This week saw a huge surge in NFT trading volume, though it’s likely only temporary. Player numbers for web3 games remains mostly steady, as gaming developers work on expanding to mobile and smoothing out onboarding processes for new players.
The recent Blur.io airdrop is the first token drop in a while to generate this much buzz. And while most of those who received tokens immediately sold them, rumors of a second airdrop have sparked an intense frenzy of NFT trading on the platform.
In gaming news, we see more developers moving to incorporate functionality for mobile devices, and work on ways to make onboarding new players to the web3 ecosystem as easily and seamlessly as possible. So, on those fronts, we have a pre-alpha for the mobile version of Gods Unchained, a new Immutable Passport, meant to function as a combination wallet and login authenticator, and Champions Ascension opens up their free to play alpha to anyone, no wallet needed!
Other moves in the space see Chainmonsters switching to Immutable X, an open beta in march for the MMO, Cradles, and a embezzlement on one of the player run DAOs in Alien Worlds for tokens worth over $100k USD!
As always, there is plenty to keep up with in the blockchain space. Subscribe to our newsletter for a weekly summary as well as links to all of our articles from the week!
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. Alien Worlds | 289.72k | -8.46% |
| 2. Splinterlands | 246.54k | +10.30% |
| 3. Farmers World | 88.78k | +9.59% |
| 4. Planet IX | 80.13k | +6.40% |
| 5. Upland | 64.37k | +5.13% |
| 6. Axie Infinity | 39.94k | +0.93% |
| 7. Meta Apes | 34.62k | -10.18% |
| 8. Era7: Game of Truth | 34.52k | -5.90% |
| 9. Benji Bananas | 31.52k | -12.39% |
| 10. Nine Chronicles | 26.88k | +2.55% |
This week our chart order remains almost exactly the same. The only difference is our new entry at number 10, Nine Chronicles. Otherwise, player numbers remained steady overall, with some ebb and flow among the different games.
Top 10 NFT collections by volume traded
| Collection | Volume traded 7 days | Volume Change |
| 1. Mutant Ape Yacht Club | $92.78M | +198.21% |
| 2. Bored Ape Yacht Club | $75.05M | +274.26% |
| 3. Azuki | $50.8M | +76.80% |
| 4. Otherdeed for Otherside | $50.59M | -10.57% |
| 5. Opepen Edition | $42.66M | +3,846.84% |
| 6. Clone X | $35.9M | +84.57% |
| 7. Moonbirds | $29.07M | -8.26% |
| 8. Bored Ape Kennel Club | $26.75M | +217.04% |
| 9. Checks V4 | $25.22M | +84.85% |
| 10. Pudgy Penguins | $19.6M | +67.53% |
NFT market volume saw insane volume over this past week. Unfortunately, that seems in large part due to wash trading by NFT whales as they try to score as much of the next airdrop from Blur.io as they can! And while this is great for those who are raking in all the collection and transaction fees, it’s not so great for the markets overall. And it should also serve as a warning to NFT collectors about how easily these markets can be manipulated by one actor. Especially if that person controls a significant amount of the collection!
.We will likely see a drop in volume in proportion to this week’s increase as the trade-for-airdrop frenzy fades.
