Galaxy Interactive, a venture capital firm focused on next-generation interactive technology, has announced it has raised $325 million for its second fund from 70 different investors. The fund is focused on virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and blockchain-based games. In a Tuesday announcement, Galaxy Digital, the majority owner of Galaxy Interactive, stated that $150 million from the fund has already been allocated to new portfolio companies, including Republic, 1047 Games, Elodie, Roar, Art Blocks and Masterworks, with other additional investments to be announced in coming months. Established in 2018 by general partners Sam Englebardt and Richard Kim, the company …

The gaming industry is a multi-billionaire dollar market traditionally dominated by giant corporations like Atari, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, among others. Throughout their history, these major firms have aimed to provide entertaining gaming experiences to attract new players and expand their market share. However, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are attempting to give gamers a financial incentive for playing games in the form of NFTs, in addition to providing an engaging gaming ecosystem. These games, known as play-to-earn (P2E) games are played in a Metaverse that is essentially a fictional universe. The P2E gaming model dictates that the users of the platform …

Gaming platforms are choosing sides on blockchain, cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) within their respective ecosystems. Following reports of Valve banning crypto and NFT-related games on Steam, its primary competitor, Epic Games Store, showed a welcoming attitude for blockchain developers and the use of crypto in video games. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said that the Epic Games Store would enable games using blockchain technology as long as the developers abide by the relevant laws and disclose their terms. The games need to be age-rated by an appropriate group, Sweeney wrote, adding: “Though Epic’s not using crypto in our games, …

Video game corporation Valve has informed users no content related to cryptocurrencies or nonfungible tokens will be allowed through its Steam marketplace. As reported by game developer SpacePirate on Oct. 14, Steam has updated its guidelines for what content creators are allowed to publish on the platform. According to Steam, no applications built on blockchain technology that “issue or allow exchange of cryptocurrencies or [nonfungible tokens] NFTs” are permitted in its onboarding process for partners. The rule appears alongside guidelines prohibiting hate speech, sexually explicit images, and libelous or defamatory statements. Though the new guideline would seemingly ban all traditional …

Many cryptocurrency games are struggling to compete with traditional games that exist on consoles and smartphones. Even if they rise to fame, their popularity doesn’t last, and gamers quickly move on to what’s next. Currently, more than 2.3 billion gamers exist worldwide, illustrating the enormous impact players can have on the future of this market and its growth. To create a game ecosystem that will stand the test of time, economics that will continue to evolve and grow with players is needed. As a result, future-oriented games are using carefully crafted game economics, assets and tokens to help make them …

One virtual world is being reimagined with nonfungible tokens (NFTs) is Neopets, the virtual pet website. The team has announced the launch of their IP on the blockchain to provide new and improved user experiences. For those unfamiliar, Neopets is one of the very first online games to allow users to adopt a pet that they can explore the vast world with. Neopets can be raised, homes could be built, and rare items could be found. Over the last two decades, millions of people have engaged with Neopets characters in their virtual world of Neopia and shared it with their …

The number of crypto wallets participating in blockchain games has surged in recent months, according to new research. According to DappRadar’s Q3 ‘Blockchain Game Report’, unique active wallets connected to gaming decentralized applications reached a total of 754,000 for the period. This represents almost half of the industry’s activity with the blockchain industry registering 1.54 million daily unique active wallets on average over the three-month period. The unique active wallet metric refers to unique addresses that interact with a given smart contract, so it does not necessarily translate to daily active users. The increase in gaming activity has been driven …

With the current interest in nonfungible tokens (NFTs), many companies have started to develop NFT marketplaces to attract as many users as possible. The problem with that is because everything happens so quickly in the NFT space, user interfaces and processes at these platforms are confusing and complex for users, which pushes away a lot of people from the entire experience. Currently, NFTs are designed to never be changed, limiting their abilities as digital assets. However, a solution may be underway. The DeHorizon Foundation has recently announced a new partnership with NFT interoperability Middleware, POD, to jointly launch the First …

Guy Oseary, the manager of musical heavyweights U2 and Madonna has signed a representation deal with Yuga Labs to expand the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) nonfungible token, or NFT, project into movies, TV, music and gaming. The move from Yuga Labs comes a month after CryptoPunks creators’ Larva Labs penned a representation deal in Hollywood with the United Talent Agency. Oseary adds BAYC to a list of all-star clients which includes, alongside U2 and Madonna, comedian Amy Schumer and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Welcome to the club, @guyoseary ! ☠️⛵️ https://t.co/PcUtD67zIF — Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) October …

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have recently caught the attention of tech investors, major corporations and well-known actresses like Lindsay Lohan, who have even created some NFTs of their own. Each nonfungible asset is created to be something original that cannot be interchanged, such as a one-of-a-kind sports car or a piece of land. Each asset exists as a token that represents the specific asset. Unlike physical assets, NFTs face no difficulty verifying their authenticity, and their ownership can be traced back to the beginning. In the Covid-19 pandemic, marked with long periods of isolation, many realize just how much they can …

For the first time in chess history, grandmaster Magnus Carlsen has been awarded a nonfungible token (NFT) trophy for winning an international chess tournament, Meltwater Champions Chess Tour (MCCT). The tournament minted a number of NFT trophies and collectibles to indefinitely preserve the game’s most defining moments. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Carlsen shared his appreciation of the cryptocurrency ecosystem for supporting virtual chess tournaments. The chess champion cited MCCT’s recent partnership with FTX crypto exchange that allowed professional chess players to compete for a prize fund of 2.1825 Bitcoin (BTC) ($81,079). “NFTs help the chess community celebrate great moments and possibly …

The gaming industry, which has always been synonymous with fun, has grown massively in recent times, and a lot of money is now being mentioned when gaming comes up. Since the introduction of Web 3.0, there has been immense growth in the industry. At the end of 2019, the global gaming market was reportedly worth $152 billion. This growth has meant that, since the introduction of Web 3.0, there has been a consistent rate at which Web 3.0 games are growing and garnering increased adoption. A lot of money is being made, and this has, in turn, attracted a lot …