Quick Take
- Bitcoin is down nearly 20% over the past three months and the Ronin token has dropped about 65%, yet activity across Ronin and Abstract games continues to climb.
- Cambria’s Gold Rush Season 3 surpassed $1M in its prize pool on day one, while POWER Protocol’s launch has pushed Fableborne into a resurgence.
- Games built around risk, earning potential, and fast reward loops are outperforming their token markets, signaling a shift toward utility-driven ecosystems.
On-Chain Gaming Outperforms The Greater Crypto Market
The crypto market has been in a steep correction throughout the last quarter. Bitcoin is down nearly 20% since September, and Ronin (RON) has lost more than 6% of its value in the same period. Many gaming tokens like have performed even worse, down over 90% after launch.
Inside that decline, one sector continues to move in the opposite direction. On-chain games built around meaningful gameplay and high-risk mechanics are accelerating. The strongest example is Cambria, which opened Gold Rush Season 3 and crossed $1M in prize-pool volume within its first 24 hours.
Season 2 already showcased the momentum behind the game earlier this year. Players generated nearly $1M on-chain transactions across Abstract and Ronin, spent more than $1.3M in game, and competed for a prize pool worth approximately 894 ETH, or $1.52M. According to founder BEN.ZZZ, Season 3 passed the $1M mark less than a day after launch, reinforcing Cambria’s position as the leading title in the emerging risk-to-earn category.
Games Are Thriving Because They Give Players What They Want
Cambria’s success comes during a period when many studios are pulling away from play-to-earn mechanics. Earlier this year, Pirate Nation formally shut down. FarmVille co-creator Amit Mahajan stated that traditional play-to-earn models are fundamentally broken and that giving tokens to players without long-term alignment was not sustainable.
Despite that sentiment, the market is proving that players still want opportunities to earn through gameplay and take meaningful risks. Cambria is thriving because its systems reward skill, strategy, and degen decision-making. Axie Infinity, Pixels, and other Ronin Network titles continue to grow for the same reason. Ronin co-founder Jeff Zirlin has pointed to these experiments as examples of the kind of innovation that makes the ecosystem unique.
Season 2 demonstrated that dynamic clearly. One top Paymaster reportedly earned 12.3 ETH and accumulated 240 million Silver, while the top Guild Viceroy earned 6.78 ETH and more than 300 million Silver. Almost 20 billion Silver was traded through the in-game Auction House, representing more than $700,000 in player-driven volume.
The demand is real. The model is not dead. It simply needs time to be refined.
Power Token Surges While Others Collapse
The timing of Cambria’s growth also aligns with rising interest in Power Protocol and its token, POWER. The token launched alongside Fableborne Season 4 and has become one of the only Web3 gaming assets to climb in value after its debut. Most tokens in the genre typically collapse shortly after launch. Treeverse’s END token, for example, has fallen more than 90% since July. POWER has moved in the opposite direction. It trades around $0.2981 with a market cap of approximately $62.6M, up more than 230% since launch.
POWER functions as the economic layer for every game inside the Power ecosystem. Players use it to progress, unlock content, and engage with on-chain systems, while developers rely on shared infrastructure to integrate economies more quickly.
Fableborne, a mobile-first free-to-play multiplayer action strategy title, officially joined the Ronin Network in August 2024 and now operates with POWER as its core currency. Power Protocol also confirmed that a publicly listed entertainment company with more than $600M in annual user spend will be joining the network. This partnership signals a push toward mainstream distribution and deeper integration across consumer platforms.
Why Players Are Ignoring Token Prices
Despite the wider pullback in crypto markets, some of the most active games on Ronin and Abstract are hitting new highs. Cambria passed $1M in its Season 3 pool on day one. Fableborne gained momentum through the POWER rollout. New events across Axie and partner ecosystems continue to pull players in.
The appetite for good systems has not changed. Players want risk. They want ways to earn. They want fast loops that reward skill. When those elements are in place, market conditions matter far less. It is the games with strong identity and repeatable reward cycles that are continuing to scale.
