It’s the most wonderful time of the year, the time to look back and consider what we learned during 2025 and how to make the most of that knowledge in 2026.
In this article we catch up with Mysten Labs’ head of gaming partnerships, Anthony Palma.
What was the most significant trend for blockchain games in 2025?
Anthony Palma: Far and away the biggest trend for blockchain gaming in 2025 was consolidation, alongside a major push towards AAA quality games.
The industry has just undergone a year of maturing, where funding has tended to gravitate towards larger projects with bigger teams and investors are looking for developers to grow beyond the startup phase. This has resulted in less overall projects being published and greenlit for production, but also a steady stream of investments for projects expected to go the distance and deliver true AAA quality for gaming onchain.
In short, blockchain games have matured greatly in 2025 and we expect them to continue on this trajectory over the course of 2026 and beyond.
How did Mysten Labs adapt to these changes?
One could say Mysten Labs is ahead of the curve when it comes to a focus on AAA quality and more advanced blockchain games. This year, our team launched the SuiPlay0X1, the first-ever gaming handheld device designed specifically for blockchain titles.
We also announced a major partnership with EVE Frontier, the next installment of the wildly popular EVE franchise. This ambitious new title will see Sui as the native blockchain layer for the game, showing that we are more than ready to support games at AAA scale and quality.
Alongside these developments, we also published XOCIETY, with major accolades during its demo period from the Epic Games Store, and an impressive launch in November.
How do you think this will change in 2026?
Right now, the industry is still in a growth phase, and it will be interesting to see which games rise to the top and prove the benefits of web3 integrations to both players and game studios over the next few years.
While it may take some time to see the fruits of this growth, we are excited about the industry’s overall direction and cannot wait to unveil what we have coming next from Mysten Labs.
What was your favourite blockchain game during 2025?
XOCIETY, hands down. Blending the pop shooter style with the massively popular extraction-based mode, XOCIETY acts as another example of blockchain gaming’s push towards AAA quality. It’s also insanely fun to play, and definitely our top live game of the year.
What’s your New Year’s resolution and what resolution would you enforce on the industry?
We will continue to lean in heavily to support our existing partners and give them the best chance of success possible in 2026. We also want to continue evangelizing the benefits of web3, both for in-game asset economies and for improving the financial backends of games and gaming platforms alike.
We hope the industry pushes through the consolidation we saw in 2025 to come out in 2026 with stronger conviction as to what will (and won’t) work for games and gaming platforms when it comes to web3 integrations.
