Blockchain Game Market Review January 2025: Game zone Decline, Social platform Competition Heats Up

In January 2025, despite the overall strong performance of the cryptocurrency market, the gaming zone's market capitalization saw a decline of 19.3%, dropping to $22.3 billion. This month's market focus was primarily on the social platform sector, with two major events standing out: TON obtained exclusive authorization for Telegram's Blockchain infrastructure, while LINE launched the Mini Dapps ecosystem through Kaia.

Macroeconomic Market Overview

The price of Bitcoin rose from $94,577 to $102,180, an increase of 8.0%. In contrast, Ethereum performed poorly, dropping from $3,353 to $3,292, a decrease of 1.8%, with the ETH/BTC ratio hitting a new low in nearly five months.

A series of important policy changes have had a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market. The new regulatory executive order on cryptocurrencies provides unprecedented clarity for the industry, particularly emphasizing the protection of self-custody rights and supporting the development of stablecoins. However, remarks at the end of the month regarding international trade tariffs have raised concerns about global economic growth, leading to a cooling of market sentiment.

The launch of the $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens on Solana has triggered significant fluctuations in the Memecoin zone. This wave of speculation has notably diverted market attention and funds away from other cryptocurrency zones, including the Blockchain gaming sector.

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 crypto ecosystem, with AI-related tokens experiencing an upswing this month.

Blockchain Game Market Overview

In January, despite the overall strength of the cryptocurrency market, the Web3 gaming zone faced challenges. The market capitalization of blockchain gaming tokens fell from $27.6 billion to $22.3 billion, a decrease of 19.3%.

On-chain activity indicators are also showing weakness, with monthly transaction counts down 7.2% to 550 million transactions and transaction volume down 12.4% to $230 million.

On January 21, the TON Foundation announced that it had obtained exclusive authorization for the Telegram Blockchain infrastructure, marking an important turning point for the ecosystem. This exclusive collaboration requires all applications based on Telegram to migrate to TON within 30 days, putting pressure on projects built on other chains. Although the TON Foundation will provide incentives for early adopters who complete the Blockchain migration before February 21, it has indeed posed substantial technical and community challenges for the affected gaming projects.

The next day, LINE launched Mini Dapps and Dapp Portal through LINE NEXT, reflecting the emerging competitive landscape in the social platform gaming sector. Kaia Wave plans to launch 32 Mini Dapps in its first batch, showcasing a more controlled, ecosystem-oriented approach compared to Telegram's relatively open development environment.

These platform-level changes, coupled with the decline in market indicators, suggest that the Web3 gaming zone is entering a consolidation phase, where platform integration and user experience may take precedence over token economics. The approaches of Telegram and LINE 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 reached 1,697, a slight increase of 1.4% from December. Traditional market leaders maintained their positions in game distribution: BNB Chain ( 24.2% ), Polygon ( 15.6% ), and Ethereum ( 13.1% ). However, this stability in game distribution stands in stark contrast to the significant changes in on-chain activity.

Trading activities show a significant trend of concentration, 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, with a 16.8% share. Together, these three chains accounted for more than 55% of all gaming transaction volumes in January.

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

The competition among various chains to attract developers is intensifying, with many launching aggressive incentive programs. A certain fund and a certain company have set their sights on the intersection of Web3 gaming and AI with a multi-million dollar fund, reflecting the market's increasing focus on AI-enhanced gaming experiences. Meanwhile, a certain network's $10 million grant program extends beyond the gaming sector to consumer applications and DeFi protocols, aiming to build a more comprehensive ecosystem.

Blockchain Game Investment and Financing Situation

In January 2025, Web3 game investment activities continued their downward trend, with 6 financing events raising a total of $31.2 million. The decrease in financing activities reflects broader market dynamics. The surge in speculative activities has significantly diverted market attention and funds away from other cryptocurrency zones, including the Blockchain gaming sector.

Pixion Games is leading this month's funding activities, raising $4 million in a strategic round led by a certain institution, with several well-known investment firms participating. The studio's flagship game, Fableborne, combines ARPG mechanics with strategic base-building elements. The game's success on a certain network is particularly notable. Other noteworthy gaming funding 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, including launching the testnet chain, its first game, and other on-chain assets.