Gamefi Corner #3
Karate Combat has raised $18 million to develop Web3 and mixed reality live sports.
Karate Combat has raised $18 million to fund its full-contact martial arts league that features combatants in immersive CGI environments. The league's XR technology, powered by Epic Games' Unreal Engine, represents the next step in blending real-time virtual effects with live sports. Karate Combat is structured as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) — a first for a sports league. Fans can earn $KARATE through the app and by watching matches, and stakeholders will be able to weigh in on the direction of Karate Combat. The league has amassed 4.5 million followers and broadcasts to over 100 countries worldwide.
XRSPACE has secured $25 million to expedite their AI metaverse plans.
XRSPACE, a company creating the next-gen social reality in the metaverse with XR, has raised $25 million in funding led by Foxconn Technology Group and Taiwan’s National Development Fund. This is just the first part of Foxconn’s massive $100 million commitment announced last month. The investors believe in XRSPACE’s skills to create mind-blowing metaverse experiences that set them apart from the competition. With this money, XRSPACE will focus on R&D, including live facial and motion tracking for user avatars, 5G-powered real-time interaction, 3D live streaming, and AI-backed social engagement. They’ll also partner with companies in Taiwan, China, Japan, and the US to bring even more metaverse fun to consumers.
Say hello to $GALA(v2), the newest chapter in the Gala Games Ecosystem.
Gala Games is launching GALA(v2) on May 15th, an upgraded Ethereum contract for the Gala token with improved burn mechanisms, security enhancements and future upgradeability. All users holding GALA(v1) on Ethereum will automatically receive the new GALA(v2) token in a direct 1:1 token drop. After the drop, GALA(v1) will no longer be supported. Users must remove their GALA from any liquidity pools or smart contracts before the snapshot on May 15th to ensure they receive the drop. The official Ethereum contract address for GALA(v2) is provided. There are no actions required for users who hold GALA and not currently used in any liquidity pools or smart contracts to receive the new token. After the drop, unminted TC GALA will be redeemed as GALA(v2). The upgrade shows the scale of Gala Games' future and promises a prosperous and thriving ecosystem that benefits all participants.
Mattel, the toy manufacturer, is set to release a peer-to-peer marketplace for virtual collectibles on an NFT platform.
Mattel, an American toy manufacturing company, is launching a peer-to-peer marketplace for its virtual collectibles platform in collaboration with NFT company Rarible. The platform will coincide with the launch of the Hot Wheels NFT Garage Series 5, featuring popular car designs. The digital collectibles will be sold in packs for $25 each, and if a collector gets a premium collectible, they will receive a physical die-cast replica of the same car. Mattel is among several toy companies attempting to break into the NFT industry. The P2P marketplace feature allows owners of Mattel NFTs to sell and trade their assets in a peer-to-peer fashion.
London-based company MetaGravity has secured $9.5 million in funding to create a decentralised computing infrastructure that is interoperable and designed for the metaverse.
London-based MetaGravity has raised $9.5m in seed funding from investors including Sino Global, Spartan Group and Market One Capital, as well as others, to expand its engineering and product teams. The company plans to develop the infrastructure layer required to support massive metaverse experiences in the future. MetaGravity aims to offer unlimited scale, sustainable unit costs and seamless integration into any game engine and cloud platform. Founded by Rashid Mansoor and Tobin Ireland, the company is building distributed compute infrastructure for metaverse gaming and virtual world simulations, offering game developers arbitrary scale, transformational cloud cost efficiencies and ease of use.
Square Enix is expanding its involvement in web3 gaming through its latest partnership.
Square Enix has partnered with Elixir to explore Web3 gaming and blockchain technology. The partnership aims to drive the adoption of Web3 games for mainstream gamers and push the boundaries of traditional offerings. While Square Enix has shown its commitment to Web3 gaming, Mojang Studios and Rockstar Games have resisted the blockchain trend and disapprove of NFT integrations. Elixir offers MMORPGs on distributed ledgers such as Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and BNB. The specifics of the partnership operation have yet to be revealed, but it is expected that Square Enix will capitalize on Elixir's prior successes in the Web3 gaming sector.
The Sandbox has collaborated with LaMelo Ball to establish the 'Meloverse'.
Playground Studios and The Sandbox have launched an online world called "Meloverse" centered around basketball player LaMelo Ball. The goal is to provide an immersive and interactive experience for his fans and attract younger audiences to the Web3 and Metaverse. The Sandbox's Meloverse will focus on providing amusement while teaching participants how to use blockchain technology safely. The inaugural event showcases Melo's Social Hub, consisting of 19 unique challenges related to his interests. Participants can earn a non-NFT collectible badge upon completing each task and a share of the $68,830 prize pool if they successfully complete all 19 quests. The Meloverse is an exciting opportunity for fans to engage with their favorite athletes in a virtual world and attract young adults to the Metaverse.
InfiniGods has released its second title, Immortal Siege, which is designed to be interoperable.
