New Delhi: The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region has the majority of Web3 game developers (40 per cent), followed by North America (30 per cent) and this year, half of the new games entering the space were based in Asia, a new report showed on Monday.
This year, 30 per cent of new Web3 gaming teams came from the US, while South Korea contributed to 27 per cent of Web3 gaming teams, almost doubling its contribution from last year, according to the report by Game7, a community dedicated to accelerating the adoption of blockchain technology in gaming.
The US remains the largest market for Web3 game developers (30 per cent). Other key markets include South Korea (12 per cent), the UK (6 per cent), Singapore (6 per cent), Vietnam (4 per cent), and Australia (4 per cent), according to the ‘State of Web3 Gaming’ report.
“This report is our first attempt to index and better understand the broader Web3 gaming ecosystem in a credibly neutral manner, putting core game development pains ahead of tokens and speculation,” said George Isichos, core contributor at Game7, who spearheaded the report.
Investment in the Web3 gaming sector saw a massive surge in 2021 and stabilised in 2023, reminiscent of pre-bull market levels. Since 2018, a staggering $19 billion has been funnelled into Web3 gaming-related projects.
The Web3 gaming ecosystem is chiefly composed of indie-level and midsize projects, making up 94 per cent of the market.
Most Web3 games are free-to-play (F2P) (69 per cent), while 26 per cent of the current titles require players to hold specific NFTs to access the game, according to the report.
In 2023, more than 81 new blockchain networks that target gaming were announced, growing by 40 per cent YoY.
Application-specific networks, a new breed of blockchain networks for gaming, accounted for 43 per cent of the newly launched networks this year, growing 84 per cent YoY.
The Epic Games store has increasingly embraced Web3 games, going from only 2 games listed in June 2022 to 69 in October 2023.
Unity and Unreal Engine command an overwhelming majority (95 per cent) in Web3 PC game development, said the report.
In 2023, an all-time high number of Web3 games migrated to different networks, with Polygon, Immutable, and Arbitrum being favoured destinations.
