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Welcome to StartMode, your weekly compass for the evolving landscape of Web3.
This week: gaming giants rise while others fall, NFT art finds new purpose, and blockchain tech merges with AI to reshape digital ownership.
StartMode Spotlight
The Great Web3 Gaming Divide: Success Stories and Spectacular Failures
EVE Frontier will launch into Founders Access on June 11, 2025, marking what could be one of the most innovative Web3 gaming launches of the year. The survival horror MMO introduces groundbreaking mechanics that allow players to create and launch in-game cryptos or develop third-party applications for a myriad of functions.
CCP was founded in 1997 in Reykjavik, Iceland. With the launch of EVE Online in May 2003, CCP established itself as one of the most innovative companies in interactive entertainment, winning numerous awards and receiving critical acclaim worldwide.
Meanwhile, MapleStory N has attracted over 1 million players and recorded more than 10.2 million transactions since launching on May 15, proving that beloved franchises can successfully transition to Web3 when done right. MapleStory N's success has driven daily network transactions to skyrocket, surpassing 1 million twice in just one week.
But the ecosystem remains polarized. 93% of Web3 gaming projects are now defunct, with studios raising millions only to disappear without delivering promised experiences. The contrast between MapleStory N's explosive growth and 17 Web3 games that were announced to be closed this year highlights a critical truth: execution trumps hype every time.
This divergence signals the industry's maturation—where genuine innovation survives while speculative projects fade away.
MapleStory Universe--the Web3 IP-expansion initiative from Nexon- is launching MapleStory N, the blockchain-powered MMORPG. [Updated 10:19 am 5/16/25 Pacific time: Nexpace announced the launch was delayed.] The game is live today (May 15), bringing new dimensions to the 22-year-old MapleStory intellectual property franchise. Backed by over 31.5 million on-chain transactions during its playtests, MapleStory N [...]
Weekly Pulse
1. Sony Enters the Arena: Sony's blockchain network Soneium is launching an incubator for consumer-centric Web3 apps and games, partnering with Astar to accelerate development with a focus on solving real go-to-market challenges.
Apply by June 2025 to tap into Soneium's ecosystem of over 7 million wallets, access technical resources, and unlock grant support from Astar Network alongside infrastructure from Startale Cloud Services.
2. AI Powers Development: 2025 is believed to be the year that Web3 gaming finally takes off thanks to AI tools reducing development time by up to 65%, allowing studios to deliver on years-old promises.
Source: https://www.ccn.com/news/crypto/2025-web3-gaming-ai-12b/
Game Changer
EVE Frontier: When Web3 Gets Weird (In the Best Way)
Forget everything you know about Web3 gaming integration. EVE Frontier could be one of the most innovative gaming launches of the modern era. The game isn't just adding blockchain elements—it's creating an entire in-game economy where players can literally mint their own cryptocurrencies and build third-party applications. Think of it as a digital nation with its own financial system, where your mining operation could fund the next big DeFi protocol.
"What does Web3 gaming look like when it's done right?"
The survival MMO mechanics combined with unprecedented economic freedom might just be the secret sauce the industry has been searching for.
EVE Frontier is, if nothing else, an intriguing experiment in the making. It could be an absolute trash fire, and I remain actively wary of its blockchain and cryptocurrency elements. But I did have fun playing the small bit of it we got access to, and it is an enticing invitation to settle and develop fresh empires in a blank slate galaxy with no major NPC factions to work around.
Art Topic of the Week
The NFT Renaissance: Marina Abramović Leads the Charge
Performance art legend Marina Abramović is announcing new NFT drop designed to create a 'bridge' to young generation, with three distinct collections launching throughout 2025. Her approach—using technology to create avatars that perform new versions of her iconic pieces—represents a fascinating evolution of digital art.
Source: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/marina-abramovic-element-nft-2622504
In 2025 artists are presenting, as NFTs, generative art pieces that are ever more sophisticated in function or aesthetic and never the same in any two instances. This shift toward utility and innovation over simple speculation marks the maturation of the NFT space, where only 0.2% of NFT drops have returned profits to investors but the surviving projects offer genuine cultural value.
The art world is finally asking the right question: not "How much can this sell for?" but "What new forms of expression does this technology enable?
Are NFTs Still a Thing in 2025? Explore Whether NFTs Are Still Popular, Their State, Emerging Trends, and Future in Digital Collectibles.
Tech Talk
AI Meets Web3: The Convergence That Changes Everything
AI and Web3 are like peanut butter and jelly — each great on its own, but together? Absolute magic. The integration goes beyond simple automation to create truly adaptive systems.
AI-powered DAOs use machine learning to automate decision-making, optimize treasury management, and even generate new revenue streams for communities. Platforms like SingularityNET are already testing AI-driven governance models.
The real breakthrough? Smart contracts that learn and evolve. Imagine lending protocols that adjust rates in real-time based on market conditions, or NFT marketplaces that predict demand and optimize pricing automatically. We're moving from rigid, pre-programmed systems to intelligent, adaptive networks.
Market Movers
The Numbers Game: Quality Over Quantity
With over 3,200 startups and 17,000 companies now operating in space, the industry boasts an impressive annual growth rate of 28%. Investment activity remains robust with more than 2,300 investors supporting nearly 9,800 successful funding rounds, averaging $10.7 million per round.
The Web3 gaming market shows resilience despite funding challenges, with the global Web3 gaming market expected to be valued at approximately $182.98 billion by 2034, up from $31.49 billion in 2024. This growth will be driven by mainstream adoption and real utility rather than speculative fever.
Source: https://www.ccn.com/news/technology/web3-gaming-market-183b-2025-launches/
Future Vision
2025: The Year Web3 Gets Real
2025 promises to be the year where Web3 takes the spotlight and leads us in an era defined by empowerment and limitless potential. The convergence of regulatory clarity, AI integration, and proven use cases is creating the perfect storm for mainstream adoption.
The question isn't whether Web3 will succeed—it's how quickly traditional industries will adapt to the new paradigm of user ownership and decentralized value creation.
What's your take? Are we finally seeing the Web3 revolution, or just another cycle of hype?
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nygilia
2025 promises to be the year where Web3 takes the spotlight and leads us in an era defined by empowerment and limitless potential. The convergence of regulatory clarity, AI integration, and proven use cases is creating the perfect storm for mainstream adoption. Want to learn more? Read & Collect our first /start-mode issue https://paragraph.com/@startmode/issue-1-friday-june-13-2025
Gm! Happy Saturday 😇 According to NFTInsider: - 98% of NFT collections created in 2024 are inactive. - Only 0.2% of NFT drops have returned profits to investors. - 64% of NFT launches had fewer than 10 trades in their first week. - Ethereum blockchain accounts for $92 million in weekly sales, far outpacing other blockchains. To learn more about what is happening in our ecosystem, take a look at our first issue via @paragraph https://paragraph.com/@startmode/issue-1-friday-june-13-2025
Issue #1 | Friday, June 13, 2025 Now live on @paragraph This is the start of something new. + Collect + Subscribe + Enjoy! https://paragraph.com/@startmode/issue-1-friday-june-13-2025?referrer=0xae20f0454cc764619489087FB7eF4c3e890062A0
The first /start-mode issue is now live on @paragraph If you love gaming, art, and tech, this newsletter is for you. Feel free to check it out and subscribe ✨