Web3 Games on the Rise; $297 Million Investment Pours Into Gaming

• $297 million in investment funding went to Web3 games in July 2023.
• The blockchain gaming sector accounted for 41% of the industry’s engagement.
• Google Play updated its policy to “open new ways to transact blockchain-based digital content within apps and games.”

The crypto gaming sector received $297 million in investment funding in July 2023, a significant increase from the $68 million invested in June. NFT sales, however, have sharply declined.

The blockchain gaming sector currently accounts for 712,611 daily unique active wallets (dUAW), which is a metric that measures the number of singular crypto wallet addresses that interact with a dApp’s smart contract. A study by DappRadar and the Blockchain Game Alliance found that this number of dUAW accounted for 41% of the industry’s engagement.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) targeting both Binance and Coinbase, which created industry uncertainty, may have contributed to the low numbers in June, the report claims.

More than half of July’s investment was for infrastructure development, which accounted for 63% of the total investment of $187 million. Investors reportedly staked their money on platforms that will enable future crypto and NFT-driven games. The remaining 37% were combined investments in games and metaverse ventures, reaching $110 million.

August 2022 was a high-achieving month for Web3 games as well, with $748 million in investment raised. 38% of funding went into physical plants, 33% toward entertainment in the form of games and metaverse initiatives, and 27% toward financial backers.

Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based gaming giant and blockchain venture capital firm, invested $30 million into a crypto “super app” called Rally. A $66 million gaming venture capital fund was established by Valhalla Ventures, a venture capital firm that focuses on deep tech and gaming. Futureverse, a technological and cultural foundation, raised $54 million for crypto metaverse projects.

On July 12, Google updated its Google Play policy to enable new blockchain-based experiences. Their updated policy “opens new ways to transact blockchain-based digital content within apps and games on Google Play.” They shared their enthusiasm for creative in-app experiences by reimagining traditional games with user-owned content.

However, the policy stated that if any application sells or enables users to earn tokenized digital assets, developers must declare this clearly. Developers can’t “promote or glamorize any potential earnings from playing or trading activities.”