Mobile and AI are the growth engines for web3 gaming in 2025

Despite continued headwinds, developers remain confident in the resilience of the game sector. Accompanied by major advancements in emerging technologies such as web3 and AI, there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful that market sentiment will pick up and the industry will thrive in 2025.

Two areas of growth are particularly promising in the context of web3 gaming. 

Mobile to lead the charge

Mobile remains a powerhouse more widely in gaming, and is now making significant strides as a distribution option in web3 games. 

One of the top web3 game developers, Mythical Games entered the sector with the ambition of launching its inaugural party game Blankos Block Party via PC and console. Although making it to PC, after a few years’ attempts at scaling, the team realised the operational costs were too high and pivoted to mobile.

And while Blankos is being reworked as a mobile version, Mythical has launched what is arguably one of the most successful web3 games to-date, NFL Rivals

On a direct question on why he’s so bullish on mobile, company CEO John Linden commented “that’s where the players are”.

However, Mythical’s ethos also reveals what the secret sauce for mass market adoption is. It’s not based on the underlying technology which powers its games, but by the experiences they create. 

Not slowing down any time soon, during 2025 Mythical’s forthcoming mobile game launches include FIFA Rivals, Pudgy Party, Nitro Nation World Tour, and Blankos Mobile

Then there’s Proof of Play and its fully onchain social RPG Pirate Nation. As a game itself, Pirate Nation has been described as an experiment as part of a much broader web3 vision by CEO Amitt Mahajan (ex-Zynga).

Driven by this vision, his team has built Arbitrum-based infrastructure Apex and Boss chains in order to optimize scaling, including for other third-party games and apps. As part of this growth model, it’s no surprise that Pirate Nation has also recently announced its mobile plans.

Although its initial idea of launching The Sandbox on mobile had to be scrapped due to market circumstances and technical challenges, the web3 metaverse has unveiled new plans on how to leverage mobile app store distribution. Instead of releasing a mobile version of its existing PC client, The Sandbox is becoming more decentralized as it looks to launch standalone games from third-party developers that use assets from and link back into The Sandbox ecosystem. 

According to The Sandbox COO Sebastien Borget, “There’s already two game studios working on co-production with us, Frag Game and DevAuth, which are part of the Voxel Games Program.”

Another web3 game developer coming from mobile games is InfiniGods co-founder Owen O’Donoghue (ex-FarmVille). With three games in its ecosystem including browser-based InfiniMerge and Immortal Siege, it’s with mobile luck battler King of Destiny the studio has gained ground and grown in reputation. 

Supported by optimized UA spend, the game has been downloaded over 2 million times through app stores with around 500,000 MAUs and strong IAP monetization. Now with its GOD token launched, InfiniGods can focus on scaling its community during the year ahead.

Under the headline The Future is Mobile, UK studio Pixion Games announced its recent strategic funding raised for mobile action-RPG base-builder Fableborne.

Now with a total of $12.4 million invested in the project, “Our mission is to redefine and enhance the mobile gaming experience by unlocking new players, experiences, and ideas using the blockchain, to create a category-defining hit with a unique genre blend,” commented the team in the official announcement.

Initially launched via PC, it was only following its mobile release in November 2023 that Planetarium’s Nine Chronicles saw a 30% leap in its user base. But although successful both in terms of the amount of staked and used NCG tokens since the mobile launch, the developer is still working out new retention models and onboarding strategies to grow further. 

Add to the list, the rise of mobile optimized mini-games on Telegram and the 2025 launch of Line Next’s Mini Dapps within messaging platform LINE Messenger, and it’s easy to see why mobile is predicted to pave the way ahead for web3 gaming.

AI driving new growth in games

Free-to-play mobile games have come a long way since their early controversies, and AI integration in games seems to be the new spark for heated debates. 

But whatever we think of it, AI’s early impact on the gaming sector is undeniable. Many developers foresee the technology will be able to radically simplify the onboarding process, as well as enhancing management of wallets and assets. 

Other studios such as Mighty Bear Games are going a step further with the launch of its AlphaGOATs AI agents that will be able to play games and earn real rewards on behalf of their owners. 

Many developers also consider web3 to be the inevitable tech being used to enforce security and transparency around AI agents and their future trajectory.

To keep track of web3 game developers integrating AI in a significant way, check out our regularly updated Blockchain games + AI agent list.

PG Connects San Francisco all about mobile, AI and HTML 5

Of course, mobile and AI aren’t just projected growth engines in web3 gaming, but in the larger games sector. Join us for Pocket Gamer Connects’ 50th global conference in San Francisco on 17-18th March, where our focus is all on mobile, AI and HTML 5 as growth engines for the industry.

Just like last time, PG Connects San Francisco is returning during Game Developers Conference.

Register for your tickets today.

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