One of the few web3 ecosystems with a noticeable show floor presence at the Games Developers Conference 2025, Arbitrum, has released its 2024 Transparency Report.
It shows that the Arbitrum Foundation supported a total of 276 projects through various grants during 2024. By a large extent the biggest group of projects that received funding was DeFi and FinTech, with Others and Gaming coming in a close second and third place with 51 and 44 grants each.
According to the report, this shows that “the Arbitrum ecosystem became the leading hub for gaming blockchains”, with L3 rollups such as Proof of Play’s Apex and Boss chains.
Looking ahead, the report also mentions reasons to be optimistic for 2025, highlighting that “With the Game Catalyst Program (GCP) in place, the ecosystem is well-poised for continued expansion in 2025.”
As for the GCP, it was introduced in March 2024, and got approved by a majority of ARB token holders in June. At the time, the GCP comprised tokens worth around $220 million.
Proposed by a group mainly including Treasure DAO, who has since left Arbitrum in favour of zkSync, and voted on via the Arbitrum DAO, the hefty token allocation was aimed to encourage gaming on the blockchain over a three year period. However, Treasure leaving Arbitrum left the program with some uncertainties.
In October, concerns arose from some Arbitrum DAO members, resulting in one of them, Joseph Schiarizzi, proposing that 220 million ARB tokens should be moved from GCP’s multisig wallet and put back into the Arbitrum DAO treasury. Schiarizzi went on to call the program “unconscionable” due to the GCP having failed to meet its agreed milestones.
Offchain Labs director of partnerships and strategy A.J. Warner responded saying that the criticism of GCP’s performance “makes no sense”.
Now, however, with the ARB token price down 77% over the past 12 months, some Arbitrum DAO members are suggesting the GCP should be shut down entirely, and all remaining funds be returned to the main Arbitrum DAO.
“The GCP was created in overly optimistic times. With key backers now gone, it’s clear the program isn’t delivering on its promises” commented Nathan Van der Hayden.
“It’s time to cut our losses and secure the treasury. We call on all delegates to support this proposal to wind down GCP responsibly.”
Offchain Labs has not commented directly on the proposal, but its gaming lead David Bolger stated on X that “There is some common misconception about the Arbitrum Gaming Catalyst Program (GCP). It’s mainly an investment fund to profit the DAO, not a grant program – a key point often misunderstood.”
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