First Quarter of 2024 Sees 94% Boost in VC Funding for Gaming

Burcin Oztuna, the head blockchain strategist at Dynasty Studios, shared a deep analysis of the future of web3 games, pointing out the game-changing power of blockchain technology in gaming. Traditional gaming is experiencing stagnant income and many layoffs, while web3 games open up new paths for innovation and development.

Since 2020 the gaming industry revenue growth has been stagnant. Reasons include inflation, more expensive development and marketing, and gamers wanting higher quality. Studios are also battling with rising costs and high player demands, causing many layoffs.

The Gaming Industry Experienced Significant Layoffs In 2023

In 2023, many people lost their jobs in the gaming world. Around 10,500 game makers, artists, testers, and others were let go, which was more than the 8,500 job losses in 2022. This has continued in 2024, affecting big companies like Epic Games, Sony, EA Games, Riot Games, and Unity

Investors are now careful while investing, due to rising development costs and conomic uncertainties. In 2023, investors spent just 1.1% more on video games compared to the amount spent in 2022, showing a slow growth rate. Even with these problems, there are good signs for 2024.

The Konvoy Ventures Gaming Review for early 2024 says that investors put $594 million into the gaming world in the first three months of 2024. This is 94% more than the previous quater. It’s the first time in over a year that money for games has gone up, showing that the gaming world is still a good place to invest because of new tech and innovation.

The Web3 Gaming Market Grew Significantly With Axie Infinity’s Success

In 2021, the web3 gaming market grew a lot, shown by Axie Infinity’s big success with more than 2 million active players and $1.3 billion in yearly earnings. This success showed that blockchain tech can change the gaming world. But making expensive, top-quality games needs a lot of creativity, hard work, and dedication.

Even with progress, there is still more room for development in the web3 space. Games like Illuvium and Star Atlas got a lot of help from players and investors, but money problems and issues in the crypto world made it hard to put money into web3 games.

In 2023, nearly 30% of game companies had to stop their projects. But some big projects got enough money to keep going, so there might be growth later. The industry got $988 million from venture capitalists in April 2024, the most fund since January 2021.