January 2025 Blockchain Game Market Analysis: Market Indicators Decline, Competition Among Platforms Intensifies

Although the overall cryptocurrency market maintains a strong momentum, the gaming sector's market value has decreased by 19.3%, falling to $22.3 billion. This month's market focus is mainly on social platforms, where a blockchain foundation has obtained exclusive authorization for the blockchain infrastructure of a certain instant messaging application, while another social media company has launched a small decentralized application ecosystem through its subsidiary.

Macroeconomic Market Review

The price of Bitcoin rose from $94,577 to $102,180, an increase of 8.0%. In contrast, Ethereum performed relatively weakly, dropping from $3,353 to $3,292, a decrease of 1.8%, with the ETH/BTC ratio hitting a new low since September 2024.

Several important policy developments have significantly impacted the trends in the cryptocurrency market. The executive order on cryptocurrency regulation issued by the U.S. government has provided unprecedented clarity for the industry, particularly emphasizing the protection of self-custody rights and supporting the development of stablecoins. However, comments at the end of the month regarding international trade tariffs have raised concerns about global economic growth, leading to a cooling of market sentiment.

A token launched by a political family on a public Blockchain has triggered significant volatility in the meme coin sector. This speculative frenzy has notably diverted market attention and funds away from other crypto sectors, including the Blockchain gaming space.

Breakthrough advancements in the field of artificial intelligence have also influenced market dynamics. This progress has accelerated the focus on decentralized AI infrastructure within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and AI-related tokens have seen a rise this month.

Blockchain Game Market Overview

In January, despite the overall crypto market remaining strong, the Web3 gaming sector faced resistance. The market capitalization of blockchain gaming tokens fell from $27.6 billion to $22.3 billion, a decline of 19.3%.

On-chain activity indicators also showed weakness, with the monthly number of transactions decreasing by 7.2% to 550 million, and the trading volume decreasing by 12.4% to 230 million USD.

A blockchain foundation announced on January 21 that it has obtained exclusive authorization for the blockchain infrastructure of a certain instant messaging application, marking an important turning point for the ecosystem. This exclusive collaboration requires all projects based on the application to migrate to the designated chain within 30 days, putting pressure on projects built on other chains. Although the foundation will provide incentives for early adopters who complete the blockchain migration by February 21, it has indeed brought substantial technical and community challenges to the affected gaming projects.

On the day following the above announcement, another social media company launched a small decentralized application and application portal through its subsidiary, reflecting the emerging competitive landscape in the social platform gaming sector. The plan initially introduced 32 small decentralized applications, showcasing a more controlled, ecosystem-oriented approach compared to the relatively open development environment of the former.

These platform-level changes, along with the decline in market indicators, indicate that the Web3 gaming sector is entering a consolidation phase, where platform integration and user experience may take precedence over token economics. The approaches of the two major social platforms could significantly influence how blockchain gaming projects handle user acquisition and retention strategies in 2025.

Blockchain Game Public Chain Overview

In January 2025, the number of active Blockchain games was 1,697, a slight increase of 1.4% compared to December. Traditional market leaders maintain their position in game distribution: a trading platform chain (24.2%), Polygon(15.6%), and Ethereum(13.1%). However, the stability of this game distribution stands in stark contrast to the significant changes in on-chain activity.

The trading activities show a clear concentration trend, with three chains dominating. WAX leads with 180 million transactions, accounting for 32.4% of all gaming activities. opBNB ranks second with 87.2 million transactions, holding a 15.9% share (, while Aptos recorded 37.5 million transactions, representing a 16.8% share ). Together, these three chains accounted for over 55% of all gaming transaction counts in January.

In terms of trading volume, Aptos ranks first with a transaction amount of $51.9 million ( and a share of 22.1% ), followed by Ronin with a transaction amount of $49.5 million ( and a share of 21.1% ). Immutable X ranks third with a transaction amount of $19 million ( and a share of 18.1% ).

The competition among various chains to attract developers is intensifying, with many launching aggressive incentive programs. A certain fund and a company's multi-million dollar fund target the intersection of Web3 games and AI, reflecting the growing market interest in AI-enhanced gaming experiences. Meanwhile, Ronin Network's $10 million grant program not only extends to the gaming sector but also to consumer applications and DeFi protocols to build a more comprehensive ecosystem.

Blockchain Game Investment and Financing Status

In January 2025, Web3 game investment activities continued to decline, with 6 financing events raising a total of $31.2 million. The reduction in financing activities reflects broader market dynamics. The surge in speculative activities has significantly diverted market attention and funds from other crypto sectors, including the Blockchain gaming sector.

Pixion Games leads this month's financing activities, raising $4 million in a strategic round led by a certain venture capital firm, with participation from several well-known investment institutions. The studio's flagship game Fableborne combines ARPG mechanics with strategic base-building elements. The game's success on Ronin is particularly noteworthy. Other notable game financing events include Drift Zone, BeraTone, and Nakamoto Games.

Infrastructure development remains a key focus for investors, with two significant financings: ZKcandy raised $4 million for its game-specific Layer 2 chain based on ZKsync after successfully completing the open testnet phase. Additionally, Hyve Labs raised $2.75 million to develop its core infrastructure, such as launching the testnet chain, the first game, and other on-chain assets.