Delphi Digital: GameFi financing in 2025 drops by over 55% year-on-year, Web2.5 games become the new growth direction

BlockBeats News, December 30, Delphi Digital published an article stating, "2025 will be a tough year for GameFi. Overall funding has dropped by more than 55% year-on-year, some highly anticipated projects have underperformed at launch, and market enthusiasm has clearly cooled. However, if we take a longer-term perspective, the overall situation is more complex.

We are witnessing the quiet rise of Web2.5 games. These games view blockchain purely as an infrastructure layer, often skipping token design altogether and instead competing based on real revenue and product experience. Studios such as Fumb Games, Mythical Games, and Wemade / Wemix continue to generate considerable income, while leveraging blockchain in their own ways: blockchain helps them improve profit margins, enhance user engagement, or introduce new monetization channels.

In contrast, although native Web3 games have also generated millions of dollars (6–7 figures) in revenue this year, their player bases remain relatively small and are largely composed of bots. Once incentive mechanisms are exhausted, the fun of the games often disappears as well, although some teams are experimenting with new mechanisms to address this issue.

Web2.5 studios are now able to fully leverage the advantages brought by blockchain without forcing users to participate in speculation or making excuses for clunky user experiences. As stablecoins become more widespread, this trend will accelerate. Microtransactions, global payment channels, and reward mechanisms based on user engagement will all become more convenient."