What Is Sui?
Sui is a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain that leverages the Move programming language, originally developed for the Diem project at Meta (formerly the Facebook company). Since its mainnet launch in May 2023, Sui has emerged as a compelling platform for Web3 gaming.
Key Takeaways
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Sui combines technical innovation and user accessibility, making Web3 gaming more approachable for mainstream users.
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Sui has witnessed remarkable growth in 2024: daily active users increased 81.7x from 2.4K to 195.8K, while daily transactions surged 32.5x from 13.3K to 433.7K.
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Sui's gaming ecosystem spans diverse genres, from Telegram-based games to AAA titles, with over 65 gaming studios developing approximately 70 new games for 2025 release.
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Infrastructure developments like Mysticeti V2 and Remora, along with hardware innovation through SuiPlay0X1, position Sui to scale its gaming capabilities while maintaining high performance.

A Quick Look at Sui
As a blockchain network engineered for security and scalability, Sui has established itself as a leading platform where developers can create innovative applications spanning multiple sectors, from gaming, DeFi, memecoins, to real-world applications.
The Mysten Labs Team and Investors
Sui was created by Mysten Labs, a team of former Meta engineers who previously worked together on Meta's Novi wallet and the Diem blockchain project. The founding team leverages their deep expertise in blockchain technology to create a high-performance platform optimized for scalability and user experience.
Mysten Labs has secured significant backing from leading investors in the blockchain space through two major funding rounds. In December 2021, the company raised $36 million in a Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). This was followed by a substantial $300 million raise in September 2022 at a $2 billion valuation, led by FTX Ventures and supported by industry giants including Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, and Circle Ventures.
Beyond venture capital, Sui has established key institutional partnerships to strengthen its ecosystem. The platform has gained support from Franklin Templeton Digital Assets and became the first Move-based Layer 1 to partner with Circle, launching native USDC on its network. Additionally, Sui serves as the official blockchain technology partner of ONE Championship, the world's largest martial arts organization.
The SUI Token
SUI serves as the native token of the Sui blockchain with a maximum supply of 10 billion tokens. The token plays multiple crucial roles within the ecosystem: proof-of-stake participation, gas fee payments, application utility, and governance.
A unique feature of Sui's tokenomics is its storage fund mechanism, which ensures sustainable validator compensation through stake rewards while covering storage costs for on-chain data. This innovative approach encourages long-term data preservation without compromising validator incentives.
According to CoinGecko data, SUI has demonstrated remarkable growth in the market. As of January 20, 2025, SUI trades at $4.50 with a market capitalization of $13.6 billion—representing a 10.6x increase from the previous year. This growth has positioned Sui as the 8th largest blockchain platform by market cap, with particularly strong momentum observed in the latter half of 2024 amid surging ecosystem development and on-chain activity.

