Play-to-earn blockchain gaming experienced a downturn over the last year as gamers prioritized improving the gameplay experience.
However, according to a new report from DappRadar, in the first month of 2023, gamers made up nearly half (48%) of all blockchain activity.
January also saw the market caps for top gaming tokens increase by 122% on average, with Gala (GALA), the digital utility token of the Gala Games ecosystem, surging by 218%.
According to the report, the rise in interest in these gaming tokens comes as industry buzz hits mainstream audiences. For example, Gala Games made headlines after it acquired a new mobile gaming studio with more than $20 million in assets under management and 15 games.
Blockchain analyst at DappRadar, Sara Gherghelas, told Cointelegraph that based on on-chain metrics from the past two years, it’s safe to assume blockchain gaming will continue to be a significant sector in the industry.
“This is because blockchain gaming is already a vertical in the traditional industry. As blockchain gains more traction, it will bring more adoption to Web3 games which will become mainstream.”
The Wax blockchain continues to have the most active gaming activity, with 331,000 unique active wallets. The top three blockchain gaming ecosystems all saw an increase in gaming protocols from the end of 2022 to the beginning of 2023, except for the BNB Chain.
Source: DappRadar
The beginning of 2023 saw increased activity as strong funding set the stage for what many call blockchain gaming’s “buidling” year. This term encapsulates the industry’s focus on building more powerful, high quality games.
Gherghelas said the amount of investments toward this vertical is “increasing significantly,” with overall investment in 2022 around $7.6 billion – a 105% increase from 2021. Investments into the blockchain gaming industry topped $156 million in January alone.
Related: Ushering in a new era of Web3 gaming by making Play-to-Earn sustainable
Additionally, the report highlighted the metaverse’s role in the uptick in blockchain gaming activity this year. The data revealed that the trading volume for January in virtual world-related games hit $44.5 million, a 114% increase from the month prior.
Although sales decreased by 19%, the overall growth can be attributed to the success of major metaverse platforms such as The Sandbox and Decentraland, with an increase in trading volume of 114% and 83%, respectively.
According to at 2022 report from DappRadar, Web3 gaming accounted for nearly half of all blockchain-based transactions in the year.