Web3 Gaming

Gaming in Web3: How .pulse Powers Communities and Developers

December 27, 2024
12 min read
Gaming & NFTs

Step into a world where your in-game sword isn't just pixels—it's a tokenized asset you truly own, tradeable across blockchains, and earning real value.

Video game concept. Cyber sports. Blockchain concept for video games. Online games. Token games

That's the thrill of Web3 gaming, and .pulse domains are fueling this evolution for developers, communities, and players alike.

With the global Web3 gaming market projected to grow from USD 38.45 billion in 2025 to USD 44.75 billion in 2026, expanding further at a robust pace toward USD 157.7 billion by 2035 with a 33.23% CAGR, .pulse—a Web3 TLD tailored for art, code, and community—offers perpetual ownership and programmability to supercharge your gaming ecosystem.

Through our partnership with Freename.io, which manages seamless registrations, .pulse lets you mint second-level domains (SLDs) like game.pulse as blockchain assets.

Web3 Gaming Market Snapshot

$44.75B

Market Size 2026

33.23%

CAGR to 2035

$157.7B

Projected by 2035

Who Is This Guide For?

Developers

Building dApps and blockchain games

Communities

Building guilds and gaming DAOs

Investors

Eyeing play-to-earn opportunities

Whether you're a developer coding dApps, a community building guilds, or an investor eyeing play-to-earn models, this guide explores the trends, benefits, and opportunities. By the end, you'll see how securing a .pulse domain today positions you at the forefront of 2026's gaming boom.

Understanding .pulse: A Blockchain-Native TLD for Gaming

.pulse redefines domains for the decentralized era. Unlike legacy TLDs, .pulse is minted on blockchain via Freename.io, our registry partner that handles the tech backend.

You search for an SLD (e.g., meta.pulse), connect a wallet like MetaMask, pay a one-time fee ($5-100 plus minimal gas), and own it forever—no renewals, no centralized takedowns.

How .pulse Works for Gaming

Web2 + Web3 Bridge

Your domain is DNS-compatible for browsers (standard website access) and Web3-integrable with wallets, NFTs, and dApps. Your game.pulse can resolve to a game site while linking to on-chain elements—like player profiles or asset marketplaces.

True Ownership via Doma Protocol

This taps into blockchain gaming's core: true ownership, where in-game items are NFTs you control. As protocols evolve, .pulse becomes programmable, hosting smart contracts for automated tournaments or guild governance.

Perpetual Ownership Model

Freename.io enables royalty splits (up to 50% for TLD promoters like us on SLD sales), making it a revenue stream for creators. For gamers and developers, this means no annual renewal fees—pay once, own forever.

💡 Nugget: Blockchain gaming eliminates "paywalls" by letting players earn from play—transforming hobbies into economies. Your .pulse domain becomes the hub for this economic activity.

The Web3 Gaming Boom: 2026 Trends Developers Can't Miss

Web3 gaming is exploding, blending blockchain with immersive experiences. The market, valued at USD 32.33 billion in 2024, is set to hit USD 39.65 billion in 2025 at 22.6% CAGR, with projections reaching USD 117.47 billion by 2034 at 18.1%.

Some forecasts are even bolder: USD 131.6 billion by 2034 at 18.5% CAGR, or USD 310 billion by 2032 at 68.3% for blockchain-specific gaming.

Web3 Gaming Market Projections

2024

$32.3B

Current market

2025

$39.7B

22.6% growth

2026

$44.8B

Accelerating

2035

$157.7B

33% CAGR

Sources: Market research reports, blockchain gaming analytics platforms

Key Trends Shaping Web3 Gaming

Play-to-Earn (P2E) Evolution

Players earn cryptocurrency and NFTs through gameplay. What started with Axie Infinity (which peaked at $4 billion market cap) has evolved into sophisticated economies where skilled players earn sustainable income.

Real Data: At its peak, Axie Infinity had 2.7 million daily active users, with some players in developing countries earning more than their local minimum wage.

True Asset Ownership via NFTs

In-game items as NFTs mean players truly own their swords, skins, and land. These assets can be traded on marketplaces, used across multiple games, or sold for real money.

Market Reality: OpenSea (largest NFT marketplace) has facilitated over $20 billion in total trading volume, with gaming NFTs representing a significant portion.

Cross-Game Interoperability

Standards like ERC-721 and ERC-1155 enable assets to move between games. Your legendary sword from Game A could be used in Game B, creating truly portable digital ownership.

