Web3 games raised more than $160 million from February 2023 through February 2024, according to a report by Helika and Pantera Capital, as covered by GamesBeat. The period is a rolling 12 months—not two full calendar years—so the figure should not be read as a total for all of 2023 and 2024.
What the $160 million figure means
The fundraising claim refers to more than $160 million raised by Web3 games during the twelve months from February 2023 through February 2024. GamesBeat published its report on June 25, 2024, and updated the article on June 18, 2025. It attributes the finding to the Helika and Pantera Capital report.
The headline’s shorthand, “between 2023 and 2024,” can imply a longer span than the report’s stated period. The amount is not presented as a total for either calendar year or for both years combined.
What the report examined
Fundraising was only one part of the report. GamesBeat said it covered Web3 gaming ecosystems, play-to-airdrop campaigns, on-chain royalties, AI in game development, and ecosystem analytics involving Polygon and Arbitrum. It also discussed retention, with Pirate Nation and Yuga Labs titles among the examples.
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The report’s account of retention cautioned against directly comparing Web3 and Web2 games. Accessibility, community, and market volatility can affect those comparisons, so retention figures alone may not show how two games perform on equivalent terms.
Other figures reported alongside fundraising
- Gaming transactions: GamesBeat reported that the Helika report recorded more than 200,000 weekly gaming transactions across chains in 2023, with peaks at 500,000 weekly transactions. Helika CEO and co-founder Anton Umnov described transaction activity as an opportunity for studios building across multiple chains.
- Studio interest: GamesBeat’s account also said 70% of “top” Web2 studios were exploring Web3. The article does not define either “top” or “exploring,” so the figure should be read with those terms’ limits in mind.
A later GAMES.GG summary gives a different fundraising figure: $162 million across 25 ventures in 2023. That is a secondary-reported figure with a different stated period; without the original report, it cannot be directly reconciled with the February 2023–February 2024 claim. GAMES.GG also attributes more than $500 million in combined circulating market-cap value to play-to-airdrop campaigns. Market-cap value is not the same as cash raised or cash paid out. Its claim that AI could reduce development costs by up to 30% is likewise a secondary summary, and it does not provide a methodology establishing an industry-wide measured result.
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How to interpret the finding
The report’s fundraising figure offers a snapshot of capital raised in a specific twelve-month window, not a measure of how much Web3 games earned, how many games succeeded, or whether the funding produced sustainable businesses. The reported transaction activity and discussion of retention provide additional context, but they do not by themselves establish player growth, revenue, or long-term viability.
The original report URL linked from an announcement was unavailable when checked for the GamesBeat account. Accordingly, the fundraising and transaction figures above are attributed to Helika and Pantera Capital through GamesBeat’s coverage; the later GAMES.GG figures are identified as secondary reporting rather than independently verified against the original report.
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