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As the year winds down, every gaming company and its dog are dropping year-in-review reports.

A recent report from blockchain gaming accelerator Game7 suggests that many game developers had an enforced nap instead of pumping out new games.

This year, just 223 Web3 games were launched which is a 65% drop from the 640 games launched in 2022, and even more distant from the 811 games launched in 2021.

Game7
Web3 game releases per year (Game7)

So what’s the deal with the sudden nosedive in output?

Well, the optimistic answer is Rome wasn’t built in a day.

It seems to be what Immutable co-founder and president Robbie Ferguson believes…that many great Web3 gaming hits are on the way… but patience is required.

Speaking to Magazine, Ferguson says there has been a significant surge of money into Web3 games lately, and developers are focusing on crafting standout hits:

“The last year has been really interesting, Web3 gaming has had such an influx of investment, it’s just the time-lag of the production of games until we start seeing hits…roughly $15 billion US has been invested in Web3 gaming over the past 3 years.”

Similarly, Stefanidis also mentions the amount of cash flowing in the Web3 gaming scene, even though new money from retail is yet to flow back into the overall crypto markets.

“The appetite has significantly increased. Projects are minting out and raising money again. I think the belief in Web3 has continued to grow, even in the bear market,” Stefanidis says.

But in 2024, the real hits won’t just be tossing money around to keep players hooked, at least according to Gabby Dizon, co-founder of Yield Guild Games.

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In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, Dizon declared that the most successful Web3 games in 2024 will pivot from play-to-earn (P2E) to instead focus on being entirely free-to-play to attract players.

Keep an eye on Shrapnel, the AAA first-person extraction shooter blockchain game to see whether it will emerge as a hit or a flop.

The game has been getting a ton of hype in the industry. 

It’s set on Earth in the year 2038, where the objective is to gather valuable in-game assets and safely extract them, while facing off against enemies and rival players.

The coming months will also see the debut of the long awaited Illuvium games along with other big titles.

However, John Stefanidis, CEO of Balthazar Gaming DAO, told Magazine that the games that will score big might just be the ones doing the classic, promise less, but deliver way more:

“I think the challenges that games are having right now are trying to deliver on the huge number of promises that they’ve made, and they’re struggling to acquire users off the back of that when there are other games coming out that are promising much less.”

Ferguson predicts that the “first hit” blockchain game will catalyze an entire new narrative as developers will be able to see “the playbook used to make successful games.”

“By the end of this year, there should no longer be any roadblocks for a game that’s successful enough from being able to succeed.”

Blowfish Studios announce early access to Phantom Galaxies

The team behind new sci-fi action RPG game Phantom Galaxies described the gaming space as “challenging and unpredictable” when it announced early access to the game.

Are the developers fessing up to a little bit of market jitters as they roll out the new game?

It’s probably unnecessary as the title has garnered considerable attention online, already clocking up over 100,000 followers on the X platform, aka Twitter.

Published by Blowfish Studios, a subsidiary of Web3 giant Animoca Brands, Phantom Galaxies is available for free on both Steam and the Epic Games Store. 

Set in the aftermath of an interstellar war the game unfolds as the Commonwealth and the Union come together to establish the Ranger Squadron – an outfit of skilled mecha pilots who guard human colonies on the outer edges of space.

Players join the squadron as an “ensign” — a junior ranked officer — controlling a transforming Starlighter fighting against pirate factions and aliens. 

According to an official blog post, an official governance token called Astrafer can be used to splash on credits, Ores, and U-Cubes for upgrading the Starfighter.

There are three ranger tracks available in the game. The first two, Standard and Advanced, hook every player up with rewards after hitting certain levels. But here’s the bummer – Astrafer isn’t part of the rewards for these two tracks unfortunately.

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The priciest option for players is the Elite Track. Right now, this track is the only way to earn Astrafer in the game, but don’t worry, they swear it won’t be like this forever.

“The Elite Track is the only way to receive ASTRAFER in-game currently, but this will change in future.”

However, if users aren’t into making moolah, they can hop on the Standard Track for free.

Disney’s Web3 platform ‘irrelevant’

Disney has decided to dip its toes in non-fungible tokens (NFT), after tossing its metaverse plans out the window earlier this year along with 50 jobs.

In a partnership with blockchain and metaverse firm Dapper Labs, it has created an NFT platform that will offer iconic cartoon characters from the past century on the marketplace, dubbed Disney Pinnacle.

The platform will also include icons from Pixar as well as heroes and villains from the Star Wars galaxy, styled as collectible and tradable digital pins.

But…is this buzz around mega-billion dollar companies jumping into the Web3 scene still a thing?

Ilja Moisejevs, co-founder of Solana NFT marketplace Tensor, believes it really isn’t worth the fuss:

“Not sure if it’s an unpopular opinion – but Disney, Nike, Sbux, the next Web2 brand getting into Web3… …is irrelevant. It’s like worrying if Walmart will start using the web in 1999. Sure they will, eventually, who cares – 99% of web’s value capture was done by web-native startups.”

