Emerging Viewpoints on the AI x GameFi Landscape
-- Abdul Al Ali, Venture Investor at Decasonic
As always - it has been an eventful weekend in crypto. The launch of the $TRUMP and $MELANIA meme tokens have captured the attention and mindshare of institutional and retail funds and investors alike. As mainstream adoption accelerates, a sector that is increasingly in focus is the AI x GameFi market. We believe this market remains in its early innings and infancy, and that it will be advanced by the continued AI advancements made both in Web2 and Web3. It is a sector that will stand to benefit from mainstream adoption, mainstream onboarding, and institutional onboarding to crypto and on-chain.
While the Web3 AI mindshare has cooled off from its all-time high, as reflected in the trends observed on platforms like Kaito, we remain confident in the sector's long-term trajectory. The intersection of Web3 and AI is poised to gain renewed momentum, driving increased mindshare, attracting founders, and advancing innovative projects. As the Web3 x AI supercycle unfolds, we believe this convergence will continue to be a significant force.
Our previous article, the “AI x GameFi Market Map,” highlighted the relevant founders and projects building at this early-stage intersection, check out the article here: link. As an update and continuing on our previous discussions, we have added more builders at this forefront and also compiled the other market maps that aim to track this frontier of innovation. Since the previous publishings, we have added new names here: link.
Below is our current state of the AI x GameFi Market.
For the complete list of projects, please find our article on X here where we tagged all the relevant builders: link.
In this article, we aim to visit the published market maps at the intersection of AI x GameFi and provide market insights from the researchers, founders, builders and thought leaders operating in this space. We provide an overview of the market - one that is increasingly accelerating and changing. We note that most of the mentioned posts and maps highlighted are focused on the intersection of AI Agents and GameFi, which is reasonable given the excitement in the market for AI Agents and the capture and growth of AI Agents in Web2 and Web3.
With the upcoming OpenAI announcement on super-agents capable of performing tasks at the PhD level and President Trump’s recent initiative to build out a $500B AI Infrastructure joint venture amongst some of the largest AI companies, we believe the interest at this intersection will continue to accelerate in the near and medium-term future. It will provide further opportunities across the entire stack for AI, with more opportunities for market leaders and builders to innovate and take advantage of opportunities ahead.
The consensus in the market highlights the inability of GameFi projects in Web3 to gain traction - and their inability to sustain adoption (for the most part). However, all insights highlighted in this article are united by their belief that the AI x GameFi ecosystem will result in significant attention shift towards projects building in the Web3 gaming ecosystem. Specifically, the integration of AI Agents within GameFi will result in a more active, enriching, and rewarding gaming experience and environment. At the time of writing this article, the GameFi market in Web3 stands at a market cap of $21.3B.
We note that this is a snapshot in time, and these views are evolving with the market. Below are what other market researchers are saying about Web3, Gaming and AI.
ELi5DeFi’s Web3 GameFi and AI Agents:
This X account is known for publishing AI related market maps and posts as it concerns Web3. In this post we aim to highlight - the account focuses on projects building at the intersection of AI Agents and GameFi - highlighting their prominent belief that 2025 will mark a pivotal moment for Web3 GameFi primarily enriched by Agent’s ability to enhance GameFi experiences. They primarily focus on the below expected outcomes from Agent’s integration into GameFi:
Personalized Gameplay: Enabling Agents to tailor experiences to players based on their skills and preferences
Intelligent NPCs: Agents will replace NPCs, delivering more personalized and immersive gaming experiences
Infrastructure Development: Agents integration in game development infrastructure will abstract the need for repetitive and complex tasks
Economic Balancing: Balancing in-game economies to ensure fairness
Matchmaking Systems: Agents analyzing player behavior will be able to enhance player liquidity in match making
AI Driven Content: AI generating content in quests and levels to abstract content limitations
In addition to the above enhancements, Eli5’s post dives into the enhancing capabilities of AI as it relates to security measures and analytics from player-behaviors. Beyond that, they emphasize GameFi’s unique ability to provide an ideal environment for AI training and interactions, creating a feedback loop for training.
Ricebean’s AI x Gaming Ecosystem:
Another highlight of the AI x Gaming Ecosystem is from ricebean. Ricebean is part of the Pirate Nation team, one of the leading on-chain games, providing a fully on-chain RPG experience.
Ricebean’s post primarily provided a number of projects operating in the aforementioned ecosystem, highlighting their roles and functionality individually. His view reflects the perspective of a technical builder on the front lines of this innovation.
Our next highlight aims to provide a more global insight into the market landscape. Asia continues to be a hub that dominates Web3 GameFi (in both projects and players) with SEA increasingly cementing its leading position. The post below was written in Mandarin.
Danny Atlas’ Agent Gaming Market Map:
Similar to the previous posts - Danny’s post focuses on the Agentic landscape. However, this post is more broad in focus categories - highlighting projects and opportunities across the stack in infrastructure, launchpads, IP, metaverse, and immersive gaming projects.
