Web3 gaming industry has advanced beyond the play-to-earn strategy which was prevalent in 2021 to more games with emphasis on gameplay and ownership.
DappRadar has listed 2,358 gaming dapps and 117,468 active wallets on its list, while Pixels, Axie Infinity, Gods Unchained, Off The Grid, and Medieval Empires are some examples where the use of blockchain technology can be seen.
The move comes as a result of challenges encountered due to faster growth in token rewards compared to demand. By 2026, developers are moving towards using blockchain in the aspects of ownership, transactions, governance, and economy for players instead of financial rewards being the primary reason to join the platform.
From Play-to-Earn to Play-and-Own
Play-to-earn enabled players to get tokens or assets via quests, harvesting, breeding, crafting, and competitions. Axie Infinity served as an important example of that via Smooth Love Potion and AXS in the player economy.
Where players come in mostly in order to sell their rewards, the game may become demand-dependent when it comes to distributed assets. With an increased supply of tokens and not enough demand, prices may drop.
According to Sky Mavis in January 2026, SLP emission in Origins was stopped due to the possibility of automatic farming that would adversely influence the economy in the long run.SLP remains used for some crafting and other functions.
Digital Ownership Becomes a Core Feature
Blockchains can document, transfer, and control assets associated with games. NFTs can be used for representing characters, territories, weaponry, collectible items, and cosmetics, whereas fungible tokens can be used for handling payments, governance, crafting, etc.
Some assets can be transferred and traded beyond the framework of games; however, their usage is possible due to smart contracts, marketplaces, licensing, game servers, secure wallets, and developers’ intentions.
Ownership elements are incorporated into the play-and-own game model.
Game Models Illustrate Diversity of the Industry
Pixels offers FarmVille-style gameplay, gathering resources, quests, social gaming, and a player-driven economy in the game world of Ronin.
Gods Unchained incorporates competitive trading-card gameplay and blockchain-owned cards. Immutable’s game page lists it as a multiplayer strategy card game and announced the Waking Plague expansion for June 16, 2026.
Off The Grid uses Gunzilla’s GUNZ platform to make certain in-game items tradable as NFTs. Its 2026 roadmap places gameplay improvements and the move from Early Access toward a full release around October 2026.
Medieval Empires launched on Immutable on March 4, 2026. The strategy MMO centers on building, trading, battling, and expanding an empire.
IMX Token Prices Not Necessarily Reflecting Game Popularity
According to CoinMarketCap, the price of the IMX token confirmed in August 2026 was approximately $0.107 per token, with a market capitalization of $215 million and two billion in circulation. The all-time highest price was reached in November 2021 and amounted to $9.50.
The performance of the token price on the market does not necessarily indicate the popularity of the game and its attractiveness for users. A game may attract users while the token is losing value, while the token may gain value with no signs of sustainable game demand.
Players face potential transaction costs, market fees, illiquidity in NFTs, unlocked tokens, taxes, wallet issues, and difficulties in selling assets. Income is not assured in play-to-earn games, and tokens/NFTs are speculative assets and not earning assets.
Blockchain Gaming Activity Uneven
The DappRadar current existing gaming dashboard holds $232.35 million worth of assets and a gaming token basket market cap of around $4.49 billion.
The Game Models Embody Diversification Within the Industry
According to the DappRadar report, 7.4 million DAUs exist within blockchain gaming by the end of 2024, while according to the report released in January 2025, 5.8 million DAUs in Q1. The number of wallets does not equal the number of players as one player can have multiple wallets and there can be automated activities.
Key Points
- Axie Infinity stopped SLP emissions in Origins in 2026 while retaining some SLP functions.
- Off The Grid is scheduled to move from Early Access toward its 1.0 release around October 2026.
- Immutable says its infrastructure supports gas-free player experiences and reports more than 700 games and 220 million transactions.
Conclusion
Web3 gaming in 2026 is being shaped by a move away from reward-first models toward gameplay combined with digital ownership.
Current examples show different uses for blockchain, from card ownership and player economies to tradable items and strategy-game assets. Reported data also shows that token markets and wallet activity remain separate measures from game performance.
FAQs
What changed in Web3 gaming?
More often than not, developers opt for the application of blockchain technology in such aspects as ownership, transactions, governance, and player economy.
What is play-and-own?
It is a model where blockchain assets form part of the gaming experience while gameplay does not depend primarily on financial rewards.
Can gaming tokens guarantee income?
No. play-to-earn rewards are not to be considered a stable source of income but rather a speculative one.
