Web3 Gaming Industry Overview for November: Market Recovery and Future Trends
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Web3 Gaming Industry Overview for November: Market Recovery and Future Trends
Against the backdrop of declining trading volume, what factors have actually driven the increase in user numbers?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsWritten by: [email protected]
The gaming market is experiencing a resurgence, with the market value of game tokens increasing by 34% within a month—signaling strong momentum. While user numbers are rising, transaction counts have been declining for five consecutive months. This phenomenon raises questions: what factors are driving user growth despite decreasing transaction volumes? And how can we address this challenge to find a sustainable path forward for Web3 gaming?
Amid these market trends, the Ronin ecosystem has emerged as a key player, prompting speculation about whether Pixels could become the next Axie Infinity.
Key Highlights
Crypto Market Overview
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Bitcoin prices continued to rise, opening the month at $34,629 and closing with a 9.3% gain at $37,848.
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The Binance settlement was widely viewed positively, reducing systemic risk in the crypto industry and boosting investor confidence.
Web3 Gaming Market Overview
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In November, the total market cap of game tokens saw significant growth, rising from $49.2 billion on November 1 to $66.1 billion on November 30.
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Sustainability hinges on two key aspects: broad adoption and sustained user engagement.
Web3 Game Blockchain Overview
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Solana stood out with transaction volume, increasing its market share to 13.6%, far surpassing October’s 4.2%.
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Ronin performed exceptionally well in November, capturing 21% of the market's transaction volume.
Web3 Games Overview
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Some projects not only saw substantial price increases in November but also maintained price stability over the past three months—these include Imperium Empires, Gamee, Bulliverse, Chain Games, and DeFiLand.
Web3 Gaming Investment & Funding
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Despite market challenges, Animoca Brands remained one of the most active companies in investment and fundraising activities this month.
News of the Month
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Axie Infinity launched an NFT monetization solution and official merchandise store
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PancakeSwap launched its gaming marketplace
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TreasureDAO is building a dedicated gaming chain, planning to use MAGIC as its gas token
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Chromia confirmed mainnet launch scheduled for 2024
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Team Liquid established a strategic partnership with Illuvium
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Saudi Arabia’s NEOM plans to invest $50 million into Animoca Brands
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Metaverse IP company Poglin announced funding from Animoca Brands
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UAE-based leading game studio Farcana secured strategic investment from Animoca Brands
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Bazooka Tango, developer of collectible card game Shardbound, raised $5 million
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Web3 game project EthXY completed a $1.6 million pre-seed round
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Saga announced a $5 million seed extension round to accelerate growth
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Game studio behind Matr1x Fire raised $10 million
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GameFi platform Citadel closed a $3.3 million seed round led by 1kx
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3D generative AI platform Atlas raised $6 million in a seed round
Crypto Market Overview
In November, Bitcoin prices continued their upward trend, opening the month at $34,629 and closing with a 9.3% increase at $37,848. During the same period, Ethereum opened at $1,812 and steadily grew by 11.9%, ending the month at $2,028.
Data source: BTC Price & ETH Price
Financial markets reacted moderately to several potential risks. Anticipation surrounding the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF fueled bullish sentiment, while positive developments in the Middle East conflict eased concerns about broader regional instability. Similarly, the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) continued its downward trend, increasing optimism that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates and that the U.S. economy could achieve a "soft landing."
As part of a $4 billion settlement with U.S. authorities, Changpeng Zhao (CZ) stepped down as CEO of Binance on November 21. The settlement concluded wide-ranging investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and other regulatory agencies into alleged violations of anti-money laundering laws by Binance. Following the announcement, Bitcoin briefly dipped to $35,800 but recovered to the mid-$36,000 range by the next morning. The market generally viewed the resolution positively, seeing it as a reduction in systemic risk for the crypto industry and a boost to investor confidence.
Web3 Gaming Market Overview
In the Web3 gaming market, tokens play a crucial role as in-game currencies or governance tools. According to data from Footprint Analytics, the total market cap of game tokens rose significantly in November—from $49.2 billion on November 1 to $66.1 billion on November 30—reflecting notable progress in the Web3 gaming sector during the month.
Market Cap: Game Token vs BTC
At the same time, the number of active wallets increased by 18.7% in November, rising from 1.1 million on November 1 to 1.3 million on November 30—aligning with the rapid growth in game token market capitalization.
Active Users & Chg%
Despite rising active wallets and token prices, the overall number of transactions and transaction volume declined noticeably compared to the previous month. Monthly transaction counts even dropped from 51.525 billion in October to 40.047 billion in November.
We can speculate that the current rise in token values and player numbers may stem from optimistic market sentiment and FOMO-driven short-term users rather than long-term participants deeply invested in the ecosystem. While interest and initial engagement in Web3 gaming are growing, it remains unclear whether this translates into sustained user participation or investment.
