Web3 gaming players urge studios to put gameplay before tokens

The debate surfaced in a November 8 post by gaming commentator Yellow Panther, who recalled the appeal of “Asset ownership. Interoperability. Player owned economy. Transparency.” He said many projects failed to earn enough to last, while players who joined mainly for token rewards often left once incentives ran out. “The only way crypto gaming can come back is by building a game that people want to play,” he wrote.

Other commentators questioned whether studios gave gameplay as much attention as tokens, NFTs and whitepapers. Gaming creator Sky argued that an NFT does not ensure continued access to the game or preserve an item’s value if a developer closes its servers or changes the rules. Community members also raised accusations about influencers, marketing agencies and gaming groups; those claims were individual accounts and did not establish wrongdoing.

Closures during 2026 gave the criticism a business backdrop. Proof of Play shut down in August after saying it could not build a sustainable business at scale. The company had raised $33 million and released parts of its game code and artwork for public use. In June, Uncharted closed Fishing Frenzy, distributed $62,845 in USDC to community participants and issued $7,021 in eligible player refunds. Yield Guild Games discontinued its YGG Play publishing division in July, affecting 35 jobs, and retired LOL Land and Waifu Sweeper. Pixelmon ended game development in September after a publisher-led trial failed to secure a commercial agreement.

Funding has also contracted. DappRadar recorded $73 million in blockchain gaming investment in the second quarter of 2025, a 93% year-on-year decline, and found more than 300 gaming applications had become inactive during the quarter. The Blockchain Game Alliance estimated total industry funding at $293 million for 2025, down from more than $10 billion at the 2022 peak. Yet some games continue development: Gods Unchained released its Reckoning expansion, with 87 additional cards, in October 2026, followed by an Instant Forge update. Its progress does not show that the same model will work for every studio.