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Web3 gaming is beginning a new chapter in 2023. We are seeing the focus shift from tokenomics to gameplay, driving a new wave of public interest towards blockchain games. Gamers are finally witnessing what a good blockchain game looks like, and they’re pleasantly surprised. 

We will see many games go live this year that have been in development for years, so we may actually get to see games achieve their product-market fit. Even if we have just one breakthrough title, we may see millions of new users enter Web3, automatically making gaming the most active sector of all. 

In this week of Web3 gaming, we saw many major announcements relating to game launches and partnerships. Let’s check them out! 

• Axie Infinity Season 2 is Live: The most famous game in Web3, Axie Infinity, finally launches their Season 2 update. The new season will last for 42 days, featuring a new reward system and gameplay experience. The rewards will increase as the days pass. For the first seven days, it will be 10% of the 112,000 reward payout. It will increase to 15$ the next seven days and so on. 

• Pegaxy Shares Updated 2023 Roadmap: The Pegaxy team is aiming to make major developments to its game. In Q1, it wants to add skill-based gameplay and many new features like chests, items, and pega. In Q2, Pegaxy battle pass will be released with fresh game modes and racetracks. In the final two quarters, there will be tournaments, a guild system, and more racetracks and game modes. 

• Cometh Battle Integrates into Ledger Live: Cometh becomes the first-ever game to integrate with Ledger Live, a software application used to manage assets stored on Ledger hardware wallets. Players can now store their game assets by creating a Polygon account on Ledger and directly start playing on the app.

• Tiny Colony Migrates to Immutable X: Tiny Colony is moving on from Solana to a trending blockchain in Immutable X. The team clarifies that BFT holders will not have to do anything and transition will be seamless. The main reasons to choose Immutable X are fast transactions, better opportunities with regards to Web3 gaming, and gas-less characteristics. 

• Citizen Conflict’s Alpha Test Ends: The widely known MMO shooter conducted an alpha test, allowing the public to download the game and try it out for the first time. The team hints there will be tournaments soon. 

• Gala Games Acquires Ember Entertainment: The mobile game studio with 15 games ready to launch on Gala’s blockchain GYRI turned out to be Ember Entertainment. Dragon Strike and Meow Match are two games that Gala is planning to launch on its blockchain and turn game items into digital assets. 

• Drone Race League Releases Trailer for Upcoming Game on Algorand:  The famous Drone league is launching their own gaming project called Project Drone Galaxy. It will be players operating their drones and competing in races. Check out the first trailer of the game: 

• Sortium Raises $7.8 Million to Build a AI-Based Game Studio:  We have seen the new narrative around AI and gaming, so it’s not a surprise seeing companies raise such amounts in seed rounds. We can certainly expect more companies to emerge built on the intersection of AI and gaming. In the case of Sortium, they are building a framework to launch games based on generative AI. Their first game, CosmoGene, is nearing completion.

• Fight Out Raises $2.9 Million in Stage 1 Pre-Sale: Fight Out is a move-to-earn metaverse attempting to redefine fitness in Web3. Its native token $FGHT is currently in a presale with a target of $5 million. The sale will be more in March. But the first stage is expected to be over in 8 days. 

• Gaming and metaverse tokens surge amidst market rally: As the market rallied with BTC and ETH leading the way, many altcoins in the gaming and metaverse sector showed great strength and outperformed the market. Some of the notable ones are MANA and SAND, which gave 70% and 33% returns this past week. ILV, PYR, and APE also had a decent run. 

• Alien Worlds and Splinterlands continue to dominate: The total unique active wallets of these two games is more than 600k, which is more than 50% of the market share of Web3 gaming. Few other notable games climbing the rankings are Planet IX with 102k UAW and Upland with 68k UAW. 

1. Mathew Howell, CMO of Decentral Games, shares an insightful thesis on what could be the next phase of Web3 gaming. He believes the future of Web3 gaming depends on composability, community, and ownership. It’s a refreshing read. Do check it out. 

1. Blockchain Game Alliance releases their 2022 survey, highlighting the challenges faced so far, the transition from P2E, and 2023 trends. It is a must-read for Web3 gaming enthusiasts and people looking to build a career in this space.