Why Sui Is Web3 Gaming Friendly
Now, let’s look at Sui’s features and why it is Web3 gaming friendly.
Technical Advantages
Sui's architecture brings unique advantages that make it particularly suitable for Web3 gaming applications, from its object-centric model to its high-performance execution capabilities.
Object-Centric Architecture
Sui's novel object-centric data model transforms how digital assets are managed on-chain. Unlike traditional blockchains where data is centered around accounts, Sui represents everything as objects, from token balances to in-game assets. These objects exist independently of smart contracts and are directly owned by users, enabling uncorrelated transaction flows to be validated independently and in parallel.
Move Language
Move, a Rust-based programming language originally developed for Meta's Diem blockchain, is specifically designed to complement Sui's object-centric model. Its distinctive features include first-class resources, enhanced safety mechanisms, and upgrade verifiability. The language's robust asset handling capabilities and built-in security features make it particularly effective for creating and managing complex gaming assets.
Parallel Execution and Scalability
Sui achieves exceptional performance through parallel processing of non-sequential transactions like asset transfers and NFT minting. Using Byzantine Consistent Broadcast algorithms, the network enables simultaneous transaction processing with near-instant finality. This horizontal scalability allows validators to dynamically adjust computing resources based on demand, ensuring consistent performance and stable transaction costs even during peak gaming activity.
User Experience
Two major challenges typically hinder blockchain gaming adoption: wallet management complexity and initial gas fees. Sui addresses both through innovative solutions.
Account Abstraction: zkLogin
Sui's zkLogin feature revolutionizes Web3 gaming onboarding by allowing users to create wallets using familiar Web2 login methods like Google or Facebook. This zero-knowledge cryptography solution enables developers to either completely abstract the blockchain interaction from users or provide a simplified way to manage on-chain assets. The result is a seamless gaming experience that feels native to traditional gamers.
Transaction Sponsorship
Sui empowers developers to sponsor user transactions, eliminating the initial barrier of gas fees for new players. This means players can start gaming immediately without purchasing tokens, while developers can choose to either permanently sponsor transactions or support players until they earn enough to cover their own fees. This approach significantly reduces friction in the onboarding process and allows players to focus on gameplay rather than blockchain mechanics.
Play Beyond: Sui’s Gaming Hub
Play Beyond serves as the gateway for Web3 gaming on Sui, offering a dual-purpose platform. For players, it provides a curated showcase of live games on the Sui network with an emphasis on accessibility, promoting their "You play, we'll do the rest" philosophy that allows gamers to enjoy experiences without needing crypto expertise. For developers, the hub offers educational resources and tools, though it maintains its primary focus on delivering engaging gameplay experiences rather than highlighting the underlying blockchain technology.
Web3 Gaming on Sui
The growth of Web3 gaming on Sui has been marked by significant milestones since its mainnet launch, with both transaction volumes and user engagement showing remarkable expansion throughout 2024.
Growth Metrics and Performance
Sui's gaming capabilities were first showcased by Sui 8192, a fully on-chain game developed by the Ethos team. This simple yet engaging puzzle game, where players merge numbered blocks to reach 8192, demonstrated Sui's transaction processing power by achieving a record-breaking 22.0 million average daily transactions in July 2023, setting a new benchmark in Web3 gaming performance.
The platform's growth continued throughout 2024, with daily transactions increasing from an average of 13.3K in January to 433.7K in December, a 32.5x surge.

This growth was matched by a dramatic rise in daily active users (DAUs), climbing from 2.4K to 195.8K during the same period, representing an 81.7x increase.

Top 3 Games on Sui by On-chain DAU
Let’s take a look at the top three games on Sui by on-chain daily active users (DAU).
BIRDS
Launched in July 2024, BIRDS has quickly established itself as Sui's flagship game, attracting 1.3 million on-chain players with an average DAU of 185.9K in December. Building on the success of Telegram-based games like Catizen and Hamster Kombat, BIRDS effectively bridges Web2 and Web3 by seamlessly onboarding Telegram users to the Sui ecosystem.
The game's engaging mechanics center around an egg-to-bird evolution system. Players begin with an egg that develops based on their Telegram activity, daily check-ins, and social interactions. After reaching level 21, the egg hatches into a bird, unlocking a new gameplay phase where players can hunt for WORMS and BIRDS tokens. These resources enable bird upgrades, enhancing speed and strength while unlocking advanced features.

Telegram-based Games
While BIRDS' success has prompted more Telegram-based games to choose Sui, including MemeFi and SEED, the ecosystem faces new challenges. Telegram's recent announcement requiring exclusive TON blockchain integration by February 21, 2025, creates uncertainty for games built on alternative chains like Sui.
Gamifly
Gamifly, developed by Aylab, has emerged as a pioneering sports gaming platform on Sui, accumulating 2.4 million players and maintaining an average DAU of 8.4K in December. The platform uniquely combines live sports engagement with gaming elements, allowing users to participate in virtual sports events, manage fantasy leagues, and compete in eSports tournaments.

Fishing Star
GREE Group's entry into blockchain gaming, Fishing Star, launched on Sui in June 2024, marking a significant milestone as their first Web3 venture. This blockchain adaptation of their 2007 mobile game pioneer has attracted 77.7K players with an average DAU of 1.3K in December. The game maintains its casual appeal with straightforward mechanics: players equip rods, use bait to catch fish, and accumulate experience to upgrade their equipment and unlock new features.

