Web3 Gaming Tokens Get Hammered: Deeper Losses as Crypto Markets Tumble
It's a bloodbath for digital play-to-earn assets. While the broader cryptocurrency market takes a hit, tokens powering the Web3 gaming ecosystem are getting absolutely crushed—falling harder and faster than their peers. Forget a gentle correction; this is a full-scale rout for the sector that promised to merge decentralized finance with global entertainment.
The Perfect Storm Hits GameFi
Market-wide fear is the obvious trigger, but gaming tokens face a unique cocktail of pressures. Investor sentiment has turned icy, punishing assets perceived as more speculative. The 'fun' part of finance suddenly looks a lot less amusing when portfolios are nosediving. Projects that soared on hype and roadmaps are now getting a brutal reality check on user adoption and sustainable tokenomics.
Liquidity Vanishes When You Need It Most
Thin order books are exacerbating the plunge. Many gaming tokens lack the deep liquidity of major cryptocurrencies, meaning even modest sell-offs can trigger catastrophic price slides. It's the crypto equivalent of trying to sell a mansion in a ghost town—good luck finding a buyer without slashing the price. This illiquidity premium is now working in reverse, accelerating losses.
A Sector Reckoning or a Buying Opportunity?
For true believers, this is a fire sale. They see battered prices as a chance to accumulate tokens for games still in development, betting on a future resurgence. Critics, however, view the steeper decline as a sign of fundamental weakness—proof that the 'game' was often just a thin veneer over a speculative token pump. After all, nothing tests a project's resilience like a bear market that separates the robust ecosystems from the glorified Ponzi schemes dressed in pixel art.
The downturn is forcing a brutal maturation. Teams are being pressured to deliver actual gameplay, not just token whitepapers and Discord hype. The era of easy money is over, at least for now. Whether this purge leaves a healthier, more sustainable Web3 gaming landscape or just a graveyard of abandoned projects remains the billion-dollar question. One thing's certain: in crypto, the house always wins—and right now, the house is taking everyone's chips.
Few tokens record over 30% profits, losses are heavier
Only a few tokens survived the piercing breeze of the winter market in December, including the Game Company (GMRT) with a 142% increase, followed by Echelon Prime (PRIME) at 44.4%, Veracity (VRA) at 25.06%, and VisionGame (VISION) with a 20.45% uptick.
Conversely, Web3 gaming tokens that recorded steep losses in the last 24 hours are My Lovely Planet (MLC) and CateCoin (CATE), which fell in value by 22% and 20% respectively.
According to CoinMarketCap’s end-of-November report, GameFi landed at number 16 on DeFiLlama’s narrative tracker, a weakening influence compared to previous months, despite most DeFi markets having recorded positive inflows from the start of the second half of 2025.
Amid the market downturn, several companies within the Web3 gaming ecosystem announced strategic partnerships last month. Cryptopolitan had reported on November 27 on Pi Network’s collaboration with CiDi Games to expand the real-world utility of its native Pi token. CiDi Games mentioned that the partnership plans to turn Pi into a payment medium for in-game purchases while scaling the blockchain’s gaming infrastructure.
On the same day, EdgeAI Labs unveiled its partnership with PumpGame, previously known as SuiGame, to complete a brand upgrade and migrate its platform from the sui blockchain to BNB Chain (BSC).
Despite these partnerships and institutional ventures, Web3 gaming tokens are in an overall downturn, which is extending the gap between HYPE and actual market adoption. While companies like Pi Network, EdgeAI Labs, and Animoca Brands are trying to innovate and expand the market, developments have not yet offset declining investor confidence.
Sentiment in the GameFi ecosystem is subdued, marked by subdued conversations on Crypto Twitter and some of the lowest enthusiasm levels in the last five years. Much of the Web3 gaming audience use these platforms for speculative purposes rather than their gameplay. This has led to at least 27 studios shutting down between January and October this year.
Here’s the list of crypto games and studios
That shut down in 2025
• Battlebound / Anterris
• Blade of God
• Blast Royale
• Champions Ascension
• Derby Race
• Ember Sword
• Goombles
• JungleXYZ
• Kryptomon
• Hello Monster
• Loot Legends
• Metalcore
• Mystery…
— StarPlatinum (@StarPlatinum_) October 30, 2025
Venture capital interest has also cooled, with funding for new Web3 gaming initiatives drying up compared to previous cycles. It WOULD take the intervention of triple-A gaming publishers’ interest in Web3 games, together with more funds, to revive Web3 games to levels the industry would consider unmissable.
Animoca Brands branches into real-world asset tokenization
While the gaming sector struggles, Hong Kong-based Web3 company Animoca Brands has signed a memorandum of understanding with Rayls to branch into tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs). Animoca Brands will use its network to identify asset classes and issuers suitable for tokenization on Rayls’ infrastructure.
According to a press statement released by Animoca, chain-agnostic vault marketplace NUVA will distribute Rayls-tokenized assets, with Rayls providing technology, cross-chain bridges, and settlement infrastructure.
“Now more than ever, institutional adoption is increasingly important to provide stability and reliability within crypto,” CEO of Rayls’ Core developer Parfin Marcos Viriato noted.
Animoca Brands’ Chief Strategy Officer Keyvan Peymani told CNBC the company also plans to launch its stablecoin, accompanied by an RWA marketplace in 2026. In August, the firm established a joint venture with Standard Chartered and Hong Kong Telecommunications named Anchorpoint Financial to apply for a stablecoin license from the Hong Kong authorities.
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