Blockchain game builders are increasingly prioritizing fundamentals and infrastructure over token-fuelled growth cycles, with stablecoin adoption emerging as one of the top three catalysts for the first time, according to the latest report from the Blockchain Gaming Alliance (BGA).
On Wednesday, the BGA published its 2025 State of the Industry Report, which shows a shift in what builders believe will drive success in blockchain gaming.
According to the report, the top three growth drivers were high-quality game launches (29.5%), revenue-driven business models (27.5%) and stablecoin adoption in payments (27.3%).
The findings suggest the industry is stepping back from speculative cycles and reliance on big Web2 brands and instead prioritizing commercially viable games built on Web3-native transaction rails.
“What we’re seeing in the data is an industry becoming more global, more disciplined, and more focused on building great games for real players,” said Sebastien Borget, the co-president of the BGA and co-founder of The Sandbox.
How blockchain gaming drivers have evolved in the last five years
The report reflected a notable five-year evolution in what blockchain gaming builders believe will move the sector forward.
From 2021 to 2023, survey participants heavily favored external catalysts, which include play-to-earn (P2E) hype and hopes that major Web2 publishers would validate the sector’s legitimacy by getting involved.
By 2024, sentiment shifted over to improving user experience, accessibility and onboarding after friction and repetitive game loops stalled Web3 gaming adoption.
This year, the survey suggested further maturity. Developers increasingly tied success to polished gameplay, sustainable monetization and infrastructure that supports spending.
Stablecoins, long a core component of decentralized finance, are now seen as instrumental to game economies, the report said.
It also suggests that frictionless payment experiences, similar to fiat, could contribute to the success of Web3 games.
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Waning dependence on Web2 gaming giants
The survey also shows a sharp drop in perceived reliance on traditional gaming giants. Only about 17.2% of respondents now view legacy publishers as key growth catalysts, down from 35.8% in 2024.
Instead of this, interoperability (26.1%), artificial intelligence integration (25.9%) and player-driven creator economies (25.5%) followed closely behind the top three drivers.
Developers’ growing focus on stablecoin rails mirrors broader policy momentum.
Regulatory frameworks for stablecoins are advancing rapidly worldwide, with the United States leading the way with the GENIUS Act and Europe implementing its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.
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