⛓🕹Legacy Game Makers Double Down on Blockchain

Blockchain gaming is growing, metaverse platforms secure big name partnerships, and more.

It’s been hard to miss the world’s largest consumer product and gaming companies moving towards the metaverse and web3 lately. There are three trends we think you should have on your radar:

• Traditional gaming companies are exploring blockchain technology more than ever before

• Investment for blockchain and web3 gaming infrastructure continues to grow

• Metaverse platforms continue to acquire more big name partnerships

Web2 gaming giant Epic Games made it loud and clear they intend to be an early mover in web3 by:

• Publishing an NFT-enabled game – Blankos Block Party – on the Epic Games Store for the first time

• Announcing a $30 million investment in metaverse infrastructure firm Hadean

• Releasing the first gameplay footage of blockchain game Star Atlas

While developers are hard at work building great blockchain games, the infrastructure that will onboard the next million web3 gamers is taking shape. 

Blockchain service company Oasys has already announced partnerships with gaming giants including SEGA, Ubisoft, and Square Enix. The investment firm backed by Mets owner Steve Cohen invested $10M into web3 gaming marketplace AQUA.

Over in Roblox, the high profile partnerships keep coming:

Debuting a new menu item in a video game? Chipotle is doing just that with their Grill Simulator game, which guides players through the process of grilling Garlic Guajillo Steak in a simulated environment with close attention to authentic cooking techniques and premium ingredients. They’ve coupled the experience with an IRL component exclusively for Roblox players and Chipotle rewards members. The game has already gathered 20M+ players since its launch in September 2021. With numbers like that, it’s no surprise major brands are doubling down on their metaverse activations.

You can now hang out in Walmart’s shiny new metaverse theme park, which has drawn nearly 3M young visitors since launching in Roblox less than a month ago. The venue includes Netflix trivia hosted by Stranger Things’ star Noah Schnapp, a dance-off challenge, a photobooth, and more gamified experiences. This is Walmart’s first venture in a virtual world and marks a deliberate move to build their reputation as a tech savvy brand for younger generations.

2021 was a banner year for the metaverse and web3 gaming, but it was only a small taste of what’s to come. Gamified experiences are poised to drive the next wave of metaverse and web3 adoption.

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🌟 Everyrealm Highlights

The Fantasy Islands experience in The Sandbox Alpha Season 3 has been a hit with our community. We hope you’ve been enjoying exploring Frostbitte Villa as much as we enjoyed building it. Want an Alpha Pass? There’s still time to get one with our latest giveaway. Details on how to participate can be found on our Twitter.

We recently announced investments in two companies – Mighty Bear Games and Horizon Blockchain Gaming – developing the next generation of hit games and infrastructure for web3. Both studios are run by proven AAA gaming talent, and will have a focus on fun instead of building a game around tokenomics.

• Mighty Bear Games is the studio behind Mighty Action Heroes, an upcoming battle royale game with cross-platform play across desktop pc and mobile.

• Horizon Blockchain Gaming is building trading card game Skyweaver in addition to their low-friction Sequence wallet and developer platform to help accelerate adoption among non-crypto-native users. Ubisoft and Take-Two Interactive also participated in their $40M Series A.

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📰 Other Metaverse and Gaming News

BlackRock Preps ETF Targeting Metaverse Companies: Bloomberg

BNV Takes Paris Fashion Week Into the Metaverse With K-Pop Group Lightsum

Donation from Bungie Foundation Supports Anti-Racist Graphics Research at Yale

Warner Music Group Launches Partnership with OpenSea

Hugo Boss to Launch NFT and '360-Degree Metaverse Experience' With Imaginary Ones

'Please Mom!' Kids Enticed by Web3 Projects With Plush Toys, Adorable Avatars

UAE’s Economic Success to Be Measured Using ‘Gross Metaverse Product’ Instead of GDP': Top Official

Japan to Invest in Metaverse and NFT Expansion

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👇 In this week’s premium section, we’re covering a growing metaverse platform that is leading the way for metaverse culture, exhibitions, and events: