This Week in Crypto Games: Gaming Tokens Crash Out, Eve Frontier Opens Up

The crypto and NFT gaming space is busier than ever lately, what with prominent games starting to release, token airdrops piling up, and a seemingly constant array of other things happening at all times. It’s a lot to take in!

Luckily, Decrypt’s GG is all over it. And if you need a quick way to get caught up on the latest moves around crypto video games, we’re happy to present This Week in Crypto Games.

Our weekend roundup serves up the biggest news from the past week, along with a few other tidbits you might have missed. We also showcase a few of our original stories from the week.

Biggest news

Gaming tokens bomb out: Crypto assets large and small have made wild swings in recent weeks amid President Trump's ever-shifting trade war, but gaming tokens have been hit harder than most. And if you take a look at CoinGecko's list of the top 100 coins by market cap, gaming tokens are nowhere to be found.

Immutable (IMX) was the last holdout, but it fell from the rankings last Monday, only briefly returning around midweek. About a year ago, there were six gaming tokens on the list, including The Sandbox (SAND) and Gala Games (GALA), but no more. All of the long-running gaming majors are down substantially, while last year's biggest new gaming tokens have all cratered since.

Gaming Tokens Are Disappearing From Crypto's Top 100—What Happened?

There are now zero gaming tokens in the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, according to data from CoinGecko, after Immutable (IMX) fell from the rankings on Monday. CoinMarketCap’s ranking still has a few gaming tokens near the bottom of the list, but the takeaway is much the same: Top gaming coins are down bad. Crypto games have hit prominent peaks over the last year in terms of both mainstream reach and praise from gamers, but the tokens are fading fast and new ones are struggl...

We took a comprehensive look at the issues plaguing the crypto gaming space of late and how broader crypto trends are impacting the value of gaming tokens, with industry experts sharing their thoughts about the current state of play.

Eve Frontier trial: Eve Frontier, an Ethereum-based MMO space survival game, kicked off a 10-day free trial period on April 11, allowing players to explore its universe without the perks of paid Founders Access passes. The trial—which ends on April 21—coincides with the game's third phase, typically a period for implementing new features.

CCP Games, which raised $40 million in 2023 to expand its Eve Online universe via blockchain, launched closed alpha access for Eve Frontier in December with Founders Access passes priced between $30-$90. The company recently hired a former Central Bank of Iceland economist to develop its player-driven financial system.

'Eve Frontier' Game Trial Will Open 'Eve Online' Ethereum Spinoff to All

Ethereum-based massively multiplayer online (MMO) space survival game Eve Frontier will host a 10-day free trial period starting on Friday, April 11.  Open until April 21, free trial players will get to explore the universe, building and commanding ships and attempting to survive in a game in which the world “literally wants to kill you,” according to CCP Games CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson.  The Remnant Access trial coincides with the beginning of the game’s third phase, a 60-day period in which...

Built on Redstone, an Ethereum layer-2 network, Eve Frontier will support multiple tokens, including an eventual EVE utility token. The game follows Eve Online, a hardcore MMORPG released in 2003 that continues to thrive with dedicated player corporations and extensive community lore.

Immutable is merging networks: Ethereum gaming platform Immutable announced plans to merge its original Immutable X network into its newer Immutable zkEVM layer-2 blockchain in late 2025. This consolidation aims to unify its gaming ecosystem following substantial growth for the zkEVM network, which has processed nearly 150 million transactions since early 2024.

For users, the transition will be largely automatic, with assets being transferred to existing wallets, though there will be an opt-out option available. However, game developers face more significant adjustments, including deprecated APIs requiring reimplementation of certain mechanics and changes to collection addresses.

Immutable Will Combine Its Ethereum Gaming Networks Into One

Immutable, an Ethereum gaming platform, announced plans this week to consolidate its networks by merging the original Immutable X network into its newer Immutable zkEVM layer-2 blockchain. The merger, which is currently expected in late 2025, aims to unify the company's gaming ecosystem after substantial growth in its zkEVM network, which has processed nearly 150 million transactions since launching in early 2024. "By consolidating hundreds of millions of dollars in assets across hundreds of gam...