This leads to a critical question: How can the Web3 gaming industry evolve from its current short-lived boom into a more sustainable model?
Web3 Broad Adoption
The answer lies in two key areas: broad adoption and sustained user engagement. To drive widespread adoption, industry leaders are integrating with popular social platforms. For example, Animoca Brands’ investment in TON—the blockchain behind Telegram—enables seamless integration between games and Telegram, while Twitter-hosted games like XPet showcase the potential of Web3 gaming within social networks.
Currently, a major advantage for attracting long-term users is the gradual entry of mainstream Web2 gaming into the Web3 space. The mature design frameworks of Web2 games help enhance the playability of Web3 titles. For instance, the developers of Axie Infinity have brought Japanese Web2 games into the Ronin ecosystem, while Immutable has partnered with Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovation Lab to co-develop a gaming platform.
Many are speculating and hoping that Web3 gaming will flourish in the next bull cycle.
Web3 Gaming Blockchain Overview
Monthly Games by Chain
In terms of the number of games, established blockchains such as BNB Chain, Ethereum, and Polygon continue to lead, hosting 964, 781, and 479 games respectively.
However, the landscape is evolving, with emerging blockchain technologies injecting new vitality and raising expectations for the future of online gaming. Notable newcomers include Korea’s Layer2 blockchain Kroma Network, Chromia—which plans to launch its mainnet in 2024—and TreasureDAO, which is actively building its own gaming-focused blockchain.
Monthly Txns Share
Over the past five months, the overall transaction volume in the gaming sector has been steadily declining. Specifically, transaction activity on the Wax blockchain has been particularly affected—for example, Alien Worlds saw a sharp drop in transaction counts, decreasing by as much as 89 million compared to October.
Although monthly transaction counts have declined over the past five months, Solana has stood out in terms of transaction market share, increasing to 13.6%—far exceeding its 4.2% share in October.
Ronin, meanwhile, delivered exceptional performance in November, accounting for 21% of the market’s transaction volume.
Monthly Volume Share
In terms of daily active users (DAU), Ronin surged from 15,964 at the beginning of November to 147,101 by month-end—an 821% increase—with total users reaching 153,000. This remarkable growth was primarily driven by the integration of the game Pixels onto the Ronin network.
Pixels is Live on Ronin Network
Pixels is an open-world farming and virtual experience that places strong emphasis on community and values Ronin’s large existing user base. In a recent statement, the Pixels team said: “At Pixels, community has always been our driving force. With Ronin attracting more Web3 users than any other blockchain, we look forward to building an even more vibrant and tightly connected community.”
Web3 Games Overview
In November, the blockchain gaming sector showed positive signs of development. The number of active games—defined as games where at least one wallet interacted with the contract—increased slightly to 2,708.
Volume & Chg%
Transaction volumes saw notable spikes on two dates in November—November 9 and November 27. The surge on November 9 was primarily driven by activity on ImmutableX (possibly due to official actions), while the increase on November 27 was led by Axie Infinity, which saw a 203.56% jump from the previous day.
Axie Infinity has been continuously expanding its ecosystem, launching an NFT monetization program and the Axie Merch Store on November 24.
By analyzing the overlap between top-performing tokens in November and games that performed best over the past three months, we identified several projects that not only saw strong price gains in November but also maintained price stability—including Imperium Empires, Gamee, Bulliverse, Chain Games, and DeFiLand.
November Top Tokens
Among these, Gamee—the most popular gaming platform on Telegram—achieved an impressive 1,241.71% growth this month. Chain Games stood out as both a monthly and annual top performer, with a year-on-year price increase of 277.6%, demonstrating its enduring appeal and strength in the cryptocurrency market.
Web3 Gaming Investment & Funding
In the current bear market environment, capital involvement in the Web3 gaming space remains cautious and highly selective.
Saudi Arabia’s NEOM and Animoca Brands announce strategic partnership and investment
Despite ongoing market challenges, Animoca Brands emerged as one of the most active players in investment and fundraising this month. The company successfully secured up to $50 million from Neom Company, a smart city initiative backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Additionally, Animoca Brands invested in the Web3 multimedia platform Poglin and provided strategic guidance to UAE-based gaming startup Farcana.
During this month’s investment wave, three gaming projects received funding. Bazooka Tango raised $5 million to develop its game Shardbound, EthXY successfully closed its pre-seed round, and the Matr1x Fire game studio secured $10 million for its NFT mobile shooter game. Citadel also raised $3.3 million in a seed round led by 1kx.
Beyond game-specific projects, supporting platforms continue to attract capital, reflecting growing institutional interest in gaming infrastructure and technology. Saga raised an additional $5 million in its seed extension round, while 3D generative AI platform Atlas secured $6 million for its virtual world-building initiative, and Artifact Lab raised $2 million in a pre-seed round.
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