While the main focus during this crypto bull run has been on AI and Meme-coin narratives sooner or later NFTs specially the sector of NFT Gaming is going to make a strong comeback. There are bound to be some new NFT games that will get launched some might be successful but the majority are bound to fail. The key reason for that is that it is quite easy to launch a meme coin or a basic bot based AI project which can be done in a matter of hours. What is really complex and challenging is to build a gaming ecosystem that is going to sustain long term.
This is why I am more bullish on NFT based games which have been developing for some time now and have clearly demonstrated that that are here for the long run and not betting on a quick cash grab through a pump and dump.
I have tried out NFT based games across multiple chains like Ethereum, Polygon, BSC and some obscure one like Kardia as well which were designed specifically for individual games. What I have observed that HIVE has much better ability to maintain its users long term and most games I followed on other chains slowly died out.
The main reason why HIVE games maintain and grow their users is that each game requires multiple block-chain transactions when you play. On HIVE these transactions are free so you can play as much as you want without worrying about the gas fees spent. This also helps in retail on-boarding as new players will be apprehensive to try out new games where they have to pay high gas fees. This is the biggest deal breaker for Ethereum, due to it’s high gas fees despite multiple chain upgrades it has not produced a single long term sustainable game.
HIVE Gaming Ecosystem!!
There are many games running on HIVE new and old but in today’s post I will focus on 3 which I am most bullish on to perform really well during 2025 and grow their usernames exponentially. I have balanced these 3 recommendations with 1 established game (Splinterlands), 1 relatively newer smaller game (DCrops) and one pre-launch game (HoloZing).
1. Splinterlands
This is the grand-daddy of HIVE games and has a much bigger active user base compared to all other HIVE games combined. Why this game has been running successfully for over 6 years is that it now has a group of cult like player group that continue playing the game even if the rewards improve or reduce. Splinterlands has become a part of their daily live. I might not be playing daily but I whenever I have spare time I will do some brawl fights and play in the on-going season.
Cost of entry for new players is just $10 so it is not one of the games that are focussed only on the whales. Many times I wonder why I game developed so meticulously for so long is still struggling to be as popular as it should be. The main reason is lack of marketing or promotion and I can see the team has already started working on it with start of 2025. If they keep building like they always do I expect to see this game get a lot of attention and hype from new users getting on-boarded to crypto gaming this year.
If you would like to enter the magical world of Splinterlands then feel free to use my referral link - https://splinterlands.com/register?ref=sambtc
2. DCrops
DCrops is much smaller compared to Splinterlands and it still has a Beta version feel to it due to some sections of the website not being very new player friendly but it makes for these flaws by having a helpful community in Discord that can help you with any doubts quite quickly.
Why I feel this game can explode during 2025 is that it’s gameplay is similar to FarmVille where you plant crops, wait for them to grow, harvest them and earn rewards. There was a huge player base for FarmVille and once they get onboarded to crypto they will surely love too try out something similar.
Cost of entry to DCrops is just $5 so it is really new player friendly. I don’t think there is a big user base yet, at least they are not very active. There reason I say this is that I just started playing a few weeks back and I am already close to hitting top 100 in their leaderboard.
I hope they focus on some marketing for their project and iron out the visual glitches on their portal and they have a solid chance of making it big in the gaming ecosystem during 2025.
3. HoloZing
This game is still pre-release and for now you can just buy the Alpha vials which can be opened once the game launches.
These vials will be like starter packs and at $20 it is a bit pricey compared to other games on HIVE but I am planning to try it out and the main reason is their website is really impressive. What they have shared about the gameplay and the focus they have done to visuals and graphics is stunning.
I currently have $10 in my HIVE account and I expect to get the balance $10 in about 8-10 days so I will soon write an update after getting hold of that Alpha vial. I just hope I don’t miss the deadline.
If you think I have missed out any great game on HIVE worth checking out do let me know in the comments.
Cheers,
Sam