Innovation: Projects like Polygon and Immutable X are building infrastructure specifically for gaming interoperability with near-zero gas fees.

Gaming DAOs & Community Governance

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) let players vote on game development, economy changes, and fund allocation using governance tokens.

Example: Merit Circle DAO manages a $200M+ treasury for play-to-earn scholarships and game investments, governed entirely by token holders.

What's Driving This Growth?

Mobile Adoption

60%+ of blockchain gaming happens on mobile devices

Easier Onboarding

Web3 wallets now as simple as email signup

Better Games

AAA studios entering Web3 with quality titles

Real Web3 Gaming Success Stories: Data & Examples

These verified examples demonstrate how blockchain gaming is already generating real revenue and building sustainable player economies.

Axie Infinity: The $4 Billion Pioneer

Play-to-Earn Gaming at Scale

Axie Infinity, launched in 2018, became the poster child for play-to-earn gaming. At its peak in 2021, the game reached a $4 billion market capitalization and generated over $1.3 billion in revenue, surpassing traditional gaming giants.

Key Metrics (Peak Period):

2.7M

Daily Active Users

$1.3B

Total Revenue (2021)

$300+

Avg Monthly Earnings (Philippines)

Real Impact: In developing countries like the Philippines and Venezuela, players earned more from Axie Infinity than their local minimum wage. Some players made $300-$1,000+ monthly during peak periods, creating genuine economic opportunities.

While Axie's economy has since normalized (as all early markets do), it proved that blockchain gaming can generate sustainable player income and created the blueprint for thousands of P2E games that followed.

The Sandbox: Virtual Land as Investment

Metaverse Real Estate on Blockchain

The Sandbox is a user-generated metaverse where players buy virtual LAND (as NFTs), build experiences, and monetize their creations. Major brands including Adidas, Snoop Dogg, Warner Music, and Gucci have purchased virtual real estate in The Sandbox.

Market Performance:

  • 166,464 LAND parcels total, each unique NFT
  • $400M+ in LAND sales since launch
  • Individual LAND parcels have sold for $450,000+
  • Creator economy generated $20M+ in royalties to builders

Why .pulse Fits: Virtual worlds like The Sandbox need custom domains for user-created experiences. Imagine snoopverse.pulse or adidasland.pulse as permanent, tradeable blockchain addresses for these virtual properties.

Gods Unchained: Trading Card Revolution

True Card Ownership on Immutable X

Gods Unchained is a competitive trading card game where every card is an NFT. Unlike Hearthstone or Magic Arena where you "rent" cards, Gods Unchained players truly own their cards and can sell them on secondary markets.

Market Economics:

Total cards minted: 15M+
Secondary market volume: $60M+
Most expensive card sold: $62,000

The Difference: Built on Immutable X (layer-2 for Ethereum), Gods Unchained achieves zero gas fees for trades. Players have generated $60M+ in card sales—revenue that would've stayed with the game publisher in traditional models.

Combined Impact Across Major Web3 Games

$2B+

Total Revenue Generated

10M+

Active Players Worldwide

$500M+

Player-to-Player Trading

100+

Countries Represented

Sources: DappRadar, Token Terminal, project disclosures, on-chain analytics (2024 data)

Building Your Web3 Gaming Project: Practical Guide

Whether you're a game developer, guild leader, or entrepreneur, here's how to leverage .pulse domains for your Web3 gaming venture.

For Game Developers

1. Choose Your Blockchain Infrastructure

Select the right blockchain for your game's needs:

Polygon (Layer-2)
  • • Low gas fees ($0.01-$0.10)
  • • Fast transactions (2-5 seconds)
  • • Used by: Decentraland, Sandbox
Immutable X
  • • Zero gas fees for NFTs
  • • Built for gaming specifically
  • • Used by: Gods Unchained, Illuvium
Ronin (Sidech ain)
  • • Purpose-built for Axie Infinity
  • • Extremely low fees
  • • Handles millions of transactions
PulseChain
  • • Native for .pulse domains
  • • Low-cost alternative to Ethereum
  • • Growing gaming ecosystem

2. Register Your Game's .pulse Domain

Choose a memorable domain that reflects your game's brand. Examples:

battleroyale.pulse mmorpg.pulse cardgame.pulse metaverse.pulse

Pro Tip: Shorter domains (5-10 characters) are easier to remember and type. Avoid hyphens and numbers for maximum brandability.

