GameFi stumbles, but Sui's handheld and The Sandbox's indie push keep the game on!
Hey there, GameFi fans!
If you’re still here, then you’re winning, no matter what your crypto wallet balance says. It's been quite a week in the world of blockchain gaming.
Let's dive into the latest happenings, shall we?
TL:DR
- GameFi's having a rough week, but some projects are still killing it in the long term.
- Sui's jumping into hardware with a $600 gaming handheld
- The Sandbox is rolling out the red carpet for indie devs
- GOAT Gaming's Telegram success shows messaging game apps are still a go
Market Overview
Well, it looks like we've hit a bit of a rough patch. The GameFi market cap has taken another tumble, landing at around $16 billion. That's a pretty significant drop from the nearly $19.5 billion we saw in late August, but still around breakeven for the last 30 days.
Indecision over the summer doldrums… let’s hope markets make up their mind soon before we’re forced to buy meme coins or something again.
Blockchain Gaming Activity This Week
DappRadar's data is giving us a mixed bag this week:
- We're holding steady at about 4-4.5 million unique active wallets. That’s great.
- Transaction volume, though? It's been all over the place, swinging from $2.5 million to $4.5 million daily, together with the price of crypto in general
Top Coin Movements
Let’s be honest, our top GameFi tokens saw better days last week in comparison to the previous 90 days.
Too early to do an autopsy, as there’s still a heartbeat, but man, it’s murder out there in Web3 Gaming land:
Key Observations
- The Bad: Prices are swinging a lot week to week. Many top tokens are dropping by 10% or more. This matches what's happening in the broader crypto and financial markets.
- The Good: Even with recent drops, many GameFi projects are up significantly since the start of the year. This suggests people still believe in GameFi's future, and the long-awaited gaming bull run.
Top Games by Market Cap
Looking at CMC crypto gaming data by market cap gives us a different view of the GameFi landscape.
This list also shows the diversity in the GameFi space, from traditional gaming experiences to virtual worlds and meme coins.
Most Popular Games by Active User Count
Let's check out who's topping the charts this week according to DappRadar:
- Pixels is still king with 904.13k users
- SERAPH: In The Darkness is making moves with 721.64k users (up 30.78%)
- World of Dypians isn't far behind at 671.86k users (up 21.46%)
- Sweat Economy's holding strong at 522.4k users (up 2.1%)
- PlayEmber rounds out the top 5 with 466.89k users (down 5.63%)
Special shoutout to Forgotten Runiverse – they've seen a whopping 800% increase in users! Not so forgotten after all.
What's Catching Our Eye
- Despite the market dip, some games are really pulling in the crowds. SERAPH and Forgotten Runiverse, we see you!
- Multi-chain games are still dominating. Looks like players appreciate having options.
- Pixels is holding onto that top spot like a champ. That's some loyal player base right there.
Top Crypto Gaming Stories This Week
Sui's Stepping into the Hardware Game
Mysten Labs, the brains behind Sui blockchain, is now making crypto gaming hardware and has launched the SuiPlay 0X1.
What's the deal with SuiPlay 0X1?
- It's running on Playtron's Linux-based gaming OS
- You can play your Steam, Epic, and GOG games on it
- It's got native support for Sui blockchain games
- Early birds get special NFTs (because of course they do)
- Packing some serious hardware: AMD Ryzen 7 7840U CPU, AMD Ryzen 780M GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD
- 7-inch screen with crisp 1920x1200 resolution
Want one? You'll have to wait until early 2025, and you'll need to pay in crypto (SUI, SOL, or ETH). It's a bit pricier than the Steamdeck - but hey, you're paying for that blockchain integration.
The Sandbox Is Calling All Indie Devs
The Sandbox is opening its doors to indie developers with its new Voxel Games program. They're inviting creators to build voxel-style games using Unity and Unreal. It's a smart move that could really expand their reach beyond the blockchain bubble.
Double Jump.Tokyo's Got Some Serious Backing
Double Jump.Tokyo just scored big in their Series D funding round, pulling in over $10 million. SBI Investment led the charge, with Sony Group Corporation chipping in too. They're planning to use this cash to level up their blockchain game development and infrastructure. Big things are brewing!
MetalCore's Gearing Up for Open Beta
Mark your calendars for September 12th! MetalCore is launching its Open Beta Season 1: MetalPunks Rhapsody. They're not messing around with the prizes either – we're talking up to 80 million $MCG tokens up for grabs. Plus, they've upgraded to Unreal Engine 5, so it should look pretty slick. Best part? It's free to play on the Epic Games Store.
GOAT Gaming's Taking Over Telegram
GOAT Gaming, from Mighty Bear Games, just hit a quarter-million users on Telegram. They've processed over 3.25 million transactions too. Looks like blockchain gaming on messaging apps might be the next big thing.
Other
What You Can Do
- Keep an eye on those SuiPlay 0X1 pre-orders. It could give us a good idea of how much appetite there is for blockchain-native gaming hardware.
- Watch how The Sandbox's Voxel Games program pans out. Could be a game-changer for indie devs in the metaverse space.
- MetalCore's Open Beta launch could bring a fresh wave of players into blockchain gaming. Let's see if they can deliver on the hype.
- GOAT Gaming's success on Telegram is intriguing. Is TON gaming due for a new revival, especially after the success of last week’s DOGS meme coin airdrop which crashed the chain?
- After this week's market dip, we'll be watching closely for any signs of a rebound, especially in top tokens like IMX and FLOKI.
That's all for this week, gamers! Stay tuned, play smart, and we'll catch you in the next update.
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