Web3 games have never been as easy to access and fun to play as they are in 2024. The past year’s tough market served as a catalyst, pushing the industry to refine and mature. Developers started crafting fun-first, engagement-driven games with a touch of NFTs and crypto—often keeping the onchain component low-key to focus on the gameplay itself.
The end result? Gaming became the most popular sector in web3 in 2023 (34% of all activity) and raised over $2.9 billion from investors, according to DappRadar.
Traditional gaming giants have also begun to explore NFTs and develop their own blockchain games. Leading this charge are the likes of Ubisoft, SEGA and Atari, all choosing Polygon as their preferred platform to offer new experiences for their audiences. We’re also seeing more and more companies, both web2 and web3 native, looking to launch their games via RaribleX.
If you’re a builder, you might love Polygon for its EVM compatibility and scalable infrastructure, which create more space for your team to focus on gameplay development. Gamers, on the other hand, get to benefit from Polygon’s minimal gas fees and swift transactions.
So, which titles on Polygon are nailing the true potential of web3 gaming?
Top Polygon games to play in 2024
From farming simulators to action shooters, there are several cool projects on Polygon about to be fully launched. We did some research, talked to insiders and handpicked 10 titles you should know about.
Aavegotchi’s Spirit Force Arena
Battle royale with PvE elements and dangerously cute ghosts
Aavegotchi blends DeFi, NFTs, and gaming into one ecosystem. In 2023, the company launched Aavegotchi Game Center, aiming to turn it into one of Web3’s most thrilling gaming hubs. Spirit Force Arena (SFA) is one of these first few (and soon many) games in the Aavegotchi universe.
Bringing a free-to-play battle royale twist to the Aavegotchi world home to charming ghosts, in SFA, players enter the arena where they battle each other and roaming Lickquidators with a single goal: to be the last Gotchi standing.
As Aavegotchi’s Summoner XIBOT told Rarible, SFA is currently in Alpha Early Access—however, anyone can play the game already using free Gotchi Champions. The next update scheduled for Q1 2024 will see the gaming hub integrate features such as social login, the ability to earn crypto while playing, more challenges with prizes, along with other features.
Deadrop
Ascending to victory with DrDisrespect’s ‘Vertical Extraction Shooter’
Deadrop gained significant popularity in the web3 gaming community in 2023, aiming to reshape the classic first-person shooter genre. A self-proclaimed Vertical Extraction Shooter (an Escape from Tarkov-esque gameplay with lots of going up and down skyscrapers) with some racing elements included, it has been in open development for months via a series of pre-alpha phases the developer studio Midnight Society calls ‘Snapshots’.
Midnight Society was founded by YouTube gaming sensation DrDisrespect, who is now actively promoting the upcoming title in his signature look — the mullet wig and combat goggles.
Deadrop has gathered quite a group of advocates so far (and, consequently, haters!), and aims to become one of Web3’s first games available on Xbox and PlayStation.
Mojo Melee
Auto chess battler game set in the Planet Mojo universe
Mojo Melee, the inaugural game of the Planet Mojo gaming metaverse, brings a fresh twist to the auto chess battler genre. Players assemble their teams of Mojos for battle, hoping that their strategy and choice of custom 3D NFTs help them beat their opponents.
Last August, Mojo Melee launched a promotion campaign via Amazon Prime, offering unique NFTs to Prime members — a noteworthy move in web3 gaming. Later on, players can expect Mojo Melee to integrate with other upcoming games in the Planet Mojo ecosystem.
My Pet Hooligan
Battle against the infamous MetaZuckBot in a world of Mayhem
With its NFT collection launched back in 2021, this game has been long anticipated by the onchain gaming gaming community. My Pet Hooligan offers a blend of first-person and third-person shooter gameplay, encompassing battle royale, team deathmatch, and social modes.
