Web3 Games Encounter Waterloo, How to Overcome the Predicament?

Recently, several well-known Web3 game projects have announced their shutdowns, attracting widespread attention in the industry. These projects include "MapleStory N," adapted from "冒险岛," the highly anticipated MMORPG "Ember Sword," and the cat-themed shooting game "Nyan Heroes," among others.

The reasons for this situation are mainly as follows:

1. The gaming industry itself has a high failure rate. Studies show that mobile games have a death rate of up to 83% within three years, and 43% of games even fail during the development stage.

2. Web3 games face the challenge of player retention. Many projects quickly attract users through token incentives, but it is difficult to maintain long-term activity. User attrition leads to a decline in token prices, creating a vicious cycle.

3. There are issues with capital allocation and financing models. Some projects have failed to utilize funds efficiently after raising capital, and some even involve cases of raising money and absconding. At the same time, investment institutions' enthusiasm for this field has waned, with Web3 game financing in the first quarter of 2025 down 68% year-on-year.

4. The macro investment environment has deteriorated. Currently, the average token price of GameFi projects has fallen by 95% compared to historical highs, and most investment institutions have suffered heavy losses in this field.

5. Players' ownership commitments are difficult to fulfill. The so-called "decentralized assets" still heavily rely on centralized game servers, and after the game shuts down, NFT assets essentially lose their value.

In this regard, industry insiders generally believe that Web3 game development should return to its essence, first ensuring game quality and playability, rather than prematurely introducing tokens or NFTs. The Chief Operating Officer of Find Satoshi Lab stated that players are more concerned about whether the game is fun, rather than the asset ownership mechanism.

In the future, Web3 games need to overcome challenges by:

1. Return to value-driven, focus on creating high-quality game content
2. Design an economic model reasonably to avoid excessive reliance on token incentives.
3. Improve capital efficiency and extend the project lifecycle
4. Optimize user experience and increase player retention.
5. Explore new financing and profit models

Only when the game itself becomes attractive enough can Web3 games truly realize their value proposition and break out of the current predicament.