Blockchain Game Market January Report: Indicators Decline, Platform Competition Intensifies

In January 2025, despite the overall strength of the cryptocurrency market, the blockchain gaming sector performed poorly. The market capitalization of gaming tokens decreased by 19.3% to $22.3 billion, reflecting the challenges faced by the industry. This month's market focus was primarily on the social platform sector, with new ecosystem and infrastructure authorizations attracting widespread attention in the industry.

Macro Market Overview

The price of Bitcoin rose from $94,577 to $102,180, an increase of 8.0%. In contrast, Ethereum performed poorly, falling from $3,353 to $3,292, a decline of 1.8%, with the ETH/BTC ratio hitting a new low since September 2024.

Several important policy developments have had a significant impact on the trends in the cryptocurrency market. The newly introduced regulatory executive order for cryptocurrencies provides clear guidance for the industry, particularly emphasizing the protection of self-custody rights and supporting the development of stablecoins. However, remarks at the end of the month regarding international trade tariffs have raised concerns about global economic growth, leading to a cooling of market sentiment.

The new token launched on Solana has caused significant fluctuations in the Memecoin sector, diverting market attention and funds from other cryptocurrency sectors, including the Blockchain gaming field.

Breakthrough advancements in the field of artificial intelligence have also impacted market dynamics. This progress has accelerated the focus on decentralized AI infrastructure within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, leading to an increase in AI-related tokens this month.

Blockchain Game Market Overview

In January, the Web3 gaming sector faced resistance. The market capitalization of blockchain gaming tokens dropped from $27.6 billion to $22.3 billion, a decrease of 19.3%. On-chain activity metrics also showed weakness, with monthly transaction counts decreasing by 7.2% to 550 million transactions, and trading volume falling by 12.4% to $230 million.

A certain foundation announced on January 21 that it has obtained exclusive authorization for blockchain infrastructure from a certain instant messaging platform, marking an important turning point for the ecosystem. This exclusive collaboration requires all applications based on the platform to migrate to the designated network within 30 days, putting pressure on projects built on other chains.

The next day, another social platform launched Mini Dapps and the Dapp Portal, reflecting the emerging competitive landscape in the gaming sector of social platforms. The first batch plans to launch 32 Mini Dapps, showcasing a more controllable, ecosystem-oriented approach.

These platform-level changes, coupled with the decline in market indicators, suggest that the Web3 gaming sector is entering a consolidation phase, where platform integration and user experience may take precedence over token economics. Different strategies from social platforms could significantly impact how blockchain gaming projects address user acquisition and retention strategies in 2025.

Blockchain Game Public Chain Analysis

In January 2025, the number of active Blockchain games was 1,697, a slight increase of 1.4% compared to December. BNB Chain ( 24.2% ), Polygon ( 15.6% ), and Ethereum ( 13.1% ) maintained their leading positions in game distribution.

The trading activity shows a clear concentration trend, with three chains dominating. WAX leads with 180 million transactions, accounting for 32.4% of all gaming activity. opBNB ranks second with 87.2 million transactions, holding a 15.9% share (, while Aptos recorded 37.5 million transactions, with a 16.8% share ). These three chains together accounted for over 55% of all gaming transactions in January.

In terms of trading volume, Aptos ranks first with a transaction amount of $51.9 million, accounting for a 22.1% share, followed closely by Ronin with a transaction amount of $49.5 million, accounting for a 21.1% share. Immutable X ranks third with a transaction amount of $19 million, accounting for an 18.1% share.

The competition among various chains for developers is intensifying, with aggressive incentive programs being launched. Multiple funds are targeting the intersection of Web3 gaming and AI, reflecting the growing market interest in AI-enhanced gaming experiences. Meanwhile, a certain network's $10 million grant program extends beyond the gaming sector to consumer applications and DeFi protocols, aiming to create a more comprehensive ecosystem.

Blockchain Game Investment and Financing Situation

In January 2025, Web3 gaming investment activities continued the downward trend, with 6 financing events raising a total of $31.2 million. The decrease in financing activities reflects broader market dynamics. The surge in speculative activities has significantly diverted market attention and funds from other crypto sectors, including the Blockchain gaming space.

Pixion Games leads this month's financing activity, raising $4 million in a strategic round of financing led by a venture capital firm, with participation from several well-known investment institutions. The studio's flagship game Fableborne combines ARPG mechanics with strategic base-building elements. Other notable game financing events include Drift Zone, BeraTone, and Nakamoto Games.

Infrastructure development remains a key focus for investors, with two significant financings: ZKcandy raised $4 million for its game-specific Layer 2 chain based on ZKsync. Additionally, Hyve Labs raised $2.75 million to develop its core infrastructure, such as launching the testnet chain, the first game, and other on-chain assets.