Currently, the title lets you own unique character NFTs and accumulate in-game tokens, kicking off an expansive game universe that’s just getting started. My Pet Hooligan is already available as a free-to-play title (early access) on the Epic Games Store.
Champions Ascension
Evolving your champions from rookies to titans in epic arena battles
Echoing ancient Colosseum battles, Champions Ascension offers a multiplayer arena that challenges players’ skills and strategy. It also launched a promotion with Amazon Prime last year, gifting exclusive in-game rewards to Prime Gaming members and embracing the web2-web3 collab wave.
Ahead of the full release in 2024, Chief Creative Officer Johnny Casamassina told Rarible the team is working on a character progression system, where your champion’s value increases as it gets more experienced.
“It will allow players to fulfill the dream of building up their rosters of personally owned champions from rookie fighters into god-like beings through the brutal ritual of over-the-top multiplayer combat.”
Sunflower Land
Farm, chop, mine, fish, repeat
As described by its founder and CEO, Adam Hannigan, Sunflower Land is a casual web3 farming game where “players must farm, chop, mine, fish & trade their way to success”.
Sharing insights with Rarible, Hannigan revealed that Sunflower Land, initially an open-source community project, quickly grew into one of the most popular games in the Polygon gaming ecosystem, now boasting over 220,000 farmers.
Since July 2023, Sunflower Land has been available for everyone to play for free, though accessing special features like item minting requires a Gold Pass. That same year, Sunflower Land spiced up its gameplay with the first NFT drop: the cute, pixelated Sunflower Land Buds – collectible companions that bring added utility, perks, and bonus content.
Blocklords
Duel between honor and tyranny in a medieval grand strategy game
Blocklords, one of web3’s pioneering games, has been in the works since 2017 and recently launched its open beta. We’re looking at a grand strategy game set in the medieval era using blockchain technology and high-tier graphics.
Players shape the destinies of their heroes and kingdoms, engaging in activities like farming, warfare, and ruling. Once fully launched, the massive multiplayer online (MMO) will integrate web3 elements through the Heroes and House Banners NFTs, as well as multiple tokens. Currently, you can play Blocklords early access version on the Epic Games Store.
Sipher Odyssey
Inhabit a sci-fi universe created by “god-like AI”
Sipher Odyssey is a multiplayer looter shooter that immerses players in an alien world.
Set for an open alpha this month, it’s been attracting the community’s interest with several rounds of playtests.
When asked about the game’s setting, CEO Tin Nguyen described a sci-fi universe created by a “god-like AI”, where characters who were reborn into it have to fight to adapt to their new home.
- Genre: Action RPG combined with trading card game (TCG) elements
- Status: Closed alpha, pre-registration for the open alpha is open
- Platform: PC, Mac, iOS, and Android
- Collection: TBA
- Website: playsipher.com
- X: @playSIPHER
Wildcard
Real-time strategy, arena-based MOBA, and collectible card game—all in one title
Another title highly anticipated by the Polygon gaming community, Wildcard melds the dynamics of three genres at once—real-time strategy, arena-based MOBAs, and collectible card games.
It’s a great fit for players who get a kick out of tactical gaming and love assembling top-notch decks to beat their rivals.
Gas Hero
New ‘large-scale social experiment’ from the developers of StepN
Gas Hero kicked off 2024 with a bang. After launching its open beta in early January, the auto chess battler game with social strategy elements made a swift ascent in popularity. It quickly topped NFT trading volume rankings via its Common Heroes collection.
Set in 2082 and centred around the theme of rapidly developing AI, Gas Hero is trying to answer the following question:
Will AI destroy humanity or will humanity destroy itself?
Notably, this isn’t the first time a game from Find Satoshi Labs (FSL) is set to create a buzz – they’re the same studio behind the widely popular move-to-earn Solana game StepN, launched in 2022.
Designed for a wider audience (and therefore easy onboarding), Gas Hero takes care of setting up a non-custodial wallet for you: all you need to dive straight into the action is an email.