The post emphasizes the rapid growth in Web2/Web3 GameFi’s landscape, with the most relevant being the introduction of AI Agents, which aim to develop an economic system within GameFi that will provide a balance to the hyper speculation that is often a point of failure for many GameFi projects. Further, what differentiates this post apart is their belief that existing and past market category leaders will dominate the landscape as they introduce AI in their games and infrastructure. Primarily, they highlight the below expectations for AI in GameFi projects:
Gaming Agent DAOs: AI Agents running guilds and DAOs, being able to run them 24/7 and gain subsequent experience
AI Agent Frameworks:
AI GameFi projects are likely to develop their own AI Agent frameworks
Players need frameworks that will enable personalization of AI Agents, and developers behind GameFi projects will be able to develop increasingly personalized and customized frameworks that are optimized for their games
Decasonic’s Unique Perspective on AI x GameFi
What sets Decasonic apart from other market analysts in this space lies in our holistic investor view of AI’s potential to impact across the entire GameFi stack. While many focus on AI’s role in GameFi gameplay, we emphasize its transformative effects across Gaming, Infrastructure, and AI Agents. We are focused on where market leading products can achieve valuable market category leadership.
Rather than deep-diving into individual projects, we’ve presented a comprehensive perspective on the ecosystem’s current state and its future trajectory in value creation. We believe AI x GameFi has the potential to catalyze a gaming supercycle, redefining the industry through adaptive, personalized, and customizable experiences.
Key to this evolution will be community-driven adoption likely emerged from founder led marketing of an aspirational vision. As AI integration within games creates more personalized and dynamic interactions, the way communities perceive and engage with these projects will be critical for their differentiation and success.
Ownership in gaming is another area where our perspective diverges. AI Agents will revolutionize how players interact with in-game assets, shifting beyond NFTs as optional features to deeply integrated, dynamic systems. Agents and players may compete for in-game resources, creating new layers of strategy and engagement that challenge traditional gaming experiences.
The results? Improved player retention, deeper engagement, and hyper-personalized experiences. Not only will AI in GameFi expand the Web3 player base, but it will also onboard mainstream gamers into the ecosystem, opening doors to a broader audience and on-chain adoption. We believe the future of this intersection has never been more exciting.
Underrepresented Opportunities: eSports and Mobile
We also believe in the often underrepresented potential of eSports and Mobile GameFi:
eSports: AI agents can compete, organize tournaments, and even run virtual teams, while blockchain ensures transparent rewards and ownership.
Mobile: Mobile-first GameFi represents an untapped frontier. Lightweight, accessible gaming experiences, tailored for global audiences, are critical to onboarding the next wave of Web3 and mainstream players. Despite its vast potential, this area remains underemphasized in the AI x GameFi market.
AI Agents: Transforming GameFi
All major thought leaders agree that AI Agents will revolutionize the GameFi landscape. These agents will evolve alongside players, influencing gameplay, running in-game economies, and executing autonomous strategies.
Unlike NPCs, these agents will be dynamic and adaptive, offering personalization and growth over time. This innovation will accelerate GameFi adoption, redefining how players and AI interact in immersive and competitive gaming ecosystems.
Agentic Societies and Open Worlds
A nascent but growing narrative in the market are opportunities in the AI Open World ecosystem. At this stage, the number of builders in this ecosystem is growing, with the functionality primarily being the ability for AI Agents to be integrated in cross-platform open world games.
DeFi0xJeff provided a comprehensive list of companies at this stage here. Jeff believes that there’s increasingly growing interest in personality-driven agents, characters with dedicated fanbases and IPs that are primed for Open World games. We believe Open World games are the perfect environment for the growth and evolution of AI Agents. Agents driven by their own goals, evolving into dynamic markets, and being able to interact with other Agents in the world provides an opportunity for continued growth, adoption, and unlimited content. Each time a player logs into a game, they would find differences in the world - as these environments change constantly due to the influence of the Agents’ actions. In this world, agents and players stand on equal footing. Open worlds present a unique opportunity to train agents—immersing them in dynamic environments, tasking them with diverse, outcome-driven goals, and enabling iterative learning through repeated scenarios.
AI x GameFi Infrastructure: Zentry’s Leading Position
At the time of writing this article, Zentry, a GameFi Network leader announced one of their biggest updates to date. They announced their zAI Agentic Layer, which will be at the forefront of the MMORPG and Open World Agentic Economy. Refer to their post announcement here.
Conclusion
This space remains at its infancy. As the intersection of AI x GameFI matures, it’s becoming increasingly clear that opportunities for innovation and growth lie ahead. We may witness a future where players shift from active participation in games to becoming spectators and speculators, driven by in-game economies powered by crypto. Imagine a world where the primary gameplay involves betting on which AI agents emerge victorious.
If you're a builder, innovator, or investor passionate about exploring the future of AI-integrated GameFi, we’d love to collaborate and hear your thoughts. Connect with us at Decasonic.
The content of this material is strictly for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute investment advice, nor should it be considered a recommendation or a solicitation to buy, sell, or hold any asset. Decasonic does not endorse investments in any specific tokens, and nothing in these blog posts should be construed as legal, tax, or financial advice. Please consult with a qualified professional advisor before making any financial decisions. Decasonic provides no warranties, whether expressed or implied, on the content provided in these blog posts, including its accuracy, completeness, or correctness. The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Decasonic. Please note that Decasonic may hold a position in some of the tokens mentioned, including Virtuals. Decasonic is not liable for any errors or omissions in the content of this material or for any actions taken based on the information provided herein.
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