In the realm of web3 NFT gaming, March 2024 witnessed significant shifts in player preferences and market dynamics. According to recent data from DappRadar, Pixels, Nine Chronicles, and Apeiron have emerged as frontrunners, while once-dominant titles such as Alien Worlds and Splinterlands have experienced notable declines. In this article, we will break down the latest data and summarize recent highlights you need to know about from March 2024.

The Power of Pixels

Following the peak and subsequent decline of popular play-to-earn web3 games such as Alien Worlds, and Splinterlands, the stage was set for new contenders to rise. Leveraging a revamped roadmap and a robust community, Pixels has experienced exponential growth, fueled by strategic token initiatives like the transition from $BERRY to $PIXEL and engaging play-to-airdrop campaigns. Let's dive into the data the latest data from DappRadar.

Web3 Social Farming Game

Pixels, the popular web3 browser-based social farming game, has achieved several significant milestones since its debut on the Ronin Network in November 2023. Pixels has steadily expanded its reach, propelled by innovative initiatives such as play-to-airdrop events and strategic collaborations with industry giants like Mocaverse and Yield Guild Gaming (YGG).

Two Million Lifetime Wallets

The most recent data from DappRadar and Footprint Analytics reveals that Pixels has surpassed the coveted threshold of two million lifetime wallets on Ronin, boasting an impressive daily active unique wallet count of approximately 625,000. This surge in adoption underscores the growing traction of blockchain gaming projects and their increasing appeal to enthusiasts worldwide.

Over One Million Active Players

The Pixels team also announced that they have hit two million lifetime wallets registered on the Ronin blockchain, with over 1.1 million active players. This development signifies a notable increase in the web3 gaming sector, marked by consistent growth in daily and monthly active users. 

Strong Community and Strategic Partnerships

The success of Pixels underscores the importance of community engagement and agile development in the blockchain gaming space. With support from projects like Animoca’s Mocaverse and guilds such as YGG, Pixels demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of market fluctuations. However, sustaining this momentum remains a key challenge for the Pixels team in the long run, as seen in past instances with Alien Worlds and Splinterlands.

Rise of RPG Nine Chronicles 

Meanwhile, other titles in the play-to-earn web3 gaming sphere made notable strides. Nine Chronicles, an idle RPG, continued its ascent with over 60,000 daily active unique wallets this month. Although impressive, this figure pales in comparison to Pixels' audience, indicating the latter's dominance in the current landscape. Let's dive into the data the latest data from DappRadar.

250K Plus Downloads

South Korean developer Planetarium Labs, whose PC-based RPG, Nine Chronicles, took the gaming community by storm. Earlier this year, the developers announced their plans to expand to mobile, culminating in the launch of the new game, Nine Chronicles M. The mobile game generated increased anticipation with over 220,000 pre-registrations leading up to its launch on November 22nd.

Fast forward three weeks and Nine Chronicles M had already surpassed 250,000 downloads on various app stores. Notably, the game's combined performance, considering both the original Nine Chronicles and the new mobile release, has resulted in an all-time player high of 115,603 monthly active users, spread across more than 150 countries. Japanese players have exhibited the highest retention rates among the diverse player base.

Over 200 Million Transactions

Nine Chronicles is a fully on-chain, open-source, and 100% decentralized RPG game. Boasting players from over 150 countries, the game has witnessed 202.4 million transactions since its inception. September statistics revealed an average Daily Active User (DAU) count of around 35,000 further solidifying its global presence. Notably, the game recently earned recognition as one of the top five performing games worldwide in the 2023 3Q Blockchain Games Report, a publication by DappRadar and BGA Games. 

Impressive $32 Million Funding

The mobile version of Nine Chronicles is available on both Google Play and the Apple Store, with support for in-app purchases, aligning with Planetarium Labs' strategy to introduce web3 games to a diverse user base. Backed by a $32 million funding round last year, Planetarium Labs has been making strides in web3 gaming. Alongside Nine Chronicles, the company recently introduced Verse8, an open-source decentralized roguelike RPG protocol, and Immortal Rising 2, a web3 competitive idle RPG game.

Admirable Apeiron

Looking ahead, Apeiron emerges as a promising contender. While currently available as a non-blockchain demo via the Epic Games Store, the web3 version of Apeiron is set to launch on the Ronin blockchain. The recent on-chain activity surrounding its $APRS token launch on Ronin hints at growing interest, signaling potential growth in the months to come.

50k Daily Active Users

As a leading web3 game with over 50k Daily Active Users (DAU), Apeiron is a casual competitive hybrid mobile game where players command a godly avatar to convert their planet's Doods to become followers, summon extraordinary miracles to shape their worlds, and engage in card-based combat against the forces of the Mad God Chaos.

Apeiron has a unique NFT-centric model that enhances players' strategic choices with real economic implications, giving players the power to trade and invest in the world they help to flourish. As the core ecosystem token, $APRS is mainly used for expanding the ecosystem of Apeiron NFTs.  Players will be able to breed new Planet NFTs and mint Apostles for either playing, renting, or selling, using their marketplace DAPP and $APRS.

“Building upon the concepts laid by Axie Infinity's token breeding model, which correlates NFT value with their actual cost creation, Apeiron tokenomics represents the next generation of web3 gaming. This foundation, combined with scholarship and rentals was the key to Axie’s success, and we plan to further improve the model by refining supply management and implementing vigilant monitoring,” commented Frank Cheng, CEO of Foonie Magus.

Raising $24 Million in Funding

Apeiron is described as "the world's first NFT-based god game" coming soon to the Ronin Network. Apeiron will feature a unique rogue-lite dungeon card-battler combined with god game simulation gameplay inspired by classic god games like Populous and Black & White.

Apeiron is developed by a team of 60 Hong Kong developers with their prototype generating one of the largest single-game seed fundings in web3 from investors including Hashed, IVC, Morningstar Ventures, Spartan Group, and DeFiance. To date, Apeiron has raised $24 million. 

Final Thoughts

As the blockchain gaming sector continues to evolve, these trends shed light on the shifting preferences of players and the strategies adopted by developers to navigate this dynamic landscape. While Pixels celebrates its ascent, industry observers closely monitor the trajectory of emerging titles like Apeiron, anticipating their impact on the future of blockchain gaming.