Hot Take: NFL Rivals

NFL Rivals is a mobile blockchain game, published by Mythical Games in collaboration with the National Football League (NFL).

The gaming crew only recently bid farewell to Ethereum blockchain and jumped ship to Polkadot. They pointed the finger at Ethereum’s sluggish transaction speeds and wallet-draining costs. 

Before you roll your eyes at an NFL title, nope, you don’t need to be a sports guru for this one. 

Honestly, it’s not really a game that’ll make die-hard sports fans excited. It’s straightforward, and that’s the beauty of it.

I got sucked into the gameplay, and I swear I’ve never seen an NFL match.

NFL Rivals
NFL Rivals is a free mobile game.

If you’re on the hunt for a fresh game to kill time during a delayed flight or keep you entertained when your date’s fashionably late, this is the one. 

Better yet, it doesn’t cost you a dime to play on your iPhone or Android. 

The tutorial was surprisingly efficient, not like those never-ending ones. It covered throws, kicks and got right into the gameplay without any fuss. 

Once you’re in the game, you wear the team manager hat. You assemble your players every game, level up, recruit better players (and ditch the underperformers).

Rivals 2
You can buy and sell players in NFL Rivals.

Once you hit level four in the game, you unlock the option to buy, sell, and trade individual NFL players as NTFs on Mythical online marketplace.

$26M
Jaquan is available for the low, low price of $26M

I took a quick peek at the marketplace, and the big shot collectible is Jaquan Brisker, selling for a massive 100 million MYTH.

That’s around $26 million USD, in case you were wondering.

If you’re not ready to splash that type of cash, no worries – you can grab yourself a bargain with Justin Houston for just 1.5 MYTH, about $0.39 USD.

What I do like about NFL Rivals is that it seamlessly fits into the iPhone screen. Unlike some soccer and tennis games I’ve tried where your thumbs end up covering half the action. Not cool. 

Controls? Pretty smooth. Even if you’ve got chubby fingers, this game won’t have you pulling your hair out.

More from the Web3 gaming space

—  Popular game studio Avalon has teased its new User-Generated Content (UGC) MMORPG in a 90-second trailer. 

—  Immutable teams up with Japanese game developer Black Tower Studios, to release Web3 game Arkbound.

— Gaming giant Ubisoft has announced plans to launch an Ethereum non-fungible token (NFT) for its upcoming game Champion Tactics.

— PancakeSwap expands its gaming offerings with the launch of PancakeSwap Gaming Marketplace.

Andrew Fenton

Andrew Fenton

Based in Melbourne, Andrew Fenton is a journalist and editor covering cryptocurrency and blockchain. He has worked as a national entertainment writer for News Corp Australia, on SA Weekend as a film journalist, and at The Melbourne Weekly.

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Senator Tim Scott is confident market structure bill passed by August

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Senator Tim Scott is confident market structure bill passed by August

Senator Tim Scott is confident market structure bill passed by August

Senator Tim Scott, the chairman of the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, recently said that he expects a crypto market bill to be passed into law by August 2025.

The chairman also noted the Senate Banking Committee’s advancement of the GENIUS Act, a comprehensive stablecoin regulatory bill, in March 2025, as evidence that the committee prioritizes crypto policy. In a statement to Fox News, Scott said:

“We must innovate before we regulate — allowing innovation in the digital asset space to happen here at home is critical to American economic dominance across the globe.”

Scott’s timeline for a crypto market structure bill lines up with expectations from Kristin Smith, CEO of the crypto industry advocacy group Blockchain Association, of market structure and stablecoin legislation being passed into law by August.

The Trump administration has emphasized that comprehensive crypto regulations are central to its plans for protecting the value of the US dollar and establishing the country as a global leader in digital assets by attracting investment into US-based crypto firms.

US Government, United States, Stablecoin

Senator Tim Scott highlights the Senate Banking Committee’s goals and accomplishments in 2025. Source: Fox News

Related: Atkins becomes next SEC chair: What’s next for the crypto industry

Support for comprehensive crypto regulations is bipartisan

US lawmakers and officials expect clear crypto policies to be established and signed into law sometime in 2025 with bipartisan support from Congress.

Speaking at the Digital Assets Summit in New York City, on March 18, Democrat Representative Ro Khanna said he expects both the market structure and stablecoin bills to pass this year.

The Democrat lawmaker added that there are about 70-80 other representatives in the party who understand the importance of passing clear digital asset regulations in the United States.

US Government, United States, Stablecoin

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, pictured left, President Donald Trump in the center, and crypto czar David Sacks, pictured right, at the White House Crypto Summit. Source: The White House

Khanna emphasized that fellow Democrats support dollar-pegged stablecoins due to the role of dollar tokens in expanding demand for the US dollar worldwide through the internet.

