Crypto investors and executives often tout gaming as one of the best use cases for non-fungible tokens. On the surface that argument makes sense, because games encourage users to compete for NFT prizes or deck out their virtual avatars with NFT-based accessories. But where are all the blockchain gamers?
Axie Infinity, one of the best known NFT-based games, at one point looked like it was breaking through as a massive hit, reaching 2.7 million daily active users last October. In the Pokémon-like game, users battle each other with monster NFTs called “Axies.” But it’s been bleeding users since the crypto winter started—DAUs had fallen to less than 1 million as of May, according to The Block. And the value of slp tokens used to buy Axie Infinity’s in-game NFTs plummeted around 75% over the same period, according to CoinGecko.