InfiniGods has launched the beta version of Immortal Siege, a browser-based tower defence game that uses digital assets on the Polygon blockchain. The game features deck-building mechanics and allows players to strategically place and upgrade towers while battling enemies. The game is available for the 260 holders of the Ultimate Pass NFT. InfiniGods raised $9 million in funding in May 2022 and aims to build an interoperability gaming platform using the same set of digital assets on the Polygon blockchain.
KRAFTON has teamed up with NAVER Z to introduce the Migaloo Metaverse Project.
PUBG developer KRAFTON and NAVER Z are partnering to create a North America-based metaverse platform called Migaloo, with KRAFTON holding 85% ownership and NAVER Z holding 15%. Migaloo will operate on a create-to-earn (C2E) model, allowing creators to develop and sell their content as NFTs within the platform. KRAFTON will provide game development and publishing expertise, while NAVER Z will handle planning, partnerships, and acquisitions. The platform is expected to launch before the end of 2023.
Bezogia's Legends pre-launch has been listed on Epic Games to reach a wider audience.
Legends of Bezogia is a pre-launch game that is currently in the IDO sale stage for MBLK tokens. The game has a collectible element and offers a mix of PvE, PvP, quests, as well as meme-based content. Legends of Bezogia has released a trailer and is currently in the closed beta testing stage, with early access available through Zogilabs registration. The game team reports 25K game users and a total of 45K Zogilabs accounts. Legends of Bezogia will also tokenize the game early, and offers a chance to buy its main token even before the actual game launch. MBLK tokens had a long-running sale and have raised more than $616K so far, with an end goal of $650K.
Ultra's PC game store will be publicly available today.
Ultra Games, a new PC game store, will be opened to the public on April 25th at 4pm UTC. Users will be able to download the Ultra client and access the game store, which features a diverse selection of games from established studios. Players are able to purchase games using a credit card or Ultra's native token, $UOS. The app also includes an easy-to-navigate game library and launcher. In the future, Ultra plans to enable second-hand game resale through game tokenization and tokenize in-game assets as Uniqs. A referral system is also available for users to earn rewards by inviting others to join Ultra.
Veterans of Call of Duty and Apex Legends have unveiled a new game called Kaidro on the Immutable platform.
Gadget-Bot Productions is developing a Web3 game and animated TV series based on their Kaidro sci-fi universe. The game is a PC role-playing game that combines player-versus-player, player-versus-environment, and broader questing mechanics. The game will also offer NFTs that give its owner a playable character from a specific clan with unique storylines and unlocks. They will also be able to clone their NFTs up to a certain amount and sell those back to players who might like the skins. Kaidro's team ultimately picked Immutable because they have a clear focus on gaming and allow the team to be "as Web2-friendly as possible" while also offering Web3 integrations for those who want them.
Pink Moon Studios has finally released the much-awaited free-to-play mode for KMON Genesis.
Pink Moon Studios has launched a free-to-play mode for its web3 game, KMON Genesis, which allows players to breed, collect, and trade unique creatures in the Kryptomon universe. The move aims to lower the barriers of entry to the game for a broader range of players. The game incentivizes gameplay by sharing revenue with players through weekly monetary rewards when they complete in-game challenges. Pink Moon Studios also introduced exclusive rental features for KMON on-chain assets, further enhancing the gaming experience. The company will host a community event showcasing its upcoming mobile MMORPG, World of Kogaea, which is currently under development.
Cheelee, the GameFi Short Video Platform, has recently launched the CHEEL Community Drop with a whopping $5,000,000 worth of rewards up for grabs.
Cheelee, a GameFi short video platform that rewards users for viewing their feeds, has announced a Community Drop starting from April 17th. The drop offers participants the chance to win a share of $5 million worth of CHEEL tokens by completing tasks designed to familiarize them with the platform and its earning mechanics. Cheelee rewards both content creators and consumers, making it different from platforms like YouTube or TikTok. Cheelee CEO Ruslan Sharov welcomes participants to the drop, which is set to bring mass adoption of crypto to the social media market.
Merit Circle has introduced a gaming subnet beam on Avalanche for your enjoyment.
Decentralized autonomous organization Merit Circle has announced the development of Beam, a gaming-focused blockchain powered by Avalanche. Beam aims to be the home for various Web3 games and will enable on-chain games to be deployed easily. The blockchain offers low fees and instant settlement, making it attractive for web3 gaming. Beam has over 60 partner games, dozens of contributors, developers, tools and a strong network of investors. Avalanche also hosted the once-notable crypto game Crabada.
LootMogul and SuperWorld are teaming up to revolutionize the sports metaverse by incorporating real world locations.
LootMogul is a Web3 Gaming and E-commerce platform that uses multi-player blockchain mini-games, meta shops for brands and athletes, training academies, and digital collectibles to offer In-Real-Life (IRL) rewards. The company aims to drive engagement and retention in Web3 through sports fans, brands, and athletes. They have partnered with SuperWorld, a virtual world mapped onto the real world that allows users to create, discover, and monetize content in real-world locations. SuperWorld's virtual real estate platform enables users to buy virtual plots of land anywhere on Earth and activate monetization from digital commerce, e-commerce, gaming, advertising, decentralized finance, and analytics. LootMogul is offering an equity crowdfunding campaign for sports fanatics to own a piece of the company for as little as $100.