Bo Hines, the executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, also spoke at the conference and predicted that stablecoin legislation would be passed into law within 60 days.

Hines highlighted that establishing US dominance in the digital asset space is a goal with widespread bipartisan support in Washington DC.

Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025

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US Social Security moves public comms to X amid DOGE-led job cuts — Report

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US Social Security moves public comms to X amid DOGE-led job cuts — Report

US Social Security moves public comms to X amid DOGE-led job cuts — Report

The US Social Security Administration (SSA) will move all public communications to the X social media platform amid sweeping workforce cuts recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by X owner Elon Musk.

According to anonymous sources who spoke with WIRED, the government agency will no longer issue its customary letters and press releases to communicate changes to the public, instead relying on X as its primary form of public-facing communication.

The shift comes as the SSA downsizes its workforce from 57,000 employees to roughly 50,000 to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency. The agency issued this statement in February 2025:

“SSA has operated with a regional structure consisting of 10 offices, which is no longer sustainable. The agency will reduce the regional structure in all agency components down to four regions. The organizational structure at Headquarters also is outdated and inefficient.”

Elon Musk, the head of DOGE, has accused the Social Security system of distributing billions of dollars in wrongful payments, a claim echoed by the White House. Musk’s comments sparked intense debate about the future of the retirement program and sustainable government spending.

US Government, United States, Elon Musk

Source: Elon Musk

Related: Musk says he found ‘magic money computers’ printing money ‘out of thin air’

DOGE targets US government agencies in efficiency push

The Department of Government Efficiency is an unofficial government agency tasked with identifying and curbing allegedly wasteful public spending through budget and personnel cuts.

In March, DOGE began probing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and gained access to its internal systems, including data repositories.

SEC officials signaled their cooperation with DOGE and said the regulatory agency would work closely with it to provide any relevant information requested.

US Government, United States, Elon Musk

Musk and Trump discuss curbing public spending and eliminating government waste. Source: The White house

DOGE also proposed slashing the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) workforce by 20%. The workforce reduction could impact up to 6,800 IRS employees and be implemented by May 15 — exactly one month after 2024 federal taxes are due.

Musk’s and the DOGE’s proposals for sweeping spending cuts are not limited to slashing budgets and reducing the size of the federal workforce.

DOGE is reportedly exploring blockchain to curb public spending by placing the entire government budget onchain to promote accountability and transparency.

Magazine: Elon Musk’s plan to run government on blockchain faces uphill battle

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Trump exempts select tech products from tariffs, crypto to benefit?

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Trump exempts select tech products from tariffs, crypto to benefit?

Trump exempts select tech products from tariffs, crypto to benefit?

United States President Donald Trump has exempted an array of tech products including, smartphones, chips, computers, and select electronics from tariffs, giving the tech industry a much-needed respite from trade pressures.

According to the US Customs and Border Protection, storage cards, modems, diodes, semiconductors, and other electronics were also excluded from the ongoing trade tariffs.

“Large-cap technology companies will ultimately come out ahead when this is all said and done,” The Kobeissi letter wrote in an April 12 X post.

Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Economics, Economy, United States, Donald Trump

US Customs and Border Protection announces tariff exemptions on select tech products. Source: US Customs and Border Protection

The tariff relief will take the pressure off of tech stocks, which were one of the biggest casualties of the trade war. Crypto markets are correlated with tech stocks and could also rally as risk appetite increases on positive trade war headlines.

Following news of the tariff exemptions, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) broke past $85,000 on April 12, a signal that crypto markets are already responding to the latest macroeconomic development.

Related: Billionaire investor would ‘not be surprised’ if Trump postpones tariffs

Markets hinge on Trump’s every word during macroeconomic uncertainty

President Trump walked back the sweeping tariff policies on April 9 by initiating a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariffs and lowering tariff rates to 10% for countries that did not respond with counter-tariffs on US goods.

Bitcoin surged by 9% and the S&P 500 surged by over 10% on the same day that Trump issued the tariff pause.

Macroeconomic trader Raoul Pal said the tariff policies were a negotiation tool to establish a US-China trade deal and characterized the US administration’s trade rhetoric as “posturing.”

Bitcoin advocate Max Keiser argued that exempting select tech products from import tariffs would not reduce bond yields or further the Trump administration’s goal of lowering interest rates.

Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Price, Economics, Economy, United States, Donald Trump

Yield on the 10-year US government bond spikes following sweeping trade policies from the Trump administration. Source: TradingView

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury Bond shot up to a local high of approximately 4.5% on April 11 as bond investors reacted to the macroeconomic uncertainty of a protracted trade war.

“The concession just given to China for tech exports won’t reverse the trend of rates going higher. Confidence in US bonds and the US Dollar has been eroding for years and won’t stop now,” Keiser wrote on April 12.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

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