Which GameFi projects to follow in 2024
That year, approximately 3.4 billion gamers contributed $184 billion to the gaming industry revenue – as estimated in a Messari report. GameFi is something like the Free-to-Play of gaming finance; since it appears every 10 years a paradigm shift can be observed in the industry concerning growth.
Together with the developers of a post-apocalyptic game Undeads, we discuss the history of the GameFi segment, the industry state in 2024, and promising blockchain games.
The past and future of GameFi
Dapper LabsIn 2017 launched the game CryptoKitties on the Ethereum blockchain. The Application gained in popularity virtually overnight, and just two months later the traffic load split internet across a network Congestion.
Gods Unchained, The Sandbox, Alien Worlds, P2E game, Axie Infinity, M2E project, STEPN went for the “crypto kittens.”
The segment has been in an active development phase since 2020, when NFTs and DeFi started to become popular, reaching their peak in 2021 as GameFi tokens have seen a high rise. This led to apps being deployed on the much more powerful and cheaper Polygon (and BNB chain) blockchains, as well as new networks specifically for Web3 games.
However, by 2023 over three-quarters of GameFi projects have collapsed because most simply offer primitive gameplay with poor tokenomics. The number of active gamer addresses in 2023 was down by barely over half (-58%) (according to CoinGecko) compared to the prior 2021.
After “Сryptowinter”, this resulted in a change of the structure: by I quarter of 2024, its capitalization exceeded $31 billion.
They would all have been erased from the collective memory if versions of them had not emerged as some kind of a prototype for new line Web3 games having a clear storyline and addictiveness. These encompass Mines of Dalarnia, Pixels, Star Atlas, and Farmers World. A few, such as Undeads Illuvium and Shrapnel are in the early testing stages.
Growing pains
Among popular high-profile hacks in recent years, GameFi – people thought those assets were safe and secure but twice they have been well exploited. Back in March 2022, $625 million was stolen from the Axie Infinity game on its Ronin sidechain. This week, two years later, an anonymous actor minted and cashed out $210 million from Gala Games.
The behavior of fraudsters has resulted in Web3 projects quietly establishing their own security standards. PeckShield, Trail of Bits, and OpenZeppelin are companies that analyze the state types of transaction interactions as more game creators outsource analysis to third-party services.
“Developers must contact auditing companies. For example, Undead smart contracts are regularly checked by CertiK specialists. In addition, it is important to hire cybersecurity specialists and attract white hackers who will monitor abnormal loads and other indicators of hacking requests in real-time,” explains Undeads Games Marketing Director Ash Hodgetts.
There are greater ills than hacking in the segment Many GameFi projects were unprepared for the incoming wave of new players. This is why Gods Unchained users were unable to receive rewards in 2021 as the servers went offline.
Web3 games – The scalability and network stability problem was solved with L2 solutions The developers of Axie Infinity were among the first to use them when they went from Ethereum to Ronin sidechain.
More and more products are going to launch their apps on WAX
What to play in 2024
CoinGecko 2023 report: largest holders gaming IO farming/mining card/M2E games Total active address.
Strategies and shooters took the bottom esports simply because in early GameFi projects, too little attention was paid to graphics, plot as well as optimization.
Here’s what the marketing director of Undeds Games had to say when reached out about this:
“We are witnessing a turning point in GameFi. Studios create a large number of AAA games on the blockchain, developing game worlds and storylines, and investors allocate significant funds for graphics.“
Yet good games are not just about graphics, so projects like CryptoBlades and Alien Worlds suffer from a “crypto winter” in these current circumstances.
Game mechanics and story should give the user a sense of hook to an app.
“The application should hold the user’s attention with the help of game mechanics and the plot. In addition, it is important to maintain a balance between the economy and the gameplay, so as not to distract users from entertainment” – said Hodgetts.
They feature an article on five blockchain games that play well.
DEFI KINGDOMS
Defi Kingdoms is a role-playing game in the medieval fantasy world of Kings and Legends but with real DeFi mechanics on top of pixel graphics.
The use is a game where users upgrade their NFT characters by doing quests, and get resources. They earn JEWEL tokens that trade on the internal marketplace and provide liquidity to The Gardens pools.
The application was initially launched in 2021 on the Harmony blockchain. Avalanche, Klaytn, and DFK Chain were added to the platform at a later stage by P2E developers. The project was funded by Delphi Digital and Andreessen Horowitz.
As of press time, JEWEL had a market capitalization of $13.2 million
UNDEADS
UNDEADS is a post-apocalyptic action shooter with PvP and PvE. Complete quests, and look for supplies. Game-playing match-ups for which the best players come away with prize money in gold,
Undeads has already put the game up on Steam and registration for beta testing is open.
“We received support from Warner Brothers and ALT Animation. The feature of Undead is a huge game world in which humans and zombies conflict. The classic gameplay of the zombie apocalypse is complemented by soundtracks from Wabi Sabi Sound, as well as a large selection of weapons, items, and boxes” – comments Hodgetts.
The company is run by its CEO Leo Kahn, a former Paypal employee. Among these strangers are people from WhimsyGames! It also takes the racing shooter Undeads Rush and the Web3 game Viral to further enhance its ecosystem.
The Undeads Games token (UDS) has a market capitalization of $24,000,000 at the time of writing.
KING OF LEGENDS
King of Legends, a P2E mobile game with fantasy elements that reminds Heroes of Might and Magic but in real-time strategy. Players build up their kingdom by gathering resources and fighting adversaries.
In King of Legends (KOL) and Land of Heroes, players receive rewards in LOH tokens which can be staked.
The application was released on the BNB Chain in 2022. The project team will transfer it to its own blockchain platform, Kingchain in the future.
As of today, the capitalization of KOL is $5.5 million
KOMPLETE
Kompete is an Unreal Engine 5-powered cross-gen multiplayer ‘genre-mashup’ of battle royale and kart racing.
Available now on the Epic Games Store and Google Play. Top players get rewarded with rewards that can be sold on the Bazaar marketplace for KOMPETE tokens minted on Ethereum and Base.
At the time of writing this, KOMPETE accounted for 12.1 million in capitalization .
MAGIC CRAFT
Magic Craft (2021)An online multiplayer Web3 MOBA game on BNB Chain.
Matches are limited to a duration of five minutes, where players must kill enemies or complete goals. The MVP (most valuable player) title and Magic Craft tokens (MCRT) are awarded to the winner. For staking, buying characters, NFTs, and tournament tickets.
At the time of publication, MCRT has a market cap (share price) of $5.4m
Conclusion
The mix of game mechanics, NFTs, and cryptocurrencies makes a special blend at the intersection of entertainment and investment.
“GameFi originated in traditional games like CS:GO, but the economics and resale opportunities were severely limited by the digital distribution policy. With the transfer of games to the blockchain, there is a huge field for experiments with in-game earnings and trade between users”,
– notes CMO Undeads Games
He contends that the technical limitations, regulatory uncertainty, and crypto market volatility have been holding back the mass adoption of Web3 games. It is very important to solve these problems, which is key to GameFi for long-term and sustainable development.
