Web3 is dead" — With the collapse of various blockchain game projects and the plummet of tokens, such voices are incessantly heard in the crypto community.
Data shows that up to 93% of Web3 games have failed, with an average lifespan of only four months. Once high-profile projects like Tatsumeeko, Nyan Heroes, and Blast Royale have all quietly disappeared, and even the Rumble Kong League supported by Stephen Curry could not escape this fate.
On the other hand, Gate’s report for the third quarter of 2025 shows that its contract and spot trading volumes both reached an all-time high, with market share continuing to increase. Behind this contradictory phenomenon, is Web3 heading towards an end, or is it undergoing a process of rebirth by distinguishing the authentic from the false?
01 Disillusionment Valley: The Graveyard of Web3 Games
"We are standing in a digital graveyard of dead blockchain games." An observer described the current Web3 gaming ecosystem in Gate Square.
Since early 2025, the Web3 gaming sector has experienced a massive extinction event. Projects once hailed as "revolutionary" by crypto influencers are falling one after another.
According to data from ChainPlay, 93% of Web3 games have already died, with an average lifespan of only four months. Such a failure rate is rare even in the already high-risk traditional gaming sector.
Ember Sword is a typical case, as the project generated $203 million by selling virtual land NFTs to 35,000 players, but when they finally showcased the game visuals, the quality was disappointing.
A player who lost over $30,000 bluntly referred to it as "a scam."
02 False Promises: When "True Ownership" Becomes Digital Trash
The Web3 world once promised users wonderful things - true ownership of game assets, decentralized ownership, and asset interoperability. However, the reality is vastly different.
When these games shut down, your cherished NFTs turn into worthless digital trash overnight. After Nyan Heroes closed, its token immediately plummeted by 40%, down 98.5% from its historical high.
"The so-called ‘decentralized ownership’ is truly meaningless—these assets have no value in a game that is not running," wrote a frustrated player.
The fantasy of interoperability is even more absurd. How does your character operate in a first-person shooter? This is technically nearly impossible, yet developers continue to hype this dream.
The core issue is that most developers enter this field to quickly profit from the cryptocurrency boom rather than to create outstanding games. They prioritize token economics over gameplay, focusing on airdrops rather than user experience.
03 Rebirth Signal: Data Reveals New Trends in Web3
While the Web3 gaming sector is struggling, the entire Web3 ecosystem is demonstrating strong vitality.
In the third quarter of 2025, Gate’s global users exceeded 41 million, with both contract and spot trading volumes reaching historic highs. Among them, the derivatives trading volume surged nearly 100% in August, and market share increased to 10.1%, marking the highest growth rate in the industry.
The spot market has also shown strong performance, with a cumulative market share increase of 2.87% since the beginning of the year, making it the highest increase among major exchanges globally.
Behind this growth is substantial progress in Web3 infrastructure, rather than hollow promises.
Gate officially launched the high-performance Layer 2 network Gate Layer this quarter, based on the OP Stack architecture, supporting EVM compatibility and cross-chain interoperability, capable of processing over 5,700 transactions per second.
At the same time, leveraging the Gate Layer infrastructure, Gate has launched two core innovative products: the decentralized perpetual contract platform Gate Perp DEX and the on-chain Meme token launch platform Gate Fun.
The trading volume of Gate Perp DEX has surpassed 1 billion USD, demonstrating strong market vitality.
04 Value Return: Web3 Moves from Speculation to Construction
The current Web3 is undergoing a value return, shifting from speculation-driven to technology-driven.
At the ecological level, Gate’s incentive products such as Launchpool, Launchpad, CandyDrop, and HODLer Airdrop have been upgraded simultaneously, with both user participation and on-chain activity reaching new highs.
Launchpool has launched over 50 high-quality projects, with a total airdrop reward exceeding $7.5 million; the number of participants in Launchpad surpassed one million in the third quarter.
The security and compliance systems are also continuously strengthening. In the third quarter, the total value of Gate platform reserves reached $12.02 billion, with a total reserve rate of 123.98%, covering over 400 types of user assets.
Gate Group’s subsidiary in Malta has obtained a MiCA license issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), marking an important milestone in its global compliance strategy.
05 The Road Ahead: Where is Web3 Going?
So, where exactly is Web3 headed? The answer may lie somewhere between "complete death" and "full revival."
If Web3 games are to survive, they must completely change their development approach.
"If Web3 games have any future, developers need to focus first on creating truly engaging games, and then incorporate blockchain elements," a commentator pointed out.
Currently, platforms like Gate are trying to build a complete ecological closed loop covering trading, finance, infrastructure, and community development. A diversified and integrated crypto ecosystem is taking shape, which may be the future development direction of Web3.
Financial products and institutional business are also steadily expanding. Gate Earn’s average daily participation exceeded 360,000 people in the quarter, with a cumulative subscription volume exceeding 13 billion USD, and the total funds have broken through to 3.143 billion USD, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 46.5%.
In terms of institutional business, the contract and spot trading volumes increased by over 30% and 40% respectively, and the total lending has exceeded $10 billion.
Future Outlook
At the Tokyo WebX Summit, Gate made its appearance as the title sponsor, bringing multiple high-level speeches and side events. Meanwhile, at the GM Vietnam 2025 conference in Vietnam, developers are still engaged in intense debates about the future of Web3 gaming.
But no one mentions the term "revolution" anymore; instead, terms like "sustainability," "practical value," and "user experience" have taken its place.
Web3 is not dead; it is merely undergoing a necessary process of sifting through the false to find the true. When the flashy bubble bursts, the real builders begin to work.
