A fledgling blockchain-based game project called Illuvium has already managed to attract support from major industry backers — a development owed in part to the fact that Illuvium co-founders Kieran and Aaron Warwick are the brothers of Kain Warwick, the co-founder of decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Synthetix. In a tweet on Friday, Kain announced that “after two years of pressure,” his brothers were revealing to the world a blockchain-based game: Extremely excited that after years of pressure two of my brothers are launching a crypto NFT game @illuviumio. Also as promised I just finished that $1m @chainlink market buy into …

Animoca Brands has teamed up with Premier League football club Manchester City and Australian club Melbourne City FC to develop games and collectibles based on the two teams. A Dec. 21 post on the official Man City Twitter account announced the partnership, which will feature the club’s mens and womens teams, along with the Melbourne City club, which it also owns. Animoca Brands will develop mini-games for its hyper-casual gaming site, GAMEE. It will also create a set of collectable trading cards to be distributed on its NFT digital collectibles subsidiary, Quidd. There will also be Manchester City and Melbourne …

On December 6th, just two days after the start of a NFT-backed “card pack” sale for their blockchain-based video game Alien Worlds, the 15-man team behind development studio Dacoco sold out of packs after having successfully raised $250,000. While a quarter million might seem like a pittance in a world where a single NFT critter can fetch six figures and more established games like The Sandbox and Decentraland routinely raise millions, for a smaller studio it’s the kind of raise that can ensure success for a project — and, according to Play To Earn editor-in-Chief Robert Hoogendoorn, the unique set …

Enterprise Ethereum is beginning to show its impact as some of the largest companies in the world start to leverage the Ethereum network to solve complex business challenges. For example, tech giant Microsoft and Big Four firm Ernst & Young announced the expansion of Microsoft’s blockchain-based solution to extend to gaming rights and royalties management. Paul Brody, blockchain lead at EY, told Cointelegraph that Microsoft’s blockchain solution for this particular use case is being conducted on a private Quorum network based on Ethereum. Brody noted that this expansion will provide a financial system of record for royalty agreements, allowing Microsoft's …

Gaming giant Atari has announced a collaboration with blockchain game ecosystem Enjin, which will see its iconic IP and licenses integrated into games within the Enjin multiverse. The first fruits of this collaboration, according to a Dec. 10 blog post from the company, will be a range of cosmetic nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, for use in a brand new addition to the legendary football game franchise, Kick Off. The original Kick Off was released in 1989 for the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga, and was described in reviews at the time as the "best footy game to have appeared on …

Bitcoin (BTC) and other major altcoins are either stuck in a range or are witnessing a correction. However, that is not the case with the entire crypto space because a few tokens have been outperforming major cryptocurrencies by a considerable margin. In a world where yields have plunged to negligible levels, the DeFi ecosystem has attracted investors’ attention. Data from Dune Analytics shows that the number of unique Ethereum addresses participating in various DeFi protocols has surged from about 91,000 to over 1 million in a year. A few analysts have warned that while these numbers look encouraging, the actual …

A blockchain-powered VR game has launched on Steam for the first time — and now, developers are hoping to win a prestigious award. Age of ILCOIN is set in a futuristic sci-fi world, and the player’s mission is to protect their cryptocurrency from space alien pirates. The game, which uses the Oculus Rift VR headset, offers an immersive, 360-degree experience, with blockchain technology adding another dimension to in-game purchases. It was developed by SYDYG, the owner of ILCOIN, and there are ambitious plans to roll out the game to additional platforms — including the Oculus app store — in the …

On November 21st, the world’s first social media-managed, personality-branded non-fungible token (NFT) revealed itself to the cryptotwitter world: Axie #265, also known as “Axia.” Axies — the cute, digital critters inspired by Pokemon — populate the rapidly growing blockchain-based game Axie Infinity. Each one is backed by an NFT, and even those who have never played Axie Infinity might be familiar with Axies due to the preposterous sums they fetch on the secondary market: one Axie recently sold for 300 Ether, or over $130,000 at the time of the sale. High prices seem to be part of what drew Axia …

A segment of a race track in F1 Delta Time, a nonfungible token-powered motorsports game from Animoca Brands, has been auctioned off for more than 9 million of the company’s REVV tokens, worth approximately $222,000. Animoca says it’s a record price for an in-game NFT. The token, “Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2020 1A” was auctioned on NFT marketplace Open Sea, with bidding taking place from Nov. 29 until Dec. 2. The token offers its owner an “Apex” share in the game’s Circuit de Monaco track. Congratulations to @MetaKovan and the @metapurse proud owners of the @F1DeltaTime 1-1-1 and …

Winning Poker Network, an online network that supports numerous online poker websites across the world, has reported a surge in demand for Bitcoin (BTC) payouts. In a Nov. 19 report from Bloomberg, the CEO behind Winning Poker Network, or WPN, said that up to 95% of poker players are currently requesting to be paid in Bitcoin. Though the poker network has supported several cryptocurrencies since 2014, WPN CEO Phil Nagy stated that the company needed to make more BTC purchases than ever because of demand caused by the recent price movement past $17,000 and $18,000 in a matter of days. …

As “digitally native” ecosystems like esports continue to synergize with blockchain technology, industries like fantasy sports could be primed for mass adoption, says digital research firm Messari. In a newly published report, researcher Mason Nystrom argues that fantasy sports are primed for significant growth due to COVID-19. He also opines that blockchain-based applications could help boost fan engagement in this rapidly expanding market. Nystrom explains: “While the peak culmination of esports and cryptonetworks waits for improvements in emerging technology and 5G connectivity, blockchain-based fantasy sports are poised for consumer adoption.” Citing PwC research, Nystrom says betting and fantasy sports are …

For an industry starved of end-users, few apples look juicier to the blockchain world than gaming. The global gaming market is forecast to generate over $159 billion in revenue in 2020, and at a recent two-day digital conference the Blockchain Gaming Alliance made it clear that its members are aiming to take a bite. There are an estimated 2.7 billion gamers worldwide, or around a third of the global population. In terms of mainstream adoption, that puts gaming in a similar tier as breathing oxygen and drinking water. If just a fraction of those gamers were to welcome blockchain technology …