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 Simon Davis, the CEO of Mighty Bear Games, which is operating its Grab.Fun platform on Telegram.
What was the most significant trend in 2025?
Simon Davis: 2025 was the reckoning. Back in 2022, I wrote about how many teams were raising just enough to fail, and this year, that bill came due. A lot of teams died or pivoted out entirely.
P2E is done. The mainstream adoption everyone banked on never arrived. So now you’re seeing a clear bifurcation:
- teams either build for the existing Web3 audience (which means something closer to GambleFi than traditional games, because that’s what actually generates revenue in this space)
- or they reach beyond web3 with games that don’t put blockchain front and centre. Crypto becomes a payment rail or a rewards mechanism, nothing deeper.
How did Mighty Bear Games adapt?
We saw this coming. We pivoted to Telegram and launched Goat Gaming, a skill gaming platform where players compete for prizes. We optimised for distribution: Telegram gives you massive reach at very low acquisition costs.
And we’d already moved away from play-to-airdrop grinding toward games where players actually spend and compete. So the decisions we made over the past couple of years positioned us for 2025’s reality, rather than scrambling to adapt to it.
How do you think this will change in 2026?
More of the same. Teams will focus on what web3 players actually want: a chance to win money, win prizes, or capture asymmetric upside. Fewer games trying to look like traditional web2 titles.
I think this is healthy. If you want a traditional gaming experience, you’re already very well served. Web3 needs to find its own design language, just like early mobile games were bad ports of console titles until the likes of Candy Crush, Angry Birds, and Clash of Clans emerged and defined a mobile-native genre. We’re in that formative period now.
What was your favourite blockchain game in 2025?
I have to shout out Boinkers. Incredibly slick design, a playful theme, and it just radiates fun. It nails what a lot of Telegram games miss: personality.
And of course Gifts.Fun, which is the most engaging way to win unique prizes, from Telegram gifts to iPhones and designer goods.
What’s your New Year’s Resolution, for yourself and for blockchain gaming more generally?
Mine is to get better at disconnecting. To be effective as a founder, you need to recharge and maintain perspective. If you’re constantly in the weeds, you lose clarity.
For the industry: let’s get honest about who our users actually are and what motivates them. Stop trying to emulate web2. Lean into what makes web3 gaming unique.
Read all our End of Year features via the EOY 2025 tag.
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