2024’s top crypto gaming projects by development – Santiment

Santiment Feed’s Ecosystem Dev Activity Dashboard highlights the most active crypto gaming projects across various sectors, offering insights into real programming progress rather than superficial updates every month. The gaming niche, which continues to lead blockchain innovation, saw some interesting shifts in rankings for December 2024.

Santiment’s methodology measures meaningful software development events on blockchains and their associated dApps. As described by the blockchain analytics platform, an ecosystem developer activity refers to the total developer engagement across all projects or assets that are part of that ecosystem. 

For instance, the Ethereum ecosystem encompasses all the projects that leverage the Ethereum blockchain or contribute to it in some way.

These events are curated to exclude low-value actions to give crypto gaming enthusiasts a clear picture of the sector’s most dynamic projects. Here are the top-performing blockchain gaming projects in the month of December, per Santiment data.

December crypto gaming leaders

Retaining its position at the top, MultiversX (formerly Elrond) secured the number one spot on Santiment’s list. According to the report, the project had a 30-day dev activity index of 210.33, an 11% increase from values recorded last month. 

🧑‍💻 Here are crypto's top gaming projects by development. Directional indicators represent each project's ranking rise or fall since last month:

➡️ 1) @multiversx $EGLD 🥇
➡️ 2) @decentraland $MANA 🥈
📈 3) @ninechronicles $WNCG 🥉
➡️ 4) @skalenetwork $SKL
📈 5) @funtoken_io… pic.twitter.com/IkYXHQyMiK

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) December 20, 2024

MultiversX has remained consistent in delivering updates, including enhancements to its blockchain infrastructure and expanding its ecosystem partnerships. 

Decentraland, a staple in blockchain game, took second place as it did in November. As one of the most popular platforms in the metaverse space, it allows users to purchase, develop, and trade parcels of virtual land using its native token, MANA. The gaming project amassed a 132.8 index in the past month, with a 23% uptick in unique active wallets, per recent updates from Dappradar.

The platform has maintained steady growth with recent updates to its VR capabilities and expanded content creation tools. Its community events and virtual concerts have also drawn significant attention, further solidifying its position in the blockchain gaming sphere.

Climbing to third place, Nine Chronicles (WNCG) recorded significant development activity, recording an index of 117.73. Nine Chronicles recently introduced updates to its gameplay mechanics on its adventure character creation mode and in-game economy, which the gaming community lauded. 

🏆 Nine Chronicles is soaring! 🚀

Ranked among the Top Web3 Games with the highest transactions in the last 24 hours! 🕹️

🙏 Thanks for playing, Adventurers!

Celebrate with us and enjoy your anniversary surprises ⚔️💖 https://t.co/VrvTcFTG2L

— Nine Chronicles (@NineChronicles) December 19, 2024

Just this week, the game appeared in the top ten list of games with the most transactions in 24 hours, as revealed by GameFi Hub on X.

Other projects making waves

The middle rankings saw consistent performers and fresh climbers. SKALE Network (SKL) secured fourth place, emphasizing its role as a high-performance blockchain optimized for gaming and decentralized applications. 

Meanwhile, FunToken (FUN), which rose to fifth place, continues to gain traction for its focus on blockchain-based entertainment and gaming applications.

Immutable X (IMX) and Enjin (ENJ), known for their contributions to NFT-based gaming and digital asset creation, experienced dips in ranking, recording 38.67 and 22.9. Treasure’s MAGIC token, represented on both Ethereum and Arbitrum, occupied the eighth and ninth spots. Axie Infinity (AXS), a pioneer in the play-to-earn (P2E) movement, rounded out the top ten.

Shift in blockchain gaming workforce

Meanwhile, the blockchain gaming industry could witness immense growth in 2025, as the Blockchain Game Alliance’s 2024 State of the Industry survey reveals more blockchain gaming professionals now come from a gaming background than any other field. Over half (52.5%) of respondents reported having gaming expertise, the highest proportion since the survey’s inception in 2021.

In contrast, blockchain or cryptocurrency specialists now account for just 10.8% of the workforce, a significant drop from 21.7% in 2023. This shift reflects the industry’s growing focus on developing fun-first games over financialized ones.

The report also highlights that digital asset ownership remains the biggest benefit of integrating blockchain into games, with 71.1% of respondents citing it as the primary advantage, a trend that has remained consistent since the survey’s launch in 2021.

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