Notable Games Beyond On-chain Metrics
While some games on Sui may not yet show significant on-chain activity, they represent important developments in bridging traditional gaming with blockchain technology. These games prioritize gameplay experience while integrating blockchain features seamlessly.
Pebble City
Developed by NHN Corporation's Web3 division, this multi-casino social gaming platform goes beyond traditional gambling mechanics. Each casino features unique themes and storylines, from space adventures to player-versus-player competitions. The game emphasizes social interaction and customizable experiences through community games and diverse slot options.

XOCIETY
As Sui's flagship AAA project, XOCIETY combines pop shooter mechanics with RPG elements. Backed by HASHED, Spartan, KRAFTON, and Sui, the game (currently in playtest) features detailed character progression systems where players earn valuable assets through meaningful ecosystem contributions. Its immersive visualization system enables deep player engagement with their virtual identity.

DARKTIMES
Developed in partnership with Animoca Brands' Blowfish Studios, DARKTIMES presents a Nordic-inspired Brawler Royale. The game distinguishes itself with physics-based combat mechanics spanning ranged attacks, magic, and close-quarters combat. Its realistic gameplay approach ensures every item serves a purpose in the brutal medieval setting.

Innovation in Gaming Hardware: SuiPlay0X1
In a pioneering move to bridge the console gaming gap in Web3, Sui is introducing SuiPlay0X1, a handheld gaming console that combines traditional gaming with blockchain capabilities. The device offers native support for Sui games while maintaining compatibility with Steam and Epic game libraries, creating a seamless bridge between AAA gaming experiences and blockchain-enabled digital asset features.

Pre-orders began in September 2024, with the console priced at $599 and accepting payments in multiple cryptocurrencies including SUI, SOL, and ETH. Deliveries are scheduled for 2025, marking Sui's ambitious step into gaming hardware while traditional console manufacturers like Microsoft and Sony maintain cautious positions in the Web3 space.
What's Next for Gaming on Sui?
Sui has designated 2025 as its breakthrough year, with gaming as the key driver for mass adoption. This ambitious vision is supported by significant technical advancements in blockchain infrastructure and an expanding roster of game developers.
Upcoming Game Launches
The Sui gaming ecosystem continues to expand with an impressive lineup of games in development. The platform has partnered with major studios including Lucky Kat Studios (Panzerdogs), Blowfish Studios (DARKTIMES), and XOCIETY. With over 65 gaming studios building on Sui, approximately 70 titles are scheduled for release throughout 2025.
Infrastructure Developments
Sui is implementing Mysticeti V2, also known as FastPath, to enhance its gaming infrastructure. This upgrade streamlines the transaction validation process by reducing cryptographic operations and simplifying the consensus mechanism. By integrating broadcast logic directly into the DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph), Mysticeti V2 enables faster transaction processing and improved validator efficiency, crucial for gaming applications that require near-instantaneous finality.
Looking further ahead, Sui is developing Remora, a breakthrough scaling solution designed to handle increasing gaming demands. This technology enables horizontal scaling by distributing validator workloads across multiple machines, potentially achieving hundreds of thousands of transactions per second in test environments. This scalability ensures that as gaming activity grows on Sui, the network can maintain its high performance without compromising on speed or increasing transaction costs.
Conclusion
Sui has established itself as a distinctive force in Web3 gaming by combining technical excellence with user accessibility. With upcoming infrastructure upgrades like Mysticeti V2 and Remora, innovative hardware solutions like SuiPlay0X1, and approximately 70 games scheduled for 2025, Sui is well-positioned to drive mainstream adoption of Web3 gaming while maintaining its focus on delivering engaging player experiences over blockchain complexity.
Author: Stella L (stella@footprint.network)
About Footprint Analytics
Footprint Analytics is a comprehensive blockchain data analytics platform that simplifies complex analysis for businesses and projects in the Web3 ecosystem. It offers tailored solutions that eliminate the need for extensive expertise and infrastructure maintenance. The platform provides long-term growth tools designed to help build and manage communities step by step, emphasizing sustainable growth and user loyalty. By combining powerful analytics with community management tools, Footprint Analytics enables projects to leverage blockchain data effectively for decision-making and growth strategies across various sectors including GameFi, NFT, and DeFi.
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