Blockchain Gaming Continues Its Steady Start in 2023

The blockchain gaming industry is continuing to show signs of strength in 2023, according to a new report out on Tuesday.

The new report by DappRadar and the Blockchain Gaming Association (BGA) makes for positive reading. 

On-chain gaming activity rose 1.31% to 858,621 dUAW, making up 48% of January dapp activity. On-chain gaming activity refers to transactions within games that take place on smart contracts on a blockchain.

Gaming Tokens Have Been a Growth Area

Gaming tokens have been a promising growth area for the crypto ecosystem. The market caps of the top gaming tokens increased by 122% on average, with GALA leading at 218% and $384 million.

As of January 31, ApeCoin leads the pack with a market capitalization of $2,112,042,188 and a percentage increase of 51.99% from January 1. With a market capitalization of $1,254,095,738 and an increase of 86.64%, SAND follows closely behind.

ApeCoin has seen a surge in popularity due to the hype surrounding the Yuga Labs ecosystem. The launch of the Sewer Pass in January was another high point for the NFT giants. The Sewer Pass acts as the key to playing a skill-based game called Dookey Dash.

Yuga Lab’s recent collaboration with Timex, featuring Bored Ape Yacht Club and Mutant Ape Yacht Club non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has generated even more interest.

GALA recently acquired a mobile gaming studio with over 20 million active users and over 15 games. As a result, the Gala blockchain network has significantly expanded its reach. In addition, an artist on the Gala Music platform was nominated for a Grammy, which generated even more attention for the platform.

According to Cryptoslate, FLOKI is one of the year’s best-performing gaming tokens so far. The coin is up 239% over the past 30 days but still 88% down from its ATH. 

However, gaming tokens have not seen the same levels of hype as AI tokens, which saw eye-watering increases earlier this year.

Blockchain Gaming: Is It Maturing?

In January 2023, $156 million was raised across 10 investments in the blockchain gaming industry. The largest investment was made by Courtside Ventures, with a total of $100 million for its third early-stage venture capital fund.

In addition to Courtside Ventures, 64% of investments made in January 2023 were towards investment firms. With 11.5%, Metaverse Tech, also known as “metaverse-oriented companies,” follows closely behind. DappRadar’s report notes that investors in blockchain gaming are looking at longer-term value. This a promising sign as many observers have criticized the industry for poor UX.

You can read the full report here.