Crypto gaming: What is the outlook for 2023?
- Crypto gaming saw robust financing despite the significant decline in blockchain game token prices.
- Venture capitalists – the ‘real OGs’ – continue to bet big on leading game studios, with experience and end product key factors.
- The Web3 game industry is in the “build” stage as the hype cycle fades and only the best will make it.
The history of play-to-earn games has seen an affirmative change, especially in 2022. The marketplace is still reeling from the sudden rush of capital as well as users, which was followed by a significant decline in the pricing of blockchain game tokens and a fall in the number of players.
And with the aftermath of the FTX debacle spreading to every part of the industry, the prospects for play-to-earn appear to be gloomy at first glance. But if you go under the bonnet, the data paint a different story: robust financing this year has laid the groundwork for significant “building” in 2023.
For a number of months, the market has been receiving cash thanks to a steady stream of significant fundraisers that have been conducted by Web3 gaming firms. UnCaged studios were able to raise $24 million in the month of August, contributing to the approximately $750 million that was collected by Web3 gaming developers in just that one month.
The momentum carried on through September, when Revolving Games successfully raised $25 million, and into October, when Odyssey Interactive, Stardust, and SkyWeaver, respectively, raised $19 million, $30 million, and $40 million. In November, Thirdverse was successful in raising $15 million in funding for Web3 plus virtual reality (VR) games;
The plummeting asset prices and the player enthusiasm in the Web3 gaming area are completely contradicted by these numbers. Despite the fact that both players and tokens are struggling, venture investors continue to place large bets on the potential of blockchain gaming. Who of the studios will emerge victorious in the coming year? To what end?
Venture capitalists: the real OG has all the power
It is important to note that the bulk of companies that have been granted money is required to hold seed or pre-seed offerings. This is a requirement that has been consistent across the bulk of the fundraisers that have gone place over the past few months. They are, on the other hand, holding the Series As.
Without a shadow of a doubt, there are a few significant departures from the standard. A number of studios have finished their seed or pre-seed stages with great success. Despite this, the founding teams of these companies have significant gaming experience.
As an illustration, Ruckus Games is a video game development studio that was recently able to secure early funding in the amount of $5.5 million.
This suggests that venture capitalists are shifting their attention to studios that already have experience in the game industry, which is a divergence from the initial periods of Web3 gaming.
During that early stage, a great number of Web3 gaming companies were given substantial money despite the fact that they lacked either a distinct plan for the launching of their goods or founding teams that have the demonstrated experience necessary to make it happen.
In point of fact, the YOLO times of late 2021, as well as early 2022, are a distant memory at this point. The game development studios that are currently receiving financing have already demonstrated some amount of success in the creation of Web3 games.
These days, venture capitalists are looking even further into the future, anywhere from 5 to 10 years down the line.
Simultaneously, there are other AI-supporting trading bots like immediate edge which have widened the investing scope for venture capitalists alongwith giving investors a variety of investing options in terms of purchasing different digital currencies.
Crypto gaming: the advances to witness
When we consider these increases in conjunction with the longer-term tendencies shown in Web3 gaming, investors can begin to see that certain patterns are emerging to influence the future of the industry.
The question now is, what kind of an effect will all of the pay increases have in the coming years?
Mobile gaming is almost certain to receive a significant amount of attention. According to a report published by DappRadar in September, hyper-casual smartphone blockchain games successfully transitioned over 1.7 million gamers from Web2 gaming to Web3 gaming in just one week.
It does seem probable that Web3 gameplay will gain entry into the “mainstream” as a result of the changes that are currently taking place, and that over the next 5 years, the global score of the 100 best gaming studios will include studios that have powerful blockchain elements.
This forecast is founded on the observation that the aforementioned transformations are taking place right now.
In addition to that, there are a number of reliable trade assistance bots like immediate edge which are allowing traders to redeem their earned game points into crypto and utilize it for versatile usage.
What’s coming next?
There is a good chance that we haven’t seen the conclusion of the large-scale funding rounds that have been taking place in the Web3 gaming industry over the past few months.
The hype cycle surrounding Web 3 gaming has finally come to an end, and the market is currently in the “build” period. This time around, investors are searching for companies that have a perspective on their operations that is more long-term focused.
This shift in emphasis, when coupled with the enormous shifts that have been taking place in the blockchain technology industry as a whole, is going to produce new dynamics and chances for developers in the P2E market in the year 2023.
The expectations of the players as well as the funders will need to be raised in order to sort the wheat from the chaff.
When it comes to determining priorities after the year 2023, the quality of the work will be given more weight than the quantity. Those who are able to develop the most remarkable games will emerge victorious in the end. The real game has just begun NOW.
