🎮 Crypto Games Struggle in 2025, But Big Players Aren’t Backing Down
Despite the tough quarter of blockchain gaming in 2025, big brands like Sega, Ubisoft, and FIFA have not given up on their Web3 ambitions. This puts the crypto gaming industry at a pivotal moment between decline and breakthrough expectations.
📉 Declining Users, Dry Funding Web3 Games Struggle
According to DappRadar, Q2 2025 saw:
User activity dropped by 17%.
More than 300 blockchain games went offline.
Funding dropped to just $73 million, the lowest in two years.
Some of the reasons for this decline include unsustainable tokenomics, low player retention, and a lack of resources to maintain operations. Projects that were once expected to close or change direction include Ember Sword, Nyan Heroes, and Mojo Melee.
🧩 The crypto market downturn has far-reaching implications
The broader picture of the crypto market is also not bright. According to Delphi Digital:
AI tokens are down 84%.
Agency projects are down 70%.
Memecoin is down 51%.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin is down only about 5%, maintaining a relatively safe position.
This puts direct pressure on the blockchain gaming industry, which is heavily dependent on liquidity and price growth.
💡 Despite the difficulties, preparations are still taking place behind the scenes
Despite the gloomy environment, traditional gaming brands and blockchain companies are not giving up on their long-term vision:
Immutable asserts that many gaming companies worth over $1 billion are ready to launch their own tokens.
GUNZ (on the Avalanche subnet) sees user growth with Off the Grid.
Aptos, Sei, and SKALE emerge as new chains with significant gaming traffic.
Immutable co-founder Robbie Ferguson notes that 2025 is a period of “compressing” years of development into a short time frame. This will spur the creation of high-quality games and a more serious token economy.
📊 Metaverse and infrastructure: A rare bright spot
While metaverse NFT transaction volume fell 26%, transaction count increased 54%, reflecting lower value but increased engagement.
Positive initiatives include:
Yuga Labs opens 24/7 access to the Otherside metaverse.
Animoca Brands launches Mocaverse layer 1 chain.
Pixels prepares to release mobile game Pixels Pals.
In addition, the majority of funding in Q2 went to infrastructure platforms:
Ultra raises $12 million for its game publishing platform.
MagicBlock raises $7.5 million to develop a real-time game engine on Solana.
Cooking.City receives $7 million for its cooking game with token rewards.
🧠 Conclusion: Web3 gaming is restructuring, not dying
Although many blockchain gaming projects have “fallen off the horse,” the industry is not disappearing. On the contrary, it is undergoing a deep cleansing and restructuring.
New investments are shifting from superficial “play to earn” games to solid infrastructure, authentic gameplay, and more realistic user experiences.
The meteoric rise of 2021-2022 may be over, but the foundations for a sustainable growth phase are slowly forming with the backing of both industry giants and the serious developer community.
