DappRadar Report: GameFi Continues to Grow Despite Crypto Winter

Blockchain gaming is the topic of the latest DappRadar x BGA Gaming Report #5, released on Tuesday. The report examines healthy ecosystems and investments into the GameFi and Metaverse markets.

The report details several projects and outlines their continued success and growth. Splinterlands, Illuvium, Galaverse and STEPN are all constantly attracting new players to their platforms, reaping financial benefits and expanding their businesses.

DappRadar claims that a common theme among many popular projects is the potential utility offered by the gaming aspect itself. GameFi and Metaverse projects have started using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and crypto tokens in ways other than pure speculation - one example is the NFT shoes in the STEPN Earn While You Move (M2E) project, which can be found at STEPN Buying and selling in the metaverse, the game offers some potential incentives beyond the exercise aspect.

The report states that in the second quarter of 2022, the gameplay itself, at least in part, proves the utility of the Metaverse. As bitcoin fell in early June, blockchain game Illuvium sold 20,000 land, generating 4,018 ETH for its developers, worth $72 million at the time of the transaction. According to the report, Splinterlands has averaged 350,000 unique active wallets (UAW) per day since May, a slight decrease of 4% from April.

Investment also continues to pour into the space. A16z and Dapper Labs invested $1.3 billion in GameFI and Metaverse Technologies, which seems to indicate continued interest and support from VCs. Decentralized blockchain Flow also received $725 million in investment from Dapper Labs to support its Metaverse-related projects such as NBA Top Shots.

Technologies related to the Metaverse still seem to be in the incubation period and may be a long way off. Interoperability issues, security concerns, legal transparency, use and misuse, market instability and poor sentiment all continue to be major hurdles for this young technology.