In the edge of the digital era, the gaming world is not only a haven for fantasy and entertainment but has also become a bridge for human emotions and memories. "Cyberpunk 2077" — a game that intertwines the future and reality, witnesses a poignant story between a mother and her lost son. This mother, inheriting her son's aspirations, transcends the unfamiliarity of the unknown world, delving into the virtual abyss of the game. In this universe constructed by code, she unexpectedly discovers her son's "cyber incarnation" — a liberated soul no longer bound by the afflictions of the real world.
Her story begins with an unexpected incident at a 3D printing model shop. Initially just an ordinary shop owner, this mother, after her son's passing, decisively takes over his store. She not only learns the skills of model making but, more importantly, gradually understands and gets closer to her son's spiritual world. "Cyberpunk 2077" is not only a continuation of the emotional bond between her and her son but also becomes her window to communicate with this world.
The charm of the game lies in its ability to transcend the limitations of time and space, allowing lost loved ones to find new life in the virtual world. In this world constructed by code and creativity, every corner is filled with possibilities, and each interaction is a testament to the value of life. This is the true charm of the game — it is not just a tool to escape reality but also a bridge that connects minds and continues stories.
Just as the Web3 space is full of infinite possibilities, what sparks will fly when games meet the more creative Web3? This intersection not only heralds the fusion of technology and art but also symbolizes the combination of personal emotions and global connectivity. Let's explore the popularity of Web3 games globally and unveil the power and potential behind this trend using the following data.
Since 2018, the Web3 gaming sector has witnessed a capital storm, with a staggering total investment of $19 billion. This field reached its investment peak in 2021 but has gradually stabilized by 2023. Notably, in the first three quarters of 2023 alone, the total funding related to blockchain gaming has reached a remarkable $15 billion, with $800 million specifically allocated to Web3 game development. The United States, France, Canada, Singapore, and Hong Kong have emerged as the epicenters of this capital frenzy.
However, beneath this capital frenzy, the success and failure records of Web3 games are rather intricate. From 2018 to 2023, a total of 2,817 Web3 games were introduced, with 2,127 of them (accounting for 75.5%) failing to achieve success. Up to the present in 2023, only 223 new Web3 games have been launched, showing a significant decline compared to 640 in 2022 and 811 in 2021. According to CoinGecko's report, the average annual failure rate of Web3 games over these five years is a staggering 80.8%, highlighting the challenges these games face on blockchain platforms.
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that, following the success of CryptoKitties in 2017, 422 new games emerged in 2018, of which 307 met with failure. The report also indicates that the bear market in 2019-2020 significantly hindered the development of GameFi, resulting in a skyrocketing failure rate of 94.3% in 2019. In 2021, with the booming cryptocurrency market, the failure rate of Web3 games dropped to 45.9%. However, this trend did not persist into 2022, as the number of game failures reached a record-breaking 742, with a soaring failure rate of 107.1%. In 2023, even though the year-end has not arrived, 509 games have already declared failure, and the current failure rate stands at a stable 70.7%.
These data reveal the dual nature of the Web3 gaming sector: on one hand, the influx of substantial funds attests to its enormous potential; on the other hand, the high failure rate exposes its vulnerability. While the Play to Earn model in the Web3 space is attractive, achieving success among players still requires a high-quality gaming experience. Therefore, for players, finding immersive Web3 games remains a challenge. In this volatile market, the clash between billions of dollars in investment and a high failure rate demonstrates the complexity and challenges of the Web3 gaming sector.
Success Stories from TapTap and Steam, Worth Learning and Replicating for Web3 Game Developers
In the Web3 gaming space, while the trend of rapid development brings new hopes and choices for players, such accelerated growth also comes with information chaos and decision difficulties. This explosive growth of information is like placing players in a maze shrouded in mist, making it challenging for them to find those truly valuable gaming gems worth their time. In this vast digital ocean, the signals of high-quality games are drowned in endless noise, making the player's selection process exceptionally difficult.
To address this issue, drawing inspiration from the mature gaming platform models of the Web2 era has become particularly important. For example, mobile gaming platform TapTap and PC gaming platform Steam are exemplary models in the industry with mature systems and high user satisfaction.
TapTap, founded in 2016, is dedicated to creating a high-quality mobile game sharing community app. Its mission is to "help every player discover great games and help every great game find players who love it." TapTap rapidly rose in the game distribution market with its unique business model of "non-integration" and "no revenue sharing," becoming a gaming communication and sharing community in the eyes of the youth. In 2022, the platform had over 573 million active users, with an annual download volume of 801 million times, a YoY growth of 32.33%, and cumulative game reservations exceeding 118 million times.
TapTap International Version Product Page Image
Steam, a comprehensive gaming marketplace operated by Valve Corporation, provides a space for players to purchase, review, and engage in digital games. Its major strengths lie in offering authentic player reviews and the Steam Workshop, which enhances game replayability by allowing players to download or create their own game mods. In 2021, Steam reached 132 million monthly active players, 69 million daily active players, with a peak concurrent user count of 27.4 million. The total gameplay time on the platform amounted to 38 billion hours, marking a 21% increase from 2020.
