Move over memecoins: Crypto ‘meme games’ coming, bagholders and all
AI tools could unleash a flood of short-lived crypto 'meme games,' with as many as 100,000 potentially launching within a year, according to Illuvium co-founder Kieran Warwick.
Speculative crypto games such as Wolf Game and Fishing Frenzy, where players compete for financial rewards, once took months to develop. Warwick says AI tools have reduced this to just days and around $1,000 per game. 'Like you have serial deployers of memes, you'll get serial deployers of games,' Warwick told Cointelegraph.
Speculative Wave Warning
Warwick predicts many of these games will be designed to survive for only a few days — long enough for their creators to turn a profit. However, he warns that a flood of disposable crypto games could leave many speculators 'holding the bag.' 'There will be ridiculous gains, and people will get absolutely f****ing rinsed,' Warwick wrote on X.
Like in the long run, I don't think so. The sustainable model that Illuvium has been building towards for years, where really good quality games with ownership underneath, that I think is still the dream of where crypto gaming should be building towards.
Memecoin Boom Precedent
In 2024, platforms like Pump.fun helped fuel a surge in memecoins by making tokens easy to create. The sector's combined market capitalization reached $150.6 billion in December 2024 before falling nearly 69% to $47.2 billion by November 2025, according to CoinGecko. Warwick expects a similar speculative wave to touch crypto meme games.
Industry Concerns
Animoca Brands CEO Robby Yung warns that meme games requiring little effort won't become a lasting category because 'user retention is the lifeblood of games.' Meanwhile, Mirai Labs' Corey Wilton questions whether an AI-driven surge in supply can overcome weak demand for crypto games, noting that 'the demand for or within the Web3 space simply isn't there.' Dappradar shows just $232.2 million locked in 2,356 gaming dapps, with top 50 gaming tokens valued at $3.8 billion.
Quality Over Quantity
Yung suggests the lack of enjoyable, fun games that captivate people's imaginations might be the real issue. 'The reality is the number of game titles that use crypto is very small, and so there's not a lot of choice for consumers,' he said.
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