Q3 2022 NFT Game Market Report
In September, the blockchain gaming industry saw an 8% increase in Unique Active Wallets (UAW), reaching an average of 912 thousand, comprising 48% of blockchain platform activities, signaling robust growth in the sector.
Looking at the top 6 gaming protocols based on UAW numbers, Solana stood out with a significant usage increase of 269% (reaching 45 thousand dUAW) from Q2 to Q3. However, gaming activity was predominantly concentrated on other platforms, with Solana accounting for only 4.82% of total gaming operations.
WAX, a leading gaming protocol, decreased by 15% to 338K UAW from Q2 to Q3 but still controlled 36.20% of all gaming activities. Similarly, EOS declined by 14.73%, while BNB decreased by 1.98% (114 thousand), maintaining control over 12.34% of gaming activities.
Polygon decreased by over 20% (65 thousand), and Hive experienced the highest decline at 42% (160 thousand), yet still managed 17% of all gaming operations.
Beyond these blockchains, Flow notably increased its gaming activity significantly in the past quarter, with current traffic at 24,930 dUAW, driven by popular games like Solitaire Blitz and Trickshot Blitz.
Read more: Top 10 Most Played NFT Games in Q3 2022
Metaverse Projects Transaction Volume Hits Bottom
building projects experienced a downturn, with transaction volumes plummeting by 91.61% to $74 million from Q2.
Similarly, NFT land sales transactions dropped by 37.54% to 52,224 from the previous quarter, indicating a declining trend in inflated projects, nearing its trough.
During this quarter, Otherdeed for Otheride generated $54 million in revenue, a 92.70% drop from Q2. However, notable events included the gathering of 4,300 "Voyagers" in July to showcase technology and explore the world built by Improbable for the first time.
Additionally, in August, Eminem and Snoop Dogg performed in Otheride Metaverse during the Annual Music Video Awards. Notably, Otheride accounted for 73.98% of total virtual world transaction volumes in Q3.
NFT Worlds in this quarter decreased by 80.62%, reaching $3.6 million, marking the lowest transaction volume recorded.
While most Metaverse projects experienced a significant cooling-off phase, sales of The Sandbox increased by 25.69% this month, despite still dropping by 73.21% compared to the second quarter.
In September, significant growth was attributed to The Sandbox Alpha season 3, offering over 90 experiences for users, including collaborations with The Walking Dead, Atari, Snoop Dogg, Steve Aoki, Ubisoft's Rabbids, and Care Bears.
Season 3 garnered over 4 million registered wallets and more than 200,000 active users monthly.
Netvrk Land also increased by 54.16% ($173 thousand) compared to the previous month but still dropped by 62.34% from Q2. For the first time, Netvrk Land ended a quarter with the lowest transaction volume ever recorded - less than 500,000.
Is Move-to-Earn the Next Blockchain Trend?
Move-to-Earn applications are gaining popularity among gamers across all platforms. Thousands of users are attracted by the incentive to earn rewards through physical activity, fostering global communities passionate about sports applications.
Read more: Top 5 Move-to-Earn Trends in 2022
STEPN Celebrates One Year Anniversary
In September, STEPN celebrated its first anniversary and remains one of the most popular DApps in the Move-to-Earn trend, accumulating over 3 million monthly active users and minting more than 735,000 pairs of shoes.
However, the application has been affected by a declining trend since May 2022. In Q3, monthly active users decreased by 67% (482 thousand).
Sweat Economy Explores Web2 Integration with Web3
On September 13, Sweat Economy officially launched on the NEAR platform, featuring the largest NFT airdrop in protocol history. Operating on Web2 since 2016 with over 120 million global app users of Sweatcoin, it has also released its Web3 token - SWEAT to 13.5 million owners. Since its launch, the app has attracted over 1.3 million active users and facilitated more than 1.5 million transactions.
Sweat Economy Average Unique Active Wallets
Sweat Economy introduced the Sweat Wallet, designed to be user-friendly for those who have never interacted with blockchain before. The Sweat Wallet is robust enough to support token staking, NFT gaming, and various M2E applications. Within 72 hours of the Sweatcoin token launch event, over 2 million users downloaded and activated the Sweat Wallet. Following the record-breaking SWEAT IDO sale on DAO Maker, Sweat Wallet immediately became the most downloaded finance app in 51 countries.
Step App to Launch on iOS and Android on December 1
Step App, a Metaverse M2E project and the first decentralized app on Step Protocol, integrating gaming, Augmented Reality (AR), and other economic elements to attract first-time Metaverse participants.
While the app has not been released yet, it has been revealed through a developer team tweet that the app will launch on iOS and Android on December 1. Another significant milestone, besides Usain Bolt - one of the greatest sprinters of all time, over 45 million people have pre-registered for this project. Step App has also launched a 60-day growth campaign in preparation for this launch.
Genopets Launches New App Version
Genopets, another Solana-based money-earning DApp utilizing AR technology, released their new app version on both Android and iOS devices in September.
Alongside lifestyle and graphical improvements, the new version addresses issues that Android users occasionally faced with their steps not being counted. This version introduces new sound effects and volume control options. Habitat owners can now choose to display their Habitats as backgrounds for Genopets.
OliveX Collaborates with The Sandbox to Expand Sports Platform for Metaverse
OliveX Metaverse has partnered with The Sandbox to establish a new space within the Metaverse and promote brand partners including Trib3, Gym Aesthetic, and Playinnovation. Through this collaboration, OliveX's partners will showcase their products in the Sandbox Metaverse.
By investing in creators of AR-integrated M2E games based on DEFY, the company is also introducing electronic gaming into the fitness industry.
OliveX has also invested in Silentmode Limited's Breathonics app, a mental health fitness training software with personalized meditation music for up to 15 minutes.
Blankos Block Party and Star Atlas Launch on Epic Games Store
On September 15, Blankos Block Party - an online NFT game, launched on the Epic Games Store, becoming the first Web3 game published on the popular PC gaming market.
The Epic Games Store version of Blankos Block Party offers functionality similar to the version introduced on the official website. Both versions have "early access" rights. On September 28, the complete version was released across platforms.
Star Atlas - a Solana-based NFT game, followed in the footsteps of Blanko's Block Party, releasing a demo trial on the Epic Games Store on September 29.
NFT Game Projects Raised $1.3 Billion in Q3 2022
Throughout the past year, numerous collaborations and investments in blockchain games have culminated in $156 million in September alone.
In Q3, investors poured $1.3 billion into the blockchain gaming business. However, this figure marks a 48% decline from the second quarter.
Despite this quarter's lower investment figures, it demonstrates that Metaverse and blockchain gaming projects continue to expand, with new players actively entering the market.
Hadean - a London-based technology startup, raised $30 million in September to develop their own Metaverse platform.
Expectations for total investment in this growing industry this year have decreased by 8.8% to $9.25 billion, compared to the previous quarter's forecast.
The number of investments indicates that despite challenging conditions in the digital asset market, major investment organizations remain optimistic about the blockchain gaming sector.
