In the blockchain gaming space, there’s a furious battle for developer loyalty, as studios race to build the best platform to rule in 2025. Industry titans and new entrants are maneuvering to establish themselves at the forefront with creative planning, cutting-edge technology, and a focus on the user experience. This article explores the strategies and key developments of leading companies, highlighting their contributions to the evolving landscape of blockchain gaming.

Big Time Studios, well known for its massively multiplayer PC role playing game Big Time, is shifting gears. Especially with their larger portfolio in mind, which includes the Open Loot blockchain and marketplace. Igloo Inc. is set to launch its consumer-oriented Abstract L2 blockchain in 2025, emphasizing user-friendliness and revenue sharing with developers. Animoca Brands features a deep catalog of hits such as Pixels and Axie Infinity. Yet it continues to be an insurmountable force in the industry. With BreederDAO (now Sovrun), CCP Games, Xterio, Merit Circle, MON Protocol, ATMTA taking bold steps, the time is now. Without further ado, here are the companies leading the charge to define what blockchain gaming’s future will look like.

In addition to the aforementioned Craig, Big Time Studios has received attention for its multiplayer PC role-playing game, Big Time. The firm is now expanding the lens through which it measures success, to include its larger portfolio. This, along with the underlying Open Loot blockchain and marketplace, are key pieces of its ecosystem. By investing in these areas, Big Time Studios aims to create a more integrated and robust platform for its games and users.

>Open Loot’s blockchain ensures a safe and open world for in-game items. This creates a more dynamic gaming ecosystem, as players can buy, sell, and trade their in-game assets. The marketplace is where players can buy and sell these assets to each other, sparking a dynamic player-driven economy inside the Big Time universe.

Igloo Inc. wants to launch its own Abstract L2 blockchain, geared towards consumers, in 2025. This new blockchain is built for user experience first, with the gamer and developer from any background being the target audience. By reducing the complexity of the blockchain experience, Igloo Inc. wants to appeal to a wider audience and bring them onto its platform.

An absolutely unique feature of the Abstract L2 blockchain is its revenue-sharing model. Igloo Inc. is looking to offer developers revenue share opportunities as an incentive for more versatile apps and games to be launched on the platform. This creation incentive structure is meant to spur innovation and bring the best content to the blockchain.

Animoca Brands, known for its fun and addictive blockchain games, is the mind behind successful franchises such as Pixels and Axie Infinity. Thanks to the company’s strategic investments, acquisitions and partnerships, Sorare has cemented its position as a top player in the blockchain gaming space. Animoca Brands remains focused on finding new opportunities and solidifying its position as a leading force in the burgeoning industry.

Pixels has built an expansive, vibrant community around it that continues to explore the ever-evolving social farming and exploration that experience-grinding game. Its fun and lively gameplay, as well as its enthusiastic playerbase, have made this game a surprise hit. Axie Infinity, another prominent title in Animoca Brands' portfolio, has made a substantial impact on the blockchain gaming world.

Axie Infinity experienced supernova growth. Its daily active players doubled from 15,000 to 100,000 by the end of the year. This dramatic increase in popularity could be credited mostly to a long-term reward program that encouraged active player engagement. The broader success of the game underscores just how effective blockchain-based, play-to-earn rewards can be at keeping users engaged.

Axie Infinity’s reward program engaged players in large part by providing them with valuable rewards. Players would earn tokens and/or in-game assets for finishing tasks and hitting designated milestones. This system not only attracted new players but encouraged existing players to remain active and invested in the game.

BreederDAO, recently re-established as Sovrun, first built its notoriety on providing Axie breeding as a service. The company has since expanded its business model to include more blockchain gaming services. Sovrun’s strategic intelligence on optimizing breeding routes allowed players to get the most out of their investments within the Axie Infinity ecosystem.

Sovrun is now the most popular game on Ronin by a daily active unique wallets count. This is a metric that most demonstrate the company’s industry-leading user base and their high engagement with its games. Sovrun’s success on Ronin points to its strength in player attraction and retention, critical factors in the hyper-competitive blockchain gaming space.

CCP Games, known for the two-decade-old space MMORPG EVE Online, is releasing their most audacious project to date. They’ve gone and launched EVE Frontier! This new multiplayer spaceship combat game is an excitingly new way to expand the EVE universe. It’s trying to bring in new, younger, and more diverse audiences to the franchise. Fortunately, CCP Games’ deep experience in developing and sustaining massive-scale online games should put them in rather comfortable waters as they pioneer within this new ocean.

With its deep gameplay systems, emergent, player-driven economy, and nearly 8,000 star systems to explore, EVE Online has enthralled millions of players over its 20 year history. The long-term success of the game is a tribute to CCP Games’ skill at building exciting and long-lasting online worlds. EVE Frontier is looking to expand on this legacy and bring fresh innovations to the franchise.

Together with Xterio’s incomparable library of games, expertly crafted to captivate seasoned players and fresh newcomers alike. Partnering with studios around the world, the company’s portfolio includes titles across all genres, ensuring compelling gaming experiences for more players than ever before. Xterio is focused on a long-term strategy for game development and distribution. This strategy further enhances the company’s footing as a leading force in the booming blockchain gaming industry.

By providing this unique selection of engaging and fun games, Xterio aims to attract a large audience and capture a significant share of the competitive gaming market. Through an emphasis on quality, design and innovation, the company hopes to distinguish its brand from those of its competitors.

Big Time Studios is closely tied to Merit Circle, a blockchain gaming venture that has undergone extreme metamorphics. Merit Circle started off by thoroughly targeting its own niche in the largely untapped blockchain gaming market. At the same time, it pivoted its business model to evolve into a much more flexible and all-around complete organization.

Today, Merit Circle is a multi-faceted blockchain gaming entity, investing in projects, providing scholarships, and building their own games. This means everything from investing in the most promising projects to developing its own games and providing support for other developers. Merit Circle’s flexibility and long-term focus has set it apart, allowing it to prosper as the blockchain gaming world continues to change at breakneck speed.

Enter MON Protocol, which recently acquired and rebooted the Pixelmon IP, along with homely meme-maker-and-breaker half-melted poster child character Kevin the Adventurer. This acquisition represents a significant opportunity for MON Protocol to revitalize a well-known brand and capitalize on its existing fanbase. The Pixelmon reboot was made to correct what people liked or disliked about the original version and bring forward a better and more creative gaming experience.

Though Kevin the Adventurer did not get off to the best start, he has grown into a beloved and notable figure in the blockchain gaming space. MON Protocol intends to capitalize on this character’s popularity in order to market their rebooted Pixelmon IP and draw in any unaware new players.

ATMTA’s Star Atlas project recently walked back a prior decision to launch on Arbitrum, after a strategic pivot to launch on ZKsync. This shift is aimed not only to enhance game performance and scalability, but to get development closer to the community. The new mainnet launched in December, a key milestone for the project.

The decision to migrate to ZKsync reflects ATMTA's commitment to providing a seamless and immersive gaming experience for Star Atlas players. ZKsync's advanced technology is expected to enhance the game's transaction speeds and reduce gas fees, making it more accessible to a wider audience.