It’s been a wild year for crypto gaming, with some real surprises in the mix.
At the start of the year, who would’ve thought that tap-to-earn gaming—a super-streamlined riff on the play-to-earn model—would become the biggest story of the year? And who thought we’d end the year with a huge crypto game making serious inroads with mainstream gamers?
That’s just the tip of the iceberg for the interesting twists we saw this year, so with 2025 right around the corner, here’s a look back at seven games that really defined crypto gaming over the last 12 months. And stay tuned, as Decrypt’s GG will continue to report on the next big games to shake up this exciting space.
Notcoin
Notcoin might have taken obvious inspiration from earlier “clicker” games like Cookie Clicker, but it undoubtedly created the Telegram tap-to-earn craze—and actually delivered, too.
Billions of dollars worth of crypto (at NOT’s peak value) was ultimately given out to players, spawning a surge of clones in the process. None of them lived up to the impact of the original, even if some ultimately pulled in more players, but that shouldn’t diminish Notcoin’s immense impact.
What's Next for Notcoin? Becoming the 'Netflix of Social, Viral Games'
The creators of Telegram-based game Notcoin currently have their hands full, with millions of users eagerly anticipating the game’s imminent NOT token launch on The Open Network (TON). And yet, the game’s developers already have their sights set on even bigger things: Namely, transforming Notcoin from a viral, coin-tapping sensation into a comprehensive, scaled gaming ecosystem powered by a community of builders. “We want it to become the Netflix of social, viral games,” Open Builders founder Sa...
Off the Grid
It should be no surprise that GG’s pick for the 2024 game of the year is on this list, and when it comes to pure gameplay, nothing else comes close. Off the Grid delivers a strong riff on the familiar battle royale shooter gameplay of Apex Legends or Call of Duty Warzone, adding exciting twists such as cybernetic limbs that provide special abilities.
That yielded many viral moments when the game launched in early access in October—but what many players may not realize is that there’s a blockchain behind the scenes, with an upcoming token launch and tradable item NFTs sure to shift the narrative around the game.
GG’s 2024 Game of the Year: Off the Grid
Off the Grid has only been available for a couple months, but it's by far the best crypto game of the year—and it’s not even really close. If we're talking pure numbers, then Hamster Kombat blew most games out of the water by racking up 300 million players this summer. But the monotonous tap-to-earn mini app ultimately felt like a financialized gimmick thinly veiled as a game, and the resulting airdrop hardly justified the hype. As for Off the Grid, the game impressed both Web2 and Web3-native g...
Pixels
Social farming game Pixels gained a fair bit of attention when it migrated over to Ethereum gaming network Ronin in late 2023, but it became a breakout crypto hit early this year when it launched its PIXEL token, offering substantial rewards to early players.
Pixels didn’t fizzle out once the crypto funds were handed out, however, as the game has only expanded and evolved since, keeping players plugged in as the developers explore spinoff games—like Pixel Dungeons and an early access Telegram game—plus further enhancements ahead.
Pixels Review: Should You Play the Buzzy Crypto Farming Game?
The crypto gaming space has been gripped by Pixels in recent months, and Decrypt’s GG is no exception. We’ve covered the rising player counts since migrating to Ronin, interviewed the founder about its surge, and detailed this week’s long-awaited PIXEL token launch. But unlike many gaming projects that enjoy a fleeting moment in the crypto spotlight, there’s an actual playable game behind the token hype—and it doesn’t require any expensive NFTs to play, and you don’t have to beg around Discord s...
Hamster Kombat
For a buzzy moment this summer, Hamster Kombat briefly became one of the most-talked-about games on the planet, with the Telegram tap-to-earn game attracting 300 million total players.
It reached a vastly larger audience than Notcoin with expanded gameplay elements, tasking players with running their own crypto exchange. However, many players considered the airdrop to be underwhelming, and a planned second season of gameplay is still MIA.
‘Hamster Kombat’ Telegram Game Overhaul Revealed for Season 2
Hit Telegram tap-to-earn game Hamster Kombat is set to launch a new full season later this month, following September’s token launch and airdrop, and now we know about the significant shift coming with the game’s next major phase. While the first season of Hamster Kombat was focused on running a fictional crypto exchange, the second season will focus on building out a video game platform and developing games for it. Hamster Kombat’s developers released a short teaser video Thursday that showed...
Fantasy Top
Fantasy Top felt like the hottest thing in all of crypto for about two weeks earlier this year, at least for those immersed in Crypto Twitter. Designed like an NFT fantasy sports game built around real Twitter influencers, Fantasy Top on Ethereum layer-2 network Blast was a roaring engagement machine for that brief moment. The buzz cooled relatively quickly, but with fresh funding raised recently, we’re curious to see if Fantasy Top can regain momentum.
Why Ethereum Game ‘Fantasy Top’ Is Taking Over Crypto Twitter
What’s Crypto Twitter buzzing about now? A game built around Crypto Twitter, believe it or not—one offering sizable rewards and incentives for players. Fantasy Top is captivating the crypto faithful by transforming the industry’s biggest and buzziest social media personalities into Ethereum NFT trading cards on scaling network Blast. Players can crush rivals by creating card lineups that have the best real-world Twitter engagement during each competition, and earn crypto and in-game prizes in re...
Parallel
Parallel was GG’s pick for last year’s top crypto game, but 2024 is when it started to make substantial inroads with players. This year, Parallel entered open beta, launched to a much wider audience via the Epic Games Store, and debuted its esports series with a big championship set for Las Vegas in March 2025.
And for the cherry on top, popular F1 driver Fernando Alonso endorsed the game. It’s still one of the finest blockchain games you can play, and it only appears to be growing.
'Hearthstone' and 'Parallel' Card Game Fans Have Beef—Here's Why
Take a card from your opponent's deck and watch the world burn. Controversy has circled rising NFT card game Parallel since announcing last week that it has added one of the best-known Hearthstone streamers as an ambassador and spokesperson for the game. Parallel announced on Friday that Thijs "Thijs" Molendijk, an esports pro and the third-largest Hearthstone streamer by average views, would support the crypto trading card game. Both games revolve around building decks of digital cards and comp...
Crypto: The Game
Crypto: The Game is indeed a game built around crypto, but it’s not a video game—well, mostly. It’s a multimedia experience inspired by the TV show “Survivor,” blending real-world and online events and a little bit of video gaming, not to mention social maneuvering.
The first two seasons ran early this year and were widely hailed by many players as some of the most fun they’ve ever had in this industry. After being acquired by Uniswap Labs, an upcoming third season aims to be bigger and better while keeping the compelling vibe of the initial efforts.
Why the 'Crypto: The Game' Winner Donated the $200K Prize to Support Tornado Cash Devs
The second season of Crypto: The Game—a competition inspired by reality TV hit “Survivor” that spans both online and real-world competitions—came to a conclusion last week with the anonymous winner, Player 733, taking home the prize pool of nearly 72 ETH (about $210,000). But they’re not keeping the crypto stash: The winner donated all of the ETH to a legal defense fund that supports Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm, developers of the Ethereum coin mixer Tornado Cash, who are facing charges for al...
Edited by Stephen Graves
