the allocated funds will be used to create Games Fund Two.
The raised funds will be used in the a16z accelerator program, which was launched in early April. Under this program, 40 tech gaming startups focused on Web3, AI, VR/AR, and related areas can receive $750,000 each for development. The program will be held in Los Angeles, kicking off on July 29 and lasting 12 weeks. Applications can be submitted until May 19.
CP Media already wrote about active developments of the Web3 gaming segment in Q1 2024. Besides, the development of the GameFi sector was mentioned by many experts surveyed by CP Media as one of the main trends of 2024. This prediction is especially relevant given that analysts forecast the blockchain gaming market to grow to $615 billion by 2030.
