A new report published by Bitcoin Insider on the state of GameFi shows that investment in new p2e projects slowed in September. According to the data, new investments in GameFi projects dropped to $133 million from the $444 million recorded the previous month.
Despite this, the number of new p2e and GameFi projects hitting the market rose by around 1.3% in the same month. The report also found that Monthly Active Users (MAUs) in p2e games rose by 27%. Nearly half of these MAUs were new users as well.
State of GameFi: Key Stats for September
The Bitcoin Insider report revealed that September was a slow month for p2e gaming in some respects. But this is hardly surprising. Overall, the broader crypto market is facing major challenges right now, and this has largely affected investor appetite towards the gamefi space.
In fact, the report notes that The Fear and Greed Index has tilted sharply towards fear. This suggests that many potential investors are holding off on any new investments as they try to assess the market.
Nonetheless, even though the number of new gamefi projects coming to the market went up by 1.3%, this is the lowest growth ever reported. We also saw slowed activity in some of the leading gamefi blockchains in the world.
For instance, BNB, Wax, Polygon, and Ethereum, four of the largest p2e chains right now, each saw a major drop in new project launches. Only 12 new gamefi projects were launched on BNB. Polygon, Ethereum, and Wax all had less than 5 in September.
GameFi Volume in September Drops
The Bitcoin Insider report also noted that the total trade volume in Gamefi-related assets dropped by nearly 40% in a month. This represents the biggest drop in volume since the crypto market charted toward bear territory.
Despite this sudden fall in volume, the number of monthly active users, or MAUs, went up by 27%. Interestingly enough, nearly half of all MAUs in September were new p2e gamers. This was the largest increase in monthly active users in almost five months.
But it is also important to put this growth into perspective. The Bitcoin Insider report notes that the Polygon network accounted for the biggest increase in MAUs. In fact, 88% of all active users in September came from Arc8, a new p2e game on the Polygon chain.
Tops Games in September
Although Arc8 dominated MAU numbers in September, it is still not the most popular game yet. For now, Alien Worlds and Splinterlands ranked top for the second month in a row.
However, both of these games have not seen any major jumps in active players. The numbers appear relatively the same as they were a month ago.
BNB also ended the month with the highest activity, including the highest number of new p2e projects. This comes after a major hack on the network where nearly half a billion dollars was stolen.
There were, however, a few games that saw declines in September. Axie Infinity, for example, lost 11% of its volume last month despite launching the widely anticipated Origins reboot.
The game is, however, working on expanding gaming activity on Ronin. The p2e platform announced last week the launch of Raylights, a new land-based game that will expand utility for NFT-backed Axies.
1/ @AxieRaylights, our first land mini-game is live for all landholders!
🎮 | Play now: https://t.co/MWeQW543EX
This is a major step as we build Axie to be the premier Web3 Brand & IP, backed by a community of missionaries and infinite experiences. pic.twitter.com/4BojnqnAzU
— Axie Infinity🦇🔊 #AxieOrigins (@AxieInfinity) October 11, 2022
Raylights is the first major step in expanding gaming options in the Ronin network. Whether this will help improve user numbers in the longer term remains to be seen.
Investments and Financing in GameFi
Even as financing for p2e games dropped in September, some projects were still getting a lot of VC attention. For instance, Theorycraft, an independent gaming studio interested in web3, raised $50 million in September. This represents almost 50% of the total money raised in the month.
Revolving Games also managed to get a decent share of the September haul, including a major investment from Animoca Brands. It is also worth noting that several major traditional gaming companies are doubling down on web3 games.
While market conditions look a bit depressing right now, it is clear that the long-term vision for web3 gaming is much more robust. Our article here talks more about how big-name video game companies are stepping into web3.
What The Future Holds
2022 will no doubt go down as the year of the crypto winter. The markets haven’t responded well to the world’s growing economic and geopolitical problems. However, it is worth pointing out that Gamefi has performed much better in 2022 compared to traditional crypto assets.
In fact, at one point, Gamefi was the only subsector in crypto that was seeing any kind of growth. Although the numbers have slowed down recently, we still expect Gamefi to maintain its current upward trajectory in the near term.
Besides, the fact that we are getting new monthly active users suggests that interest in these nft games remains very high.
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