UpOnly Research #18: WAX controls over 40% of GameFi, Ex-TikTok gaming lead jumps ship to blockchain gaming
The WAX blockchain has grown into a dominant force in the GameFi space. On-chain statistics reveal that the number of gaming protocols on the network recently surpassed 1500, while WAX is now home to over 40% of all GameFi activity.
This edition of UpOnly | Research sheds further light on the WAX blockchain gaming ecosystem, with key insights for new projects and prospective investors. Additionally, this report draws important takeaways from an ex-TikTok gaming lead’s decision to transition to blockchain gaming development.
WAX’s cheap network attracts the largest play-to-earn market share
Blockchain gaming is currently fragmented. Games reside on different networks, with developers often prioritizing the lowest cost infrastructure to support the millions of microtransactions associated with gaming environments.
The industry has, over time, made a natural selection with the most played games residing on networks where fees are cheapest for players. Although not as popular as close competitors, the WAX blockchain has emerged as a dominant force in this respect. According to data on Footprint Analytics, WAX holds around 41% of the total GameFi market share, with Hive, Solana, BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain/BSC), Ronin Network, and Polygon completing the top six.
(Source: Footprint Analytics)
WAX offers near zero-fee transactions, a feature that has helped ecosystem gaming titles such as Alien World, Splinterlands, and Farmers World to gain traction. WAX also has over 13 million user accounts. Industry tracker DappRadar shows that four out of the five most-played blockchain games in the past 30 days are native to WAX.
(Source: DappRadar)
Mining Network, the most recent addition to the WAX ecosystem, reportedly attracted over 800k users within its first 30 days. The game features free-to-play and play-to-earn modes, rewarding users for replicating a virtual version of the Bitcoin mining process. Mining Network has retained over 200k users in the most recent 30-day period since launch.
WAX’s dominance of the play-to-earn gaming space is primarily built around offering diverse gaming options, a model adopted by upcoming gaming ecosystems, including Nakamoto Games. The number of gaming protocols on WAX recently surpassed 1500. The closest competitor BNB Chain has only around 617 games.
Number of Gaming Protocols on WAX (Source: Footprint Analytics)
WAX’s growing usage reminds upcoming gaming projects to prioritize networks that support rapid scaling of the player base. Similarly, prudent play-to-earn and Metaverse investors may want to prioritize backing projects built on fee-friendly networks as scaling has no limitations.
Of course, such near zero-fee networks typically come with decentralization and security trade-offs; a good example is the recent hack of Axie Infinity’s native Ronin Network. However, they represent the industry’s most efficient option for onboarding millions of players to the blockchain gaming ecosystem.
Ex-TikTok gaming Lead jumps ship for blockchain gaming
TikTok’s head of gaming, Jason Fung, is stepping down from his role in the short video app company to pursue a career in blockchain gaming. Fung has launched a new venture dubbed Meta0 with an eye set on resolving current play-to-earn games’ infrastructure challenges. The startup will look to provide interoperability solutions allowing games to deploy on several networks simultaneously.
As head of gaming at TikTok, Fung had spearheaded the company’s push to bring gaming content to the platform. One prominent feature introduced by TikTok involved hosting mini-games to boost user engagement on the platform.
Fung’s switch to the blockchain gaming industry adds him to the growing list of developers joining the niche. Recently, PlayStudios co-founder Paul Bettner, a veteran game developer, also switched. The play-to-earn industry’s ability to attract top talent underlines its growing influence on the global gaming landscape. It also puts it in fine stead to grow significantly in the coming years.
UpOnly unlocks actionable investing in blockchain gaming, providing access to data on leading and upcoming ventures. Such wealth of information allows investors to make calculated risks on a niche that has the potential to disrupt the multi-billion gaming market.
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About UpOnly
UpOnly is a first-of-kind data directory that provides insightful and actionable data on the move-to-earn, play-to-earn, and Metaverse gaming fields. We aim to become a one-stop shop for gamers worldwide to identify the most lucrative play-to-earn opportunities and optimize their performance. Alongside our data directory, we will launch a decentralized prediction platform allowing anyone globally to bet on the outcome of play-to-earn and Metaverse gaming events.