Background Poster for Steam
The success of these two platforms demonstrates that prioritizing user experience is the key to attracting players. In recent years, several emerging game distribution platforms in the Web3 gaming space have been striving to provide better services and experiences for players. The following will provide a detailed introduction to these platforms, helping players navigate the world of potential and high-quality Web3 games. In this age of information overload, filtering high-quality games for players will become a new direction and a key to industrial development.
Overview of Web3 Game Aggregator Platforms: Empowering players to quickly capture quality projects from the opaque industry
1.Zealy: Web3 Task Platform Deeply Integrated with Discord
Zealy, formerly known as Crew3, is a Web3 task platform that focuses on the publication of digital assets, physical and virtual events, and tasks. What sets this platform apart is its integration with Discord, emphasizing social attributes and user engagement. Providing various activity templates such as daily check-ins, content creation, and invitation tasks, Zealy is dedicated to offering a clear classification and a point-ranking system. It filters out genuine users through a series of authenticity verification measures, including writing articles, screenshot proof, and invitations, to reduce the impact of automated participants.
2.Galxe: Platform Combining Web3 Traffic with Digital Identity
Galxe, originally named Project Galaxy, is currently a prominent Web3 traffic platform that provides opportunities for project issuers in NFTs and allows users to participate in community activities and discover new projects. Galxe achieves the analysis of on-chain data and user behavior labeling by building a digital identity credential, Galxe ID, and an on-chain token, OAT. This approach aims to provide customized services while generating a collection of credentials for third-party applications, such as token distribution.
3.Wemix: Globally Positioned Blockchain Game Platform with Multi-Chain Characteristics
Wemix is a global blockchain game platform developed by Wemade Tree. It not only provides a game DAPP platform but also includes a wallet and a digital asset marketplace. Wemix aims to build a blockchain game ecosystem with user "experience value" at its core, surpassing the limitations of traditional blockchain game projects focused solely on digital asset exchange. The platform's core competitiveness lies in its sustainability, benefiting from Wemade's 20 years of experience in the global gaming industry. Wemix addresses scalability and transaction cost issues by adopting a hybrid "multi-chain" infrastructure, striving to set new standards in the blockchain gaming field.
4.DeGame: A Multifunctional Platform Leading the Innovation of Web3 Games
Since its launch in 2021, DeGame has rapidly risen to become a crucial gathering place in the blockchain gaming world, representing a one-stop NFT/GameFi aggregation platform. Known for its diverse blockchain gaming information, the platform has currently cataloged over 2500 games and 550 tokens, covering 57 different blockchain networks. DeGame has not only successfully attracted the attention of over 200,000 users and more than 50 guilds but has also integrated the strengths of many platforms such as Galxe and Zealy in terms of features and services. It provides rich game data, news information, serves as an event release channel for project issuers, and offers users opportunities to receive airdrops.
DeGame New Product Page Overview
Top Communities: Aggregates communities of over 10,000 WEB3 gaming projects globally. Users can seamlessly navigate to a project's official website, endorsements, or official community with a single click. Gain comprehensive insights into GameFi projects and interact with project teams or community members intuitively.
Feeds: Serving as the gateway for information flow within the Web3 ecosystem, this feature centrally displays all news related to the Web3 industry. It supports both PGC (Professionally Generated Content) and UGC (User-Generated Content) modes, allowing curated content from approved high-quality creators, delivering valuable information to users.
Quest: A task deployment window that integrates fairness and incentives. Ordinary users, game developers, KOLs, and development teams can release customized tasks and set rewards, fostering interaction among Web3 users and increasing traffic and ecosystem value.
Leader Board: Provides real-time game data rankings, conducting periodic data analysis and rankings for global WEB3 games, KOLs, and gaming guilds. It also enables users to rate and evaluate games, achieving true decentralized game ratings.
Gaming: Real-time showcase of recent popular WEB3 games and notifications for new game launches. Users can download games with a single click, initiating a seamless gaming experience.
Event: Offers the most comprehensive entry point for Web3 game events, including online and offline activities. Users can freely choose to participate, and eligible players can also announce their own events.
Discover: Aggregates high-quality game videos from across the web. Video creators can upload their game videos, providing game guides, tutorials, and humorous videos to help users discover the content they need more conveniently.
The momentum of Web3 game development is expected to accelerate, with the industry calling for high-quality aggregator platforms.
DeGame, as an all-in-one NFT/GameFi aggregation platform, demonstrates its unique comprehensiveness and innovation in the Web3 gaming sector. Its extensive coverage of game genres spans multiple blockchain technologies and attracts a diverse user base and gaming guilds. This diversity and comprehensiveness set DeGame apart from other platforms.
By continuously upgrading and optimizing its features, DeGame showcases a profound understanding of industry trends and user needs. It is not just an information aggregation platform but a key force driving the development of the Web3 gaming sector.
Looking at current trends, DeGame exhibits significant potential and prospects. The upcoming new version and feature highlights suggest that the platform will continue to maintain its leading position in the industry and may become a crucial catalyst for the future development of the Web3 gaming sector.
Considering its comprehensiveness, innovation, and market adaptability, there is ample reason to be optimistic about DeGame's future development. This platform is not only an ideal choice for Web3 gaming enthusiasts but also a potentially significant force driving further innovation in the entire gaming industry.
