The following is a guest post by Yaniv Baruch, COO of Playnance.
According to some information, blockchain gaming recently hit an all-time high with 4.2 million daily active users. DappRadar report. The GameFi industry is experiencing an unprecedented surge in new users. However, this growth has been somewhat overshadowed by more topical trends such as AI and meme coins. Three key factors driving the influx of users are advances in crypto products (including the development of the TON ecosystem), airdrops, and broader technological advancements in the crypto space.
These factors helped attract and, most importantly, retain this large user base, setting the stage for a new GameFi boom by 2025.
Change tomorrow with TON
Telegram's TON (The Open Network) is fast, scalable, and has minimal fees, making it an ideal blockchain for gaming. After all, gaming networks must process player interactions in real-time to ensure a smooth experience. Latency can frustrate players and cause them to abandon the game.
TON's features enable more advanced gaming experiences like Catizen and TapSwap, and its integration into the Telegram app makes it one of the most accessible gaming networks. This is more than just speculation, it's a fact as proven by over 239 million players of Hamster Kombat, over 21 million players of Catizen, and over 60 million users of Tapswap. This number is impressive for a standard blockchain-based game, or even a Web2 video game.
According to , the majority of this audience will be key to TON's upcoming GameFi boom next year. developer They themselves are complete newbies to the cryptocurrency industry. After getting their first Web3 gaming experience or airdrop with these and other Dapps, some eventually turn to other GameFi products and other blockchain ecosystems.
Crypto Airdrop: A Double-Edged Necessity
In addition to TON's growing GameFi audience, airdrops are also playing a significant role. They distribute in-game tokens to new players, allowing them to explore the game's features without investing.
For example, Hamster Kombat, the most successful tap-to-play game on the TON network, held an airdrop on September 26th to a target audience of 131 million people, in parallel with the HMSTR token launch. Players have been enjoying the game's first season of content over the past few months, with rewards based on player activity and other criteria.
This method allows players to log in daily to level up, complete quests, and complete time-limited activities, increasing the game's daily active player base. The promise of performance-based pay also encourages players to share the game with their friends, further increasing player numbers.
Cryptocurrency airdrops have some drawbacks, such as “airdrop farmers” who fly from game to game, collecting tokens and selling them without investing in the game, but these challenges are outweighed by the benefits. Despite the fact that 88% of tokens launched concurrently with airdrops this year have fallen in price, the overall benefits of airdrops remain significant.
They launch a gaming community and gather a group of avid gamers, encouraged by initial free funds. The group then disseminates the information to attract more players and strengthen the fan base while delivering the performance of GameFi products.
This increases the visibility of the project's token, increasing its value and potentially rewarding early adopters. When properly done with fair and thoughtful token distribution to loyal users, the user airdrop mechanism creates a cycle of recognition, participation, and rewards. This mechanism will help many projects surface during the bear market, creating even more traction for the upcoming GameFi boom.
maintain steady momentum
As is the case with several Web3 sectors, GameFi is currently experiencing an increase in the number of users. However, keeping players involved in the game is just as important, if not more so. To create a new GameFi boom next year, developers will need to leverage new technologies, projects, and ecosystem best practices like TON to create new, meaningful, and seamless gaming experiences for players (in this case Recent developments in L3, Zero Gas) account abstraction-based solutions have made great strides).
Approaching Web3 game development with these goals in mind helps developers attract players and monetize their gaming efforts, while a great gaming experience connects players on an emotional level. . That strong bond encourages them to stick with the game beyond financial gain. A meaningful experience will also lead to telling your friends and inviting other players to join, ultimately benefiting the entire GameFi ecosystem.
That being said, we do not see the emergence of a dominant force similar to Clash of Clans or Candy Crush in Web2 a few years back that will ultimately redefine the current state of the GameFi market. Still waiting. We are all waiting for an experience that will captivate the hearts (and hands!) of millions of people playing the latest blockchain-based games.
Striking the right balance between a play-to-ear model and fun gameplay can help maintain player interest even when monetary rewards fluctuate. These gaming experiences allow users to stay in the industry for a long time. With recent funding of $1.4 billion, investment Considering the GameFi industry in the first half of 2024, this year's daily active user record, and a whole new wave of users attracted to TON's GameFi project, 2025 will definitely bring a new boom for the GameFi industry .
By then, new technology and game mechanics should have become clear. Developers must apply previous concepts to these new ideas to create an even better experience for players. These factors could fuel a new GameFi boom in 2025 as the technology and game mechanics mature.
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