Gamefi Corner #1 Back to Freemium
Social Future has secured $6 million in funding.
Hong Kong-based company Social Future has raised $6m in funding for its AI-driven social metaverse platform, MAY ("Meet Another You"). The platform allows users to create ownable 3D virtual worlds where avatars convey real-time expressions and voices, with interconnected worlds eventually becoming an open metaverse for socializing and playing. Users can also create NFT spaces where avatars and communities reside, with the addition of AI companions and features enhancing experiences. Social Future's ThreeEarsBunny (TEB) IP will be integrated into MAY as a theme park with NFT-based games, having already amassed a community of over 30,000 members through its leisure games and game prop market.
Yuga Labs has partnered with Gucci to announce the release of Otherside-themed jewelry.
Gucci has announced a metaverse-oriented partnership with Yuga Labs, the creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection. As part of this partnership, they have launched a limited-edition series of physical Gucci products and associated NFTs called Otherside: Relics by Gucci, tied into the lore of Otherside, Yuga’s upcoming ape-themed metaverse game. The first Relic to be released will be the KodaPendant, an NFT representing both a physical piece of jewelry and a non-fungible token that will unlock numerous perks within the Otherside metaverse. The KodaPendants will only be available to current holders of Koda or Vessel NFTs and can only be bought with Apecoin, Yuga’s native cryptocurrency.
FIFA has launched a mobile game for the World Cup that uses artificial intelligence, and they have also announced intentions to incorporate NFTs.
FIFA has launched an open beta version of its World Cup AI League, a mobile soccer game that uses artificial intelligence for its characters, cosmetics and gameplay elements. The game is available on Android and will be launched on iOS soon, while an NFT marketplace for the game is also planned. The characters in the game are cartoonish and controlled by AI, with players acting as team coaches and owners. FIFA has partnered with Web3 AI firm Altered State Machine to develop the game, which currently offers maps based on international locations including Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Yaoundé and Seoul.
Attendance for Decentraland Metaverse Fashion Week has plummeted by 76%.
Decentraland's virtual fashion week saw a significant decline in attendance, with only 26,000 unique attendees compared to 108,000 in the previous year. The platform has been struggling to attract and retain mainstream consumers, with trading volumes for land NFTs dropping to about $50,000 per week. Decentraland's gameplay, design and reliability have been criticized, and its native token mana has dropped from a market cap of $6.8 billion to $1.1 billion. Despite top brands sponsoring shows at the recent fashion week, only around 1,000 people were online simultaneously during the event.
Filmmaker David Ayer is releasing a racing game called 'Lollipop' as an NFT on the Polygon platform.
Entertainment studio Feature.io is developing an interactive multimedia car racing experience called Lollipop with "The Fast and Furious" co-writer and "Suicide Squad" writer/director David Ayer attached as its writer and executive producer. The project will involve Polygon-based NFTs, which Feature.io founder and CEO Steven Ilous prefers to call "digital collectibles." Lollipop will combine elements of episodic streaming, gaming, and professional sports. The project is being built on the Ethereum scaling network Polygon, and Polygon Labs President Ryan Wyatt called the project "truly pioneering."
Alibaba has recently established a Web3 Incubator in Japan, with a specific emphasis on the development of blockchain games.
Alibaba has opened a blockchain lab in Tokyo, Japan, in partnership with Tokyu Land Corporation and Skeleton Crew Studio. The lab will focus on cultivating the Web3 community in Japan and aiding developers interested in building in the space, with a particular focus on gaming. The lab will also act as an incubator and teach developers the skills required to work in Web3 while exploring business opportunities within it. Alibaba Cloud has also announced Web3 global hackathon events, with the first named HAPathon 2023, and a blockchain game hackathon event called #asobiHack_Tokyo. Additionally, Alibaba Cloud's blockchain node service has recently been launched in Japan.
Ultra has introduced a new web3 gaming marketplace which enables users to resell digital games.
Ultra, a long-running Web3 gaming startup, is launching its Ultra Games marketplace later this month. The platform will allow users to resell digital games they have purchased through a secondary marketplace, thanks to tokenized license rights. The digital PC gaming store will offer Web3 and traditional Web2 games without NFT or token elements. Game publishers can set an initial no-resale period, determine a minimum resale price point, and choose the royalty percentage they receive automatically. Ultra Games is built on top of the startup's own Ultra layer-1 network, a fork of the EOS blockchain.
A16z is leading Speedrun, a startup school for gaming. This program aims to help gaming startups succeed in the industry.
Andreessen Horowitz's gaming division has launched a program called "Speedrun" to help people enhance their entrepreneurial skills on Web3. The six-week program will have gaming specialists imparting knowledge on business, AI, and AR/VR. Participants will acquire the know-how to construct and launch a game, assemble a team, secure funding, and oversee a game in real-time. Successful candidates will participate in interviews between April 24 and 28, with the program commencing in May. An array of esteemed gaming professionals awaits, featuring the likes of Discord’s former CMO, Blizzard Entertainment’s ex-Vice President, Twitch’s founder, and Tencent’s erstwhile President. Potential participants must submit their applications by the April 21 deadline accompanied by a compelling game concept.