The positions of firms in our Blockchain Recreation Corporations for 2026 checklist are clearly important, particularly for these firms. However what’s maybe extra fascinating is the traits that may be drawn from the whole set of fifty.
For instance, geographical unfold is dominated by the US, with 44% of the 50 firms based mostly there. There’s a lot much less focus among the many remaining 28, that are evenly unfold worldwide, although with a cluster in South Korea. Each the #1 and #2 listings – Nexpace and Wemade – are headquartered there.
(For the file, Nexpace is legally headquartered in Abu Dhabi as a consequence of its crypto-friendly surroundings, however the overwhelming majority of the workforce are based mostly in Korea, the place Nexpace’s guardian firm Nexon is predicated.)
Digging into operational areas, one component that stands out is that 30% of firms modified their enterprise focus throughout 2025.
This clearly displays the extent of uncertainty within the blockchain recreation sector. With funding funding now extraordinarily tough to boost, the speedy difficulty for a lot of initiatives is producing income.
Though not all of those 30% of pivoting firms have actively positioned themselves as working video games with degen rewards, it’s notable that 33% of the Prime 50 do market their video games as having degen traits. Examples embrace risk-to-earn MMOG Cambria and YGG’s informal degen recreation LOL Land.
After all, this form of risk-for-asymmetric-rewards psychology attracts crypto whales and is an efficient method to generate income.
Two different traits which might be associated, though not at all times immediately, are absolutely onchain video games and video games that place themselves as ecosystems.
The reason being that it’s a lot more durable to open your recreation to third-party builders if giant components aren’t absolutely onchain or open supply. Nonetheless, not all absolutely onchain video games attempt to run an ecosystem, as this normally requires some stage of neighborhood help and funding.
The ultimate development to focus on is whether or not initiatives are publicly adopting AI brokers; 39% of the 50 have talked about AI brokers.
Once more, initiatives which have pivoted their enterprise and/or are absolutely onchain usually tend to be exploring such alternatives. However because the expertise matures, it’s prone to be added to many several types of blockchain video games.
In conclusion, the sector definitely skilled a troublesome 12 months in 2025. Some firms tailored by altering their enterprise fashions or adopting rising applied sciences. However the majority simply continued constructing on their present long-term imaginative and prescient. As 2026 progresses on, anticipate to see extra of this stage of adaptability and resilience as new methods to play and work together with worth networks and player-owned economies emerge.
