For those who are active within the Crypto space and even those who are just general onlookers, 2022 was definitely an interesting year to say the least. We’ve seen the markets reach considerable lows which has left many in shock and awe.

When comparing prices we have seen in the past 2 year’s ‘Bull Run’ due to the worldwide lockdowns it is depressing to say the least. Crypto gaming itself is still somewhat on the rise as we have seen Microsoft and Sony dip their toes into unknown territory despite the negative status quo on Crypto related topics.

Gaming related tokens have taken huge hits in their prices in 2022. Let’s look deeper into which ones have been left kicking and screaming in 2022 as we enter a new rotation around the Sun.

@ The Sandbox

Which tokens are the worst performing?

The worst performing gaming tokens amongst the worst performing Cryptocurrencies to many looking in may come at a surprise. There are 3 gaming related coins that have seen substantial losses and they are:

• Decentraland (MANA)
• The Sandbox (SAND)
• Axie Infinity (AXS)

Decentraland took a huge hit in 2022, decreasing in value by a huge 91%. This time last year the token, which is linked to the incredibly popular VR Metaverse experience. This time last year it was priced at $3.40 and trickled down in price from there as it ended off 2022 at around $0.30.

The Sandbox followed close behind MANA as it saw a further 94% fall over the course of 2022. Around this time last year The Sandbox’s token was at the $5.70 mark. It now sits at $0.40. The Sandbox is another highly popular VR/AR game in the metaverse that has acted as a bridge between Web2 and Web3 for established brands and organisations.

Finally, Axie Infinity review (AXS) has also taken a 94% blow to its price. Once priced at $158 around July of 2021 it is now valued at a mere $6.50 per token.Despite the fall in value, Axie as a whole has remained a highly popular game. Players have travelled worldwide to battle it out at the very first Axie Infinity Esports Championship in Spain!

What has caused the price decline?

Since the early months of 2022 the financial markets have not been in a good place. Whilst Bull Run from covid was bound to end, no one would have expected it to do so in the fashion we experienced in 2022.

To start there was the conflict in Europe that set off a panic which was then coupled with the talks of inflation. Matching these 2 up caused a mass selling spree as both stocks and Cryptocurrencies are deemed as more riskier investments when experiencing times of economic hardship.

The Crypto market was also blessed with a few scams, cases of fraud and cyber attacks. These ultimately lead to billions in market capitalization being liquidated for those gaming coins noted above.

@ Axie Infinity

Axie Infinity was hacked back in March of 2022 which resulted in $620 million being stolen via fake job listings by North Korean hackers. Workers for Axie allowed their computer to be infected as they opened up malicious PDF files. This hack sent waves across the whole Crypto games community, not just the Axie community. This was a real eye opener that a lot more needed to be done when discussing security and the measures put in place.

Terra (LUNA) also faced a huge onslaught coming as a surprise due to the fact that Cryptocurrency was pegged against the U.S dollar making it a stablecoin.

FTX was a hybrid of sorts as one of the world’s largest Crypto asset exchanges filed for bankruptcy due to their founders laundering money and using their user’s capital to fund their own side ventures.

Around $10 billion was wiped from the Crypto market as Solana was one of the worst hit Crypto tokens. Binance, who was a keyholder or a whale holder when discussing FTX’s token, FTT. When they sold their holdings it all came crashing down for Sam Bankman Fried and his posse. Overall it was clear the market felt the effects FTX had caused.

Not all doom and gloom

What we have just covered in the above is fairly tear jerking, however it is not all doom and gloom for Crypto gaming. Whilst adoption is not necessarily on a mass scale, it has somewhat grown since the year previous.

Big Web2 gaming companies have shown interest or are pledging interest towards Web3 which should hopefully attract their die hard fans over to the blockchain list.

Furthermore we have seen an advancement in the graphics and gameplay that Web3 gaming projects have to offer. Many of which have began building their infrastructure with Unreal Engine 5, the most cutting edge game development tool on the market.

Hopefully 2023 brings more advancements from this growing industry and we see more playability and longevity from new and upcoming projects.