'Big Time' and other Web3 games take home the gold at the inaugural GAM3 awards

The Web3 gaming awards event, the GAM3 Awards, hosted by Polkastarter Gaming, has announced 16 winners at a live event on December 15. 

According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, prize winners will share over $1M worth of prizes sponsored by companies such as Immutable X, Blockchain Game Alliance, Machinations, Ultra, Naavik, Galxe, Hacken, Venly, HackenProof, Shorooq, Elixir, Arcade, and MetaCon.

congratulations to all the winners in our inaugural 2022 #GAM3Awards ✨we can’t wait to see what’s in store for you, and the entire industry in 2023.for more information & a recap of the awards, visit ➡️ https://t.co/uK4Ymsc65d pic.twitter.com/PjFYliUwMz

Games were judged based on a range of criteria; such as core loop, graphics, accessibility, replayability factor, fun elements, and overall playing experience. Although the focus was on playability, eligibility for awards largely depended on whether the nominated games utilized blockchain technology, in some form. 

An international jury made up of gaming, media and web3 outlets was responsible for selecting the nominees. 

Award winners included; ‘Big Time’ which won both Game of the Year and Best Adventure Game. ‘Shrapnel’, which was awarded the Most Anticipated Game, ‘Star Atlas’ which won for the Best Graphics category, and ‘Thetan Arena’ which was awarded the Best Mobile Game. The winners for other categories included; Blankos Block Party, Illuvium, Superior, MetalCore, Gods Unchained, EV.io, Brycent, League of Kingdoms and The Harvest.

Related: Gamers are more interested in earning Bitcoin than NFTs: Survey

Despite the sudden implosion of FTX and its cascading effects on the entire web3 ecosystem, the blockchain gaming niche still appears to be thriving.

According to analytics service DappRadar,  “In October and November, gaming activity accounted for almost half of all blockchain activity” tracked across 50 networks, "with 800,875 daily Unique Active Wallets (UAW) interacting with games’ smart contracts in November.”

The report also revealed that blockchain games raised over $320 million in November, indicating excitement and potential growth of the web3 gaming industry.