3. Implement NFT Standards

Use industry-standard token formats for in-game assets:

  • ERC-721: Unique items (legendary swords, land parcels, character skins)
  • ERC-1155: Semi-fungible tokens (100 identical health potions, stackable resources)
  • ERC-20: In-game currency, governance tokens, reward points

4. Build Marketplace & Economy

Enable peer-to-peer trading with your own marketplace at market.yourgame.pulse:

  • • Implement buy/sell/auction functionality
  • • Take 2-5% transaction fees (industry standard)
  • • Support multiple payment methods (crypto + fiat onramps)
  • • Integrate wallet connect (MetaMask, WalletConnect, Coinbase Wallet)
  • • Add rarity filters, price charts, and trading history

For Gaming Guilds & Communities

Scholarship Programs

Guilds like Yield Guild Games (YGG) and Merit Circle manage hundreds of millions in gaming NFTs, lending them to players in exchange for revenue share.

Example Model:

  • • Guild owns 1,000 Axie teams ($150K investment)
  • • Lends to 1,000 players in Philippines, Indonesia, Venezuela
  • • Revenue split: 30% player, 10% manager, 60% guild treasury
  • • Guild earns $100K-$300K monthly at peak

DAO Governance Structure

Set up decentralized governance for your guild:

Voting Mechanisms

Token-weighted voting for treasury allocation, game selection, and strategic decisions

Treasury Management

Multi-sig wallets (Gnosis Safe) for secure fund management with transparent on-chain records

Your Guild's .pulse Hub

Use your .pulse domain as the central hub:

Main Portal: yourguild.pulse

Guild info, leaderboards, news, recruitment

Scholarship Portal: scholars.yourguild.pulse

Application system, performance tracking, payouts

Governance: dao.yourguild.pulse

Proposals, voting, treasury dashboard

Recommended Technology Stack

Smart Contracts

  • • Solidity (Ethereum/Polygon)
  • • OpenZeppelin libraries
  • • Hardhat/Truffle dev tools
  • • Chainlink oracles

Frontend/Backend

  • • React.js or Unity WebGL
  • • Web3.js or Ethers.js
  • • IPFS for metadata storage
  • • The Graph for indexing

Infrastructure

  • • Alchemy or Infura RPC
  • • Moralis for backend
  • • Nifty Gateway or OpenSea
  • • Discord/Telegram bots

How .pulse Domains Power Gaming Ecosystems

Game Studio Portals

Launch mygame.pulse as your game's home

Example: A play-to-earn RPG uses dragonquest.pulse for their main site, NFT marketplace, and player leaderboards—all linked to blockchain wallets

Gaming Guilds & DAOs

Create guild.pulse for community coordination

Example: A 500-member guild operates warrioralliance.pulse with scholarship programs, treasury management, and governance voting—all on-chain

NFT Marketplaces

Build marketplace.pulse for in-game asset trading

Example: Platform at gameitems.pulse aggregates NFTs from multiple games, enabling cross-game trading with 2% fees going to domain owner

Tournament Platforms

Host esports at esports.pulse

Example: Weekly tournaments at championship.pulse with smart contract-automated prize pools, bracket tracking, and NFT trophies

Why Choose .pulse for Your Gaming Project?

Zero Renewal Fees: Pay once, own forever. No annual costs eating into your game's revenue.

Censorship-Resistant: Secured by Doma Protocol on blockchain—can't be taken down or seized

Programmable: Integrate smart contracts for automated game mechanics, tournaments, and rewards

Freename Partnership: Seamless registration with Web3's trusted TLD registrar

Tradeable Asset: Your domain itself is a valuable digital asset you can sell or collateralize

Ready to Build on Web3 Gaming?

Secure your .pulse domain and position yourself at the forefront of gaming's future

Find Your Gaming Domain

Search for game.pulse, guild.pulse, or any gaming-focused domain name

Search Domains

Explore All Markets

Discover 12+ markets where .pulse is powering innovation

View All Markets

Key Takeaways

$157.7B market by 2035 at 33% CAGR—massive growth ahead

Perpetual ownership—no annual renewal fees ever

True asset ownership via blockchain and NFTs

Play-to-earn economies transforming gaming into income

Freename partnership for seamless registration

Programmable domains with smart contract integration

The Web3 gaming boom is here—secure your .pulse domain before your competitors do.

Mint Your Gaming Domain Now

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