What does hodlers and gamers have in common?
They both like to win.
Web3 gaming takes the best of both worlds, mixes them, and creates a delicious new recipe. Today, we bring to you exciting news from the web3 gaming as one of the players- Polygon, the layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum, climbs the leaderboards to become the second-largest gaming network in the space.
The fact that Polygon slaying it in the web3 gaming industry and becoming the second largest blockchain gaming network out there is big news for hodlers and gamers alike. For one thing, it shows the potential of web3 gaming, and on top of that, it does it in a (kinda) bear market. Imagine how the next bull run will draw more game developers to the blockchain gaming. Just imagine the thrill of witnessing AAA games built on blockchains pouring onto us!
As web3 gaming allows players to earn crypto rewards and use them across multiple games and platforms, even chains- thanks to increasing cross-chain activity within the cryptosphere, it looks like it is about time to forget about those old-school games where you only get sore fingers, with web3 gaming, you can earn some serious crypto bling, and Polygon is making its presence known in this realm.
According to DappRadar’s Blockchain Games Report, Polygon has had 138,081 unique active wallets (UAWs) engaged in games in March alone, with a growth rate of 53% from the previous month. This number places Polygon ahead of Hive (84,000 UAWs) and BNB Chain (80,000 UAWs) in the leaderboard. The current leader, Wax, remains on top with 314,000 UAWs. Some context: the number of unique active wallets is the perfect indicator of a lively gaming ecosystem. While Wax remains the leader in terms of UAW count, Polygon’s significant surge in user activity and gaming partnerships make it a force to be reckoned with in the blockchain gaming space.
What makes this even more interesting is the fact that despite a 3.33% decrease in on-chain gaming activity to 741,567 daily Unique Active Wallets (dUAW) in March, Polygon managed to show an immense growth.
The Game That Fuels Polygon’s Rise: Hunters On-Chain
The reason behind this surge of Polygon is as easy to spot as a noob in a lobby full of pros. Polygon’s success is mostly thanks to Hunters On-Chain, a game by BoomLand that has seen a UAW increase of over 17,000% in the past 30 days alone, as reported by DappRadar. Launched in January, Hunters On-Chain is a Web3 adaptation of BoomLand’s popular mobile game, Hunt Royale. It’s a free-to-play role-playing game that integrates non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and takes advantage of Minecraft’s immensely popular art style. On March 9, the game saw an all-time high UAW count of around 55,300. Although it’s unclear what specifically drove the surge in interest for the game last month, anticipation for an in-game NFT sale on March 31 may have been a contributing factor. Nonetheless, the platinum trophy goes to Hunters On-Chain!
With Hunters On-Chain leading the way, Polygon has emerged as the second-largest blockchain gaming network, leaving competitors in the dust and putting pressure on Wax.
It’s worth noting that the rise of Polygon is not only due to Hunters On-Chain’s success. The platform has also seen a surge in activity from other popular blockchain games such as Aavegotchi, Neon District, and My DeFi Pet, all of which have leveraged Polygon’s scaling solution to provide a more seamless gaming experience.
Other Trends on Polygon
Polygon’s rise in the gaming industry has been remarkable. But the layer 2 network is seeing exciting developments in other web3 areas too. Polygon Labs, the team behind the network, has partnered with big names such as Warner Music, Starbucks, Adidas, Reddit, and Adobe to develop and host NFT projects. The team successfully launched Polygon’s open-source Ethereum Virtual Machine equivalent zero-knowledge rollup on March 27. It is said to allow DApps to scale through transaction batching, unlocking higher performance while reducing gas fees to conduct transactions on the network.
In conclusion, Polygon has been making great strides in the blockchain gaming space, attracting a significant user base and partnering with big names in the industry. With the launch of its zero-knowledge rollup and the continued development of its ecosystem, Polygon is poised for continued growth and adoption in the NFT, gaming, and metaverse spaces. Since these three can be considered interconnected, the future looks bright for Polygon in terms of web3 gaming.
Polygon is slowly but surely making its mark in the blockchain gaming industry. Who knows, maybe it’ll give Wax a run for its money in the near future? Stay tuned for more updates, keep your crypto wallets, gamepads and mice ready for action!