January 2025 Blockchain Game Market Analysis: Indicators Decline, Platform Competition Intensifies

Despite the strong performance of the overall cryptocurrency market, the market value of the blockchain gaming sector has decreased by 19.3% to $22.3 billion. This month's market focus has mainly been on the social platform sector, where a certain blockchain infrastructure has received exclusive authorization, while another social platform has launched a small decentralized application ecosystem.

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 near five-month low.

Multiple important policy developments have had a significant impact on the trends of the cryptocurrency market. An administrative order on cryptocurrency regulation issued by a certain government has provided unprecedented clarity for the industry, particularly emphasizing the protection of self-custody rights and supporting the development of stablecoins. However, remarks made by a certain political figure at the end of the month regarding international trade tariffs have raised concerns about global economic growth, leading to a cooling of market sentiment.

A certain political family launched a token on a public blockchain that triggered significant volatility in the meme coin sector. This wave of speculation notably diverted market attention and funds away from other cryptocurrency sectors, including the Blockchain gaming field.

Breakthrough advancements in the field of artificial intelligence have also affected market dynamics. This progress has accelerated the focus on decentralized AI infrastructure within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, leading to a rise in AI-related tokens this month.

Blockchain Game Market Overview

In January, despite the overall cryptocurrency market remaining strong, the Web3 gaming sector faced resistance. The market capitalization of blockchain gaming tokens fell from $27.6 billion to $22.3 billion, a decline of 19.3%.

On-chain activity indicators also showed weakness, with monthly transaction counts declining by 7.2% to 550 million transactions and trading volume decreasing by 12.4% to 230 million USD.

A certain Blockchain foundation announced that it has obtained exclusive authorization for the blockchain infrastructure of a certain instant messaging platform, marking an important turning point for the ecosystem. This exclusive collaboration requires all applications based on the platform to migrate to the designated Blockchain within 30 days, putting pressure on projects built on other chains. Although the foundation will provide incentives for projects that complete the migration early, it has indeed posed substantial technical and community challenges for the affected gaming projects.

Following closely, another social platform launched a small decentralized application and application portal, reflecting the emerging competitive landscape in the social platform gaming sector. The first batch plans to launch 32 small decentralized applications, showcasing a more controllable, ecosystem-oriented approach compared to the relatively open development environment of the former.

These changes at the platform level, combined with the decline in market indicators, suggest that the Web3 gaming sector is entering a phase of consolidation, where platform integration and user experience may take precedence over token economics. These initiatives could significantly impact how blockchain gaming projects manage user acquisition and retention strategies in 2025.

Blockchain Game Public Chain Overview

In January 2025, the number of active blockchain games was 1,697, a slight increase of 1.4% compared to December. Traditional market leaders maintained their positions in game distribution: a certain public chain (24.2%), a certain public chain (15.6%), and Ethereum (13.1%). However, this stability in game distribution stands in stark contrast to the significant changes in on-chain activity.

The trading activity shows a significant concentration trend, with three chains dominating. A certain public chain leads with 180 million transactions, accounting for 32.4% of all gaming activities. Another public chain ranks second with 87.2 million transactions, holding a share of 15.9% (, while another public chain recorded 37.5 million transactions, representing a 16.8% share ). Together, these three chains account for over 55% of all gaming transaction volumes in January.

In terms of trading volume, a certain public Blockchain ranks first with a transaction amount of $51.9 million ( and a market share of 22.1% ), followed closely by another public Blockchain with a transaction amount of $49.5 million ( and a market share of 21.1% ). The third public Blockchain ranks third with a transaction amount of $19 million ( and a market share of 18.1% ).

The competition among various chains to attract developers is intensifying, with aggressive incentive programs being launched. A certain fund's multi-million dollar fund targets the intersection of Web3 gaming and AI, reflecting the growing market interest in AI-enhanced gaming experiences. Meanwhile, a certain network's $10 million grant program extends beyond gaming to consumer applications and DeFi protocols, aiming to build a more comprehensive ecosystem.

Blockchain Game Investment and Financing Situation

In January 2025, investment activities in Web3 games continued a 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 significantly diverted market attention and funds from other cryptocurrency sectors, including the Blockchain gaming space.

A game company is leading this month's fundraising activities, raising $4 million in a strategic round of financing led by an investment institution, with several well-known investment institutions participating. The studio's flagship game combines ARPG mechanics with strategic base building elements. The success of this game on a certain blockchain is particularly noteworthy. Other notable game financing events include several emerging projects.

Infrastructure development remains a key focus for investors, with two significant financings: one project raised $4 million for its game-specific chain based on a certain Layer 2 after successfully completing the open testnet phase. Additionally, another project raised $2.75 million for developing its core infrastructure, such as launching the testnet chain, the first game, and other on-chain assets.