Crypto gaming is evolving beyond basic Play-to-Earn models, prioritizing player experience. The entry of industry giants like Ubisoft is accelerating the sector’s growth.
Crypto gaming is on the rise. It has been steadily gaining momentum since the beginning of the year, passing from 1.5 million daily unique active wallets (UAW) to nearly 5 million, according to DappRadar’s recent report. The sector is evolving beyond the play-to-earn model, now prioritizing entertainment and sustainable ecosystems.
While traditional gamers remain skeptical (some even hostile) to crypto gaming, the potential of this growing sector attracts some of the top-tier game developers, such as Ubisoft. The gaming giant recently announced the upcoming release of Champions Tactics, its first original blockchain-based game.
As Web3 games gain popularity, so do the blockchains they are built on. Ronin, opBNB, Oasys, Near, Skale, TON, and Immutable X are the ones disputing the leadership.
Crypto Gaming Evolution
At the heart of crypto gaming lies the concept of ownership. In traditional games like Fortnite, players may spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on digital assets—skins, weapons, characters—but their ownership is often superficial. These assets remain locked within centralized systems, with players unable to trade, sell, or transfer them. Blockchain changes that.
However, asset ownership alone does not guarantee a good game. The "Play-to-Earn" (P2E) model, popularized by Axie Infinity, initially thrived, allowing players to earn tokens or NFTs through gameplay and then exchange them for real-world value. However, flaws soon emerged. Axie tokens became more valuable than gameplay, drawing in market participants who were more interested in financial speculation than in playing the game. As a result, a small number of genuine players were often drowned out by opportunistic "mercenary" users who focused solely on value extraction. Over time, this led to inflated in-game asset prices and an unsustainable economy. As token prices skyrocketed and fell, the game’s player base dwindled, leaving behind a wake of financial casualties. This only worsened the reputation of blockchain gaming, reinforcing the backlash from traditional gaming communities.
The realization of this flaw led to the new concept called Play-and-Earn, where earning potential complements the fun of gaming. An increasing number of crypto game developers now focus on storytelling, graphics, and gameplay quality, while still allowing players to earn.
Ubisoft’s First Original Crypto Game
The French company Ubisoft, developer of the famous Assassin’s Creed franchise, was the first major game developer to really invest in Web3.
Despite the community backlash against its first crypto tentative – NFT artifacts integrated into Tom Clancey game – Ubisoft continues exploring crypto gaming opportunities. The company announced the soon release of its new blockchain game Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles. Built on the Oasys blockchain, it is a tactical PC role-playing game that aims at making the Web3 part as easy and discrete as possible. "This isn't GameFi—it's about pure, immersive gameplay that draws players in, while giving them the freedom to own their assets and shape the game's future,” said Executive Producer Sylvain Loe-Mie, in a release.
Ubisoft also plans to release Captain Laserhawk: The G.A.M.E. on the Arbitrum blockchain, further solidifying its presence in the Web3 space.
Top Crypto Gaming Blockchains
Crypto gaming is not only reshaping the gaming industry but also driving demand for blockchain technology. As players and developers engage with these games, blockchain transaction volumes surge, boosting their native cryptocurrencies’ prices.
In Q3 2024, Ronin, opBNB, Oasys, Near, and Skale were the top gaming blockchains, with Oasys experiencing the most remarkable growth — 4,711%, reaching 382,000 daily UAW. Top games now include Pixels (Ronin), World of Dypians (Skale), and the most recently launched SERAPH: In The Darkness (BNB). The latter was launched only in Q3 2024 but has already reached almost 300,000 of daily UAW (source: DappRadar).
Another blockchain that deserves particular mention is TON, whose unique connection to Telegram can create a powerful synergy to promote TON-based games. The success of Hamster Combat shows this potential. Launched in Q3 2024, the game has attracted over 200 million registered users and more than 30 million daily active users, reminding the early days of social gaming on platforms like Facebook. The game quickly became viral, although its “tap-to-earn” concept seems to ignore the lessons of the first wave of crypto games and may not be sustainable in the long term.
Crypto gaming is maturing, creating more immersive and sustainable experiences. With major players like Ubisoft entering the space and blockchain technology continuing to evolve, the future of gaming looks poised for further innovation.
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