According to a survey by the Blockchain Game Alliance, 42% of respondents believe that player reward models are the biggest advantage in attracting new users. However, as the GameFi industry evolves, blockchain games will face multiple challenges in 2025.
Tobin Kuo, CEO of Seraph, stated in an interview with Cointelegraph that maintaining player engagement, adopting new technologies, and building a sustainable in-game economy are barriers that GameFi must overcome to stay competitive.
Tobin pointed out that over 60% of players quit Web3 games within 30 days. He believes that the lack of long-term incentives and poor game mechanics are the main reasons why Web3 games struggle to sustain growth. He told Cointelegraph:
“As the attention economy accelerates, projects must prioritize player-centric design, focusing on immersive storytelling, skill-based rewards, and game mechanics that go beyond a 'profit-first' model, rather than relying on trends to attract attention.”
In 2025, developing better blockchain games will also require integrating emerging technologies like generative AI to enhance player experience. Tobin pointed out that GameFi projects that fail to adopt new technologies in a timely manner often see player retention rates drop by 30%-40%.
According to the survey of the Web3 gaming industry, these issues are considered the biggest challenges facing the GameFi sector in 2024. Source: Blockchain Game Alliance
Building a sustainable in-game economy
Tobin emphasized: “An unstable in-game economy is the main reason for project bankruptcies.” He believes that building a sustainable token model that controls inflation and is driven by data-based player rewards is key to maintaining player retention.
He further explained: “Dynamic loot distribution, staking-based rewards, and economic strategies that achieve player control through decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) could become best practices for GameFi development.”
For example, Hamster Kombat, a clicker game, made headlines in July, surpassing 300 million users in less than five months. However, after experiencing what is considered the largest token airdrop in cryptocurrency history, the game's active user count plummeted by 86%. As of November, the game's player count was down to 41 million, a significant drop from the summer peak of 300 million.
2024 Status of the Blockchain Gaming Industry
The Blockchain Game Alliance recently released the (2024 Industry Status Report), surveying 623 professionals in the Web3 gaming industry.
The report shows that about 53% of respondents believe that poor user experiences and complex user interfaces are the biggest challenges hindering new players from entering Web3 games.
Industry insiders outlined the main issues facing the GameFi sector. Source: Blockchain Game Alliance
An earlier report from the BGA pointed out that 10% of users abandon entering Web3 games due to the complexity of setting up a crypto wallet.
At the Blockchain Futurist Conference held in August, Anomaly Games CEO Long Do stated that abstracting blockchain functionality and allowing players to interact with the chain unconsciously is key to driving adoption.
Additionally, the BGA's 2024 report also showed that 33% of respondents believe that poor gaming experiences are one of the top three challenges currently facing the industry.
According to earlier results from a OnePoll survey in 2024, most surveyed players among over 2,000 adults lack understanding of blockchain games.
The survey shows that 52% of respondents do not know what blockchain games are, while another 32% have heard of blockchain games but have never played them.
Conclusion
With the rapid development of the GameFi industry, changes in player demand and market competition drive developers to constantly innovate and optimize. In 2025, how to maintain player stickiness, introduce new technologies, and establish sustainable economic models will be key to determining the success or failure of GameFi projects.