With 2023 now well underway, we already see some interesting adjustments to start the year. Crypto in general has ticked upwards slightly, and both the volume of trading for top NFT collections and the active number of players for web3 games has gone up as well, boding well for future prospects this year!
Even though the year just started, we’re already seeing big releases from some games. This includes Undead Blocks who just released a mutiplayer, co-op option for their zombie killing FPS, and Genopets, which added new item rewards for players who bank their steps.
On a larger front, the CEO of Square Enix even went so far as to post a public letter stating his intention to bring even more of his company’s focus to web3! And I can already see more big stories shaping up for the weeks head. Get ready, because 2023 is going to be a big year for blockchain gaming!
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Read on for a look at the most active web3 games and NFT projects for the week. And be sure to keep an eye on our website and Twitter feed for the latest developments in the web3 gaming space!
Top play-to-earn games by active users
| Game | Active Users 7 days | Change |
| 1. Splinterlands | 295.59k | +7.81% |
| 2. Alien Worlds | 263.28k | -3.88% |
| 3. Benji Bananas | 170.85k | +95.47% |
| 4. Farmers World | 93.13k | +5.00% |
| 5. Planet IX | 89.69k | +8.65% |
| 6. Upland | 63.03k | -3.85% |
| 7. Era7: Game of Truth | 42.28k | +7.98% |
| 8. Meta Apes | 38.69k | +2.14% |
| 9. Axie Infinity | 36.13k | +11.47% |
| 10. PlayMining | 31.87k | +7.45% |
Splinterlands solidifies their top spot with a strong week while Alien Worlds loses more ground. Benji Bananas continues to surge on top of their play to earn contests while both Planet IX and Era7 seem to also be here to stay.
Almost everyone else holds tight to their spots, with overall gains throughout the top 10. The exception was Tiny World, which lost over 60% of their users and dropped well off these charts. Taking their place, PlayMining, a suite of mobile games with a token and NFTs available.
Top 10 NFT collections by volume traded
| Collection | Volume traded 7 days | Volume Change |
| 1. Bored Ape Yacht Club | $19.54M | +40.1% |
| 2. Mutant Ape Yacht Club | $14.04M | +76.79% |
| 3. Azuki | $12.61M | +112.42% |
| 4. The Captainz | $10.52M | (NEW) |
| 5. Bored Ape Kennel Club | $9.06M | +68.56% |
| 6. CryptoPunks | $6.15M | +4.03% |
| 7. Otherdeed for Otherside | $5.42M | -38.01% |
| 8. The Potatoz | $4.49M | +237.25% |
| 9. BEANZ Offical | $4.18M | +103.01% |
| 10. Kubz | $3.22M | +109% |
The NFT markets kick off 2023 with a bang as a number of top projects saw major spikes in trading volume. The Bored Apes still hold the top two spots and overall spending on NFTs increased significantly. And where the number 10 spot saw $2.76 million in volume traded last week, the floor increased by 20% this week, requiring more than $3 million in trading volume to crack the top 10!
Captainz, a new project launched by Memeland, the same group that created The Potatoz, saw crazy volume for its first week. Even at an initial mint price of 1 ETH, the project still sold out within minutes! Are the days of the NFT returning? It’s hard to say for certain, bu these numbers certainly look positive!