Guild of Guardians has already completed this migration, pioneering the upgrade for other notable games on the platform like Gods Unchained and Illuvium.

ICYMI

• Ethereum game Aavegotchi is jumping from Polygon to Base following a community vote, and will shutter its layer-3 Geist network.
• A Fortnite-themed Solana meme coin briefly pumped in value after Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney labeled it a "scam" on X.

Fortnite Solana Meme Coin Pumps After Epic Games CEO Calls It a 'Scam'

Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney called a Fortnite inspired Solana meme coin a scam. But even negative attention was enough to pump the price 2,700% for a while. Still, some degens believe that this is all part of the Fortnite-related gag, even suggesting that Sweeney launched the tokens himself—which he denies. This comes after iconic battle royale Fortnite added a blockchain-themed storyline into the game, with a pickle antagonist called Big Dill that is on the run for his involvement in...

• iCandy Interactive and Matter Labs teamed up to launch the ZKcandy layer-2 network mainnet on Ethereum, with a focus on mobile games.
• Sweet, which operates official NFT platforms for the NHL and MLS, will integrate the upcoming SCOR reward token on TON across its ecosystem, starting with Telegram sports games.
• Role-playing game Realms of Alurya will migrate to Ethereum gaming network Ronin following Treasure's move to stop supporting third-party games.

• Gaming network Xterio Chain will be sunsetted, with all assets being migrated over to BNB Chain.
• Horizon Blockchain Games has rebranded as Sequence, the name of its gaming infrastructure suite. Blockworks reports that its long-running NFT card game Skyweaver will continue on under the new brand.
• Roblox-like crypto game Nifty Island has launched its Playground Options Expansion to give builders more options.
• The makers of mobile game Heroes of Mavia released a roadmap for the rest of the year, including game updates, a marketplace launch, and plans for additional games.

• Ubisoft's Champions Tactics game made a number of balance shifts in a patch.
• The DAO-funded Nouns Esports organization will host a Super Smash Bros. major tournament in Tokyo.
• MapleStory Universe has launched its own Avalanche L1 network to power the game.
• Esports team NRG will launch an AI chatbot called Volt that's powered by blockchain network Theta.

• The Checkmate Foundation has launched an airdrop checker for players of Anichess, with potential allocations based also on on-chain activity and other factors.
• Wolf Game has launched a new version of the WOOL token on Solana, following a previous migration from Ethereum mainnet to layer-2 network Blast.
• The SuiPlay 0x1 gaming handheld has racked up over 9,000 pre-orders so far, the makers said last week.

GG spotlight

Here are a few of our original stories from this past week that we think are well worth a weekend read:

What Is ‘Eve Frontier’? How to Start Playing CCP's Survival Game on Ethereum

Legendary game developer CCP Games this week lifted the lid on Eve Frontier, a space survival game set in the Eve Online universe that features blockchain integration.  Initially referred to as Project Awakening, Eve Frontier appears to have a lot of similarities to the massive Eve Online game, but with more of a survival focus—and the ability to use crypto tokens and blockchain code to impact and reshape the game in new ways. With such a prestigious development studio behind it, hopes are high...

The Biggest Games Releasing in April 2025

April continues Microsoft's impressive list of releases.  After years of watching the company flounder when it came to getting critically-acclaimed games out the door, the company is on the rampage.  Indiana Jones in December, Avowed in February, and now South of Midnight in March. We know Doom: The Dark Ages and Ninja Gaiden 4 are still coming, and rumors continue to mount of Xbox studio Bethesda releasing a remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, in the near future. There are tons of games c...

The Biggest Games Coming to Nintendo Switch 2

Nintendo fully unveiled the Nintendo Switch 2 this week, and it sports a bigger LCD screen, updated Joy-Con controllers that can also be used as mice, two USB-C ports, and a better kickstand. It can also play games at 4K resolution on your TV, and 1080p at 120 frames per second on the Switch 2 itself. Of course, none of that would even matter if there weren't some killer games on the way. We'll see a few big ones right at launch, with more to come later—and we've combed through the announcements...

Edited by Andrew Hayward