As the week ends with a bang in Web3, we witness projects from various industries continue to build on the blockchain.
Big names that made moves in the space include eBay, Hublot, LG Electronics, Manchester City Football Club, Microsoft, NFL, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Roblox, and Saweetie. Meanwhile Web3 entities also made some noise as of late. Notable projects include Addressable, Auxuman, Avalanche, Chainalysis, OKX, Oorbit, OpenSea, and playNomm.
On the Web3 gaming side, things are looking optimistic as always with tons of developments. Projects that headlined today include Blocklords, Crabada, Illuvium, ImmutableX, Metacade, MetaOps, Oh Baby Games, Paima, and Planet Mojo.
Here are the stories that shape Web3.
Top Stories
- E-commerce company eBay is hiring Web3 talents following its acquisition of NFT marketplace KnownOrigin in June 2022. Apparently, eBay’s blockchain-based operations need to fill roles such as crypto counsel, head of community, and marketing executive, among others. Recently, eBay also partnered with virtual events platform Notable Live to provide immersive sports experiences using NFTs (CD).
- Swiss luxury watch brand Hublot continues its partnership with acclaimed contemporary artist Takashi Murakami with a new project. The company recently unveiled the upcoming release of 13 new watches that come with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Moreover, Hublot and Murakami has already showcased one of the watches: the Classic Fusion Takashi Murakami Black Ceramic Rainbow (F).
- Web3 gaming project Paima recently joined the ‘Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub’ program. The initiative aims to help Web3 developers and entrepreneurs in Japan to seamlessly deploy their apps using the Paima Engine. “With Azure’s (Microsoft’s cloud computing platform) game services & new AI functionality, it was a natural fit,” Paima Studios stated (TW).
- Web3 game company Oh Baby Games raised $6 million in a funding round led by Synergis Capital and eGirl Capital. One of the project’s most prominent investors is Kevin Lin, the co-founder of video game live streaming platform Twitch. Oh Baby Games plans to use the capital to speed up the production of their upcoming Web3 titles (NFTE).
- The National Football League (NFL) has unveiled plans for a virtual Super Bowl concert on game platform Roblox. The metaverse event will feature rap artist Saweetie and will coincide with the Super Bowl weekend. “I’m really excited to bring this iconic moment to the metaverse,” Saweetie stated (DC).
Web3 Games
- In a recent tweet, Ava Labs founder and CEO Emin Gün Sirer emphasized the importance of asset ownership in gaming. Believing that “gaming involves a lot of passion and hard work,” the Avalanche developer also questioned the traditional gaming model. “But, what happens when game publishers drop the newest release? You lose all those assets,” Sirer stated, adding “these assets are yours and you earned them” (TW).
- Blocklords, a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game on the ImmutableX ecosystem, has partnered with strategy metaverse game Planet Mojo. The team-up will focus on the Mojo Bowl Tournament, which will kick off with an open qualifier round from February 4-5. Basically, the games are giving away five qualifier spots, which will bring participants “one step closer to $5,000 prize winnings.” The winners will receive a Blocklords Silver Chest along with a Rare Golden Mojo NFT (TW).
- Web3 community arcade Metacade’s presale has already surpassed its $5 million fundraising target as investors continue to purchase the project’s token. Currently, stage 3 is nearing sold out levels. In addition, 157.5 million tokens are awaiting deployment at a higher price in stage 4 (BTC).
- Solana-based first-person shooter game MetaOps teased an upcoming project with the Avalanche blockchain. “Get ready Avax Gamers!” the team tweeted. According to the announcement, the “epic” collaboration will launch at the end of February. Additionally, MetaOps also clarified that the title has already formed a partnership with Avalanche prior to the tease (TW).
- Auto-battler NFT game Crabada recently announced that it will discontinue staking features for its $CRA token. However, players who currently have staked $CRA, will continue to accumulate $CRA until the term ends. Users can un-stake their token upon term completion (TW).
NFT News
- Top NFT marketplace OpenSea has launched the next phase of “Drops,” which features new tools for creators. The second iteration focuses on providing brands and artists convenient ways to manage their NFT projects, without any technical know-how. “Our vision is to expand this product so that anyone can easily drop collections across any chain on OpenSea,” the platform tweeted (CD).
- NFT marketplace playNomm and digital art gallery Superchief Gallery NFT, are setting the stage for the “NFT Korea Festival.” The event will run from March 7-8 2023, at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul, South Korea. Over 120 NFT artists will grace the main NFT show, along with industry leaders, collectors, and enthusiasts (GNW).
- Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida recently expressed his support for Web3 technology and its “various possibilities.” Kishida cited how communities sharing the same social issues unite using decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). Furthermore, the prime minister also stated that NFTs can help “diversify the income of creators and maintain highly loyal fans” (CT).
Into the Metaverse
- Artificial intelligence (AI) gaming company Auxuman has partnered with cloud technology firm Oorbit. The collaboration will bring metaverse gaming to consumer electronics brand LG Electronics. Basically Auxuman’s game generator app Auxworld will enable LG users to create online multiplayer games by inputting text (INN).
- Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has teamed up with Manchester City Football Club (MCFC) stars Jack Grealish, Rúben Dias, Ilkay Gündoğan and Alex Greenwood. The partnership has unveiled the ‘OKX Collective,’ a virtual world that offers MCFC fans Web3-based experiences, content, and rewards (CT).
- Major Chinese city Suzhou has unveiled its goal to become a hub for metaverse development and innovation. The populous city of 12 million aims to draw over 200 virtual reality (VR)-related companies by 2025. Moreover, the city’s initiatives will focus efforts on city administration, education, healthcare, and tourism (FK).
Around the Blockchain
- Avalanche network’s native token $AVAX experienced a 15% surge in price on Thursday. The move builds upon $AVAX’s January momentum, which saw the token record an 80% gain. Much of the token’s rise can be attributed to the release of the layer-1 blockchain’s Banff 8 network update, as well as project announcements with Dexalot and IntainMarkets, among others (CD).
- According to Web3 analytics company Chainalysis’ reports, hackers from North Korea have stolen $1.7 billion of cryptocurrencies in 2022. The ill-gotten digital assets account for 44% of the $3.8 billion in crypto that were pilfered last year. NoKor’s total exports in 2020 only recorded $142 million worth of goods, a glaring difference compared to the hacking loot (BBC).
- Web3 marketing solution Addressable has secured $7.5 million in a seed funding round. Investors that supported the project include Viola Ventures and Fabric Ventures, as well as Mensch Capital Partners and North Island Ventures. The company aims to utilize the capital to develop further its solution and expand its platform (CCT).
Web3 Content Creators
- Brycent: Gam3rs’ Choice Awards Content Creator of 2023 Brycent recently stated that “content creation is the most powerful tool for the adoption of any new technology.” The hardworking Web3 influencer cited AI-automated software ChatGP’s success. The program gained a million users five days after its launch, while its TikTok hashtag amassed over a billion views. “Content is your best marketing, creators are your loudest megaphone,” Brycent added.
- Cagy: Web3 gaming YouTuber Cagy declared that the next bull run will mainly impact gaming ecosystems. “If you have a great game make sure you plug yourself to a gaming ecosystem,” Cagy said on Twitter. In addition, the content creator also explained that “general purpose blockchains are too congested and spread too thin.”
