November 2024 Blockchain Game Market Analysis: GameFi Development Trends in the Context of a Bull Run

In November 2024, the Web3 gaming industry showed significant growth driven by the overall rise in the cryptocurrency market, but it still faces challenges in large-scale adoption. As the price of Bitcoin approaches the $100,000 mark, the gaming sector's market value surged by 79.1% to $35.1 billion. Despite traditional metrics performing well, with daily active users reaching 5.5 million, the industry still has some issues to resolve regarding Blockchain integration and widespread application.

Macroeconomic Market Review

In November, the cryptocurrency market performed strongly, with the price of Bitcoin soaring from $69,386 to $96,427, an increase of 39.0%. Ethereum followed closely, rising 47.8% from $2,511 to $3,711. Bitcoin's outstanding performance allowed its market capitalization to surpass that of silver and Saudi Aramco, firmly securing the seventh position among global assets after approaching the $100,000 mark on November 23.

The results of the U.S. election have become a catalyst for growth in the crypto market, potentially having a significant impact on future cryptocurrency legislation and regulation. The market has reacted positively, especially reflected in the performance of popular sectors such as meme coins, decentralized artificial intelligence (deAI) projects, and decentralized science (DeSci).

The broader financial markets also performed strongly. The financial sector led the stock market under expectations of U.S. tax reform and deregulation. However, there was some volatility in international markets, with the renminbi under pressure amid concerns over possible increased tariffs by the U.S., while gold prices fell as election-related uncertainties eased.

Blockchain Game Market Overview

In November, blockchain game tokens experienced significant growth in the bullish cryptocurrency market, with market capitalization soaring from $19.6 billion to $35.1 billion. The daily trading volume of this sector showed a similar trend, increasing by 79.4% to $11.9 million.

Daily active users reached a new high in November, with an average daily DAU of 5.5 million, an increase of 15.7% compared to October. This growth is mainly attributed to the sustained user activity on opBNB and the solid performance of the Ronin ecosystem.

The trading indicators show complexity. Although the average daily trading volume reached 15.3 million transactions (an increase of 3.3% compared to October), the average number of transactions per user per day decreased from 3.131 to 2.810. The total monthly trading volume remains stable at 460.4 million transactions, indicating a declining trend in the usage intensity of blockchain features by new users.

Some games that adopt blockchain technology may represent a key turning point for the industry. By positioning themselves as traditional games with optional blockchain elements, rather than "NFT games", they reflect that widespread adoption may require a more nuanced integration of blockchain technology. This strategy of "making blockchain functionality optional and invisible" helps to overcome many gamers' initial resistance to cryptocurrency and reduces friction, but it also raises fundamental questions about the role of blockchain in gaming.

The technical challenges faced by full-chain games remain significant. Existing Blockchain infrastructure struggles to meet the high throughput demands of real-time gameplay, competitive matchmaking, and modern gaming. Although Layer 2 solutions and specialized gaming public chains are emerging, the gap between traditional gaming performance expectations and Blockchain capabilities continues to affect development strategies.

Although the current bull run provides favorable conditions for growth, the Web3 gaming sector has yet to produce a defining breakthrough moment. The industry seems to be at a crossroads between maintaining its crypto-native appeal and achieving mass adoption. For gaming projects to succeed, they need to balance these two aspects well and ensure that the technological infrastructure keeps pace with the project's ambitions.

Blockchain Game Public Chain Overview

In November, the number of active games on the Blockchain network reached 1,696, an increase of 4.6% compared to October. In terms of game distribution, the market leaders remain BNB Chain, Polygon, and Ethereum, with shares of 20.9%, 15.4%, and 13.4%, respectively.

The growth momentum of opBNB continues, with a 46.1% increase in average daily active users (DAU) compared to October. This growth is mainly driven by its flagship games SERAPH: In The Darkness and MEET48, while the platform also benefits from projects migrating from the BNB chain.

Ronin has shown significant recovery, with November DAU doubling from 600,000 to 1.2 million, thanks to new partnerships that brought in multiple game studios, the launch of the new game Fableborne, and a resurgence in the player base for the existing game Lumiterra.

The TON gaming ecosystem is facing challenges, with DAU down 41.9% to 116,400, highlighting the on-chain retention challenges for games based on Telegram. However, there are always some exceptions in the industry. Sui's average DAU in November was 233,300, an increase of 23.1% from the previous month. The Telegram game BIRDS contributed the majority of the user base, with an average DAU of 224,900, and its weekly new user retention rate can be considered a benchmark in the current blockchain gaming industry.

The Web3 gaming industry continues to coexist with challenges and opportunities. More industry participants are engaging in the Blockchain gaming infrastructure, and more gaming public chains are emerging. As one of the largest Web3 gaming guilds, Yield Guild Games (YGG) has launched its Studio Chain, building its own gaming infrastructure.

Meanwhile, B3 launched the Open Gaming Layer, and Prime Chain is the first blockchain it has introduced. Developed by Echelon Prime Foundation, Prime Chain will provide infrastructure and development power for the ambitious sci-fi card game Parallel.

Blockchain Game Overview

As of the end of November, there are a total of 3,602 blockchain games in the industry, of which 1,361 are actively participating. Among these games, 298 have attracted more than 1,000 monthly active users (MAU), accounting for 21.9% of active games.

Analyzing the game metrics on Telegram, we can see a significant gap between platform users and Blockchain participation. As of November 30, Hamster Kombat ranks second in monthly active users among Telegram games, with 26.16 million MAU, but it has only 736 on-chain users. Even MemeFi, which achieves the highest conversion rate among the top 10 games, has an on-chain participation rate of only 7.96%, with 1.36 million TON users.

Despite facing these conversion challenges, the success of the Telegram gaming ecosystem is inspiring wider imitation from social media platforms. As an instant messaging platform dominated by Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia, Line has announced plans to launch 30 mini dApps by the end of January, expanding to 150 by the end of the first quarter of 2025. These mini dApps will be built on the Kaia Blockchain, with gaming applications being the largest portion, along with social and DeFi applications.

At the same time, the Solana-based project Sonic X has surpassed 1 million KYC-verified users through TikTok integration. The platform's success stems from its seamless onboarding process. Users can access the game directly through their TikTok accounts, while the Solana wallet is automatically created in the background. This achievement demonstrates TikTok's potential as a gateway to Web3 gaming.

Blockchain Game Investment and Financing Situation

In November, Web3 games secured 18 funding rounds, totaling $73.6 million. Although the number of events increased by five compared to October, the total amount decreased by 22.3%. Additionally, there were eight events that did not disclose specific funding amounts.

A certain platform leads this month's financing with a Series A funding of $30 million, led by a well-known investment institution. The platform combines gaming, entertainment, and betting features, achieving a monthly betting volume of $200 million since its launch in March. The platform includes social features such as in-game chat and user tipping, but due to regulatory reasons, it is still unavailable in major markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Despite facing regulatory challenges, the betting sector continues to attract attention, and several related projects have also secured funding.

Other noteworthy funding news includes a well-known investment firm adding $10 million to its investment in Mocaverse, building on a previous investment of $31.88 million. This investment includes warrants to acquire MOCA Coin tokens at a fully diluted valuation of $1 billion, supporting Mocaverse's further development of interoperable infrastructure for mainstream cryptocurrency adoption.