Playboy MetaMansion, Christie's Sells NFT for $450K, Snoop Dogg Joins Crypto Casino

Mar. 02, 2023

Today’s Web3 digest will put the spotlight on blockchain games, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), crypto, and the metaverse.

Here are the stories that shape Web3.

Web3 Games

Rumble Kong League: In another edition of NFT sports game Rumble Kong League’s (RKL) ‘Rumble Rewind,’ the team revealed “60 seconds of alpha you don’t want to miss.” Some of the updates include improvements to the gameplay including shooting mechanics. In addition, RKL also saw the introduction of a sprint button, as well as new defensive features, among others (TW).

My Pet Hooligan: Battle royale game My Pet Hooligan (MPH) has announced its first in real life (IRL) event with partner Web3 collective Meta World Order (MWO). The conference will take place in Venice, Los Angeles on the 10th of March. “All Holders, Partner Communities, LA Web3 Natives & Frens welcome… expect a great time with great people!” the MPH team announced (TW).

Bullieverse: Gamer and creator-dedicated open metaverse Bullieverse has partnered with role-playing game (RPG) Legendary: Heroes Unchained. The team-up will hold a “Necrodemic” tournament called ‘Heroes in the Dark’ from March 2-5. Open to the public, the competition will allow participants to battle for one of the 35 allow-list spots for Bullieverse’s upcoming NFT mint (TW).

Star Atlas: Massively multiplayer online (MMO) space game Star Atlas has announced that the team will represent the project at the ETHDenver event this week. Basically, the Solana-based game will join Meta Arcade from March 2-5. Touted as the “Largest and Longest Running ETH Event in the World,” ETHDenver features Web3-dedicated conference features art galleries, #BUIDL Floors, and many more (TW).

Sidus: Earlier this week, sci-fi MMORPG Sidus launched its Armor feature, which provides “indispensable protection for warriors.” Announced as part of the game’s Ver. 0.2.18 updates, the Armor can be found in Sidus’ ‘Golden Tesseracts.’ Essentially, the title will have three types of Armors namely: Raptorian, Voltrone, and Ogya (TW).

Redeem: Web3 and NFT tech firm Redeem has secured $2.5 million in a pre-seed funding round with blockchain-focused investment firm Kenetic Capital as the lead investor. Essentially, the Redeem platform allows users to connect their crypto wallets to their phone numbers to redeem NFTs. The digital assets will offer various utilities such as tickets, loyalty points, and in-game items, among others (CD).

OKX: Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has introduced a fee rebate campaign for its NFT marketplace users. The platform will offer rebates for creator royalties and gas fees. In essence, users will be able to invite friends to increase their subsidy rates, while allowing them to withdraw rewards anytime. In addition, OKX has also partnered with Unstoppable Domains to offer OKX Web3 Wallet users free Web3 domains (GNW).

Binance NFT: Crypto exchange Binance’s NFT platform has launched an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered feature called “Bicasso.” Drawing similarities to AI art platforms DALL-E and Midjourney, Bicasso enables users to generate an image by inputting prompts. Additionally, the tool can adapt uploaded images to create a new rendition. “You can turn your creative visions into NFTs with AI,” Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stated (CD).

The Sandbox: Virtual world platform The Sandbox has acquired German game dev studio Sviper. The metaverse game will leverage Sviper’s senior-level engineering and creative team. With the new partnership, The Sandbox can now expand its social and gameplay features. “We are thrilled to join The Sandbox and contribute to the creation of a cutting-edge virtual world that combines gaming, creativity, and community,” Sviper CEO Ole Schaper stated (VB).

Utherverse: Metaverse company Utherverse has commenced alpha testing on its virtual world platform. Moreover, the firm also released a new roadmap for its offerings including Utherverse’ launch early next year. Some of the upcoming plans include the minting of the platform’s native token, full integration of payments, an annual VirtualCon event, and many more (BW).

Bloomberg Intelligence: According to Bloomberg Intelligence’s (BI) report, the metaverse sector could become worth $615 billion by 2030. BI is financial news and information provider Bloomberg’s research arm. The projected figures are driven by factors such as Apple’s rumored mixed reality headset. Other considerations include market demand for virtual 3D shopping, as well as various use cases for events, social media, enterprises, and many more (TM).

Tokeny Solutions: Tokeny Solutions, a compliance infrastructure for digital assets, has announced its integration with blockchain protocol Avalanche. Essentially, the Web3 firm aims to provide a “seamless and secure tokenization solution” that institutions can use “for issuing, managing, and transferring real-world assets and securities” (TW).

Helika: Web3 gaming and NFT analytics platform Helika has raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Diagram Ventures. Other investors include Big Brain Holdings, Builder Capital, Fenbushi, Sfermion, and Sparkle Ventures. The firm aims to utilize the capital to expand its team and improve their products, as well as connect more data sources and furnish the Web3 community with valuable insights (PRN).

Coinbase: Cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase recently launched its own layer-2 (L2) protocol Base. The move received positive reactions from the community, including an 8.41% rise in price for the company’s stocks. Even L2 optimistic roll-up Optimism’s native token $OP saw a 22% surge following the announcement. Apparently, Coinbase utilized Optimism protocol’s software to build Base (F).

Cagy: Web3 gaming YouTuber Cagy announced that he is giving away Juice Team NFTs for the action/building game Chronos: Dawn of Time. Juice Team is a blockchain gaming organization founded by Cagy and Apex. Additionally, the content creator also streamed Chronos on his YouTube channel, highlighting various facets of the project.

Hustle: Crypto Banter host Hustle put the spotlight on a sci-fi shooter game called StarHeroes. The skill-based esports project recently launched its open alpha on interoperable gaming platform GameSwift. “Having played the game in its early stages I can say it’s a fun experience that any gamer and Web3 gamer would love,” Hustle said on Twitter.

Spike: Web3 content creator Spike partnered with first-person shooter (FPS) title MetaOps to promote the game’s Scarlet Summer Set NFTs. For this campaign, Spike gave away two sets of Scarlet Summer digital collectibles to lucky winners. The pack’s contents are: battle armor, throwing card, custom AR, and tournament access.

Stache: Avalanche-powered AAA shooter game Shrapnel has teamed up with “Secret Agent” Stache for an ask me anything (AMA) session. “We’ll discuss what makes a fun game, share some laughs and answer your burning questions,” the team tweeted. In addition, the AMA will also share updates for the game’s upcoming Sigma Containment Unit (SCU) NFT free mint.