Barbenheimer on Fortnite

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This week we are covering…

🎞️ Barbenheimer invades the metaverse

💰Roblox developers get new revenue stream

🌟 Crucible’s new tool for Unreal Engine devs, plus more web3 gaming tools launched

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Barbenheimer invades the metaverse [Link]

Fortnite rides on Barbenheimer, where Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer were released this weekend.

Creator Squatingdog creates a map based on the phenomenon, a small Nuketown-esque map that has two distinct sides that collide in the middle: Dollie - the Barbie-themed side featuring pink dream houses, eccentrically dressed characters, and lots of colors - and a rather depressing other side laden with brown tones and soldiers.

Why it’s newsworthy: The Barbenheimer concept itself brings together the best of opposite worlds, ensuring the two movies don’t cannibalize each other on their big weekend release. For the creativity and buzz to extend to Fortnite and the web3 world is awesome enough, bridging the gap between mainstream entertainment and web3 gaming.

Roblox developers get new revenue stream [Link]

After saying it will introduce experiences exclusive for users 17 years old and above last month, the mega gaming platform is now developing tools enabling developers to offer subscriptions, a major new channel for devs to make money.

An inside look:

• Roblox developers can monetize their experiences currently through selling virtual items, providing in-experiences to specific content, and gating experiences behind paid access.

• While all of the above are all one-time fees, subscriptions will foster “a recurring economic relationship with their users” and enhance their ongoing earnings.

• Other monetization options comprise subscriptions to private servers, engagement-based payouts, and slotting in Roblox’s “Immersive Ads.”

Why this is important: Roblox becomes a more compelling metaverse platform with this new monetization opportunity and more revenue streams in the pipeline. In comparison, Epic Games’ new system for Fortnite is yet to allow creators to directly sell virtual goods or subscriptions inside experiences.

A data leak from Roblox, however, sees 4,000 developers’ personal information go public, as reported by PC Gamer. The details - including names, email addresses, dates of birth, and physical addresses - are based on those who attended the Roblox Developer Conferences from 2017-2020.

The leak itself dates back to December 2020 and has since remained unnoticed, highlighting the dangerously stealth way security concerns of such nature go for years.

The Sandbox welcomes user-created content [Link]

By the end of the year, users can host and run their very own experiences on The Sandbox as the metaverse gaming platform embraces user-created content.

This lets creators publish their experiences, such as owners of plots of land to creatively drive their own gaming or social experience. The platform’s Game Maker tool also comes in handy for this purpose.

To join the early access launch, users need to submit a request for permission and can then open their creations to the public (potentially charging an entrance fee or requiring ownership of specific NFTs).

Crucible’s new tool for Unreal Engine devs, plus more web3 gaming tools launched

• Metaverse firm Crucible launches its Emergence software development kit (SDK) for Unreal Engine to allow devs to quickly build game experiences on any Ethereum virtual machine (EVM)-compatible blockchain. The tool - featuring interoperable avatars, smart contracts, integrated wallets, and on-chain inventory services - is slated to make game assets reusable across game and metaverse apps.

• Solana Labs, a startup backed by the Solana blockchain network, announces GameShift, a new software tool that lets game devs use a range of 3rd-party crypto apps to build their games on Solana or port them over to the network. Touted as “innovative technology to simplify and accelerate the game building process,” the API GameShift is an easy way for devs to add a blockchain layer to video games.

• Video game giant and Assassin's Creed creator Ubisoft becomes a Cronos blockchain validator, where it will operate a node on the open-source network that is interoperable with both Ethereum and Cosmos. More validators usually mean a more decentralized network.

McDonald’s takes a bite out of the metaverse via McNuggets [Link]

Waning hype or note, brands are still having a go at their own metaverse moments. A case in point: McDonald’s Hong Kong’s launch of the McNuggets Land, a virtual world in The Sandbox.

The why: McNuggets Land celebrates the fast food giant’s 40th anniversary for its popular Chicken McNuggets. In this metaverse that will be live until Aug 28 globally, the game is packed with nugget characters, dipping sauce-inspired decor, as well as quests that will yield rewards on the blockchain as well as IRL.

McDonald’s, however, isn’t a new entrant in the web3 world, as its American division rolled out McRib-inspired NFTs back in late 2021 while its France unit developed NFT inspired by the iconic Big Mac in the same year.

Horror crossover and another web3 game release

• Halo co-creator Alex Seropian rolls out Look North World, a new game studio eyeing community-driven virtual spaces and experiences, alongside its 1st game, Outlaw Corral, on Unreal Engine for Fortnite (UEFN). Outlaw Corral is a Wild West island featuring skill-based shootouts and is the first of several games in the works.

• Horror film Talk To Me, on top of being a cinematic experience, transforms into a survival game on Fortnite via Deadpines: Zombie Survival. The game, which features several scenes from the upcoming movie, sees players battle to fight the undead in a haunted house.

🏃‍♂️Quick Hits

• Dota 2 and Rocket League pros “want to explore” web3 and blockchain gaming. (Link)

• Xbox is getting a bunch of PS1 games. (Link)

• Wooing sci-fi fans, Epic Games Store offers Homeworld: Remastered Collection and Severed Steel as free games on July 27. (Link)

• PUBG Mobile players can now drive Aston Martin luxury cars in a new collab. (Link)

• Fans of World of Warcraft troll a naive AI bot named Glorbo. (Link)

• PlusMusic.ai uses AI to create in-game soundtracks. (Link)

• Tiny football: Skill-based one-button kick action game releases full version 1.0. (Link)

• How is AI set to translate to real profits in the gaming field? (Link)

• Gaming studios with investment sizes of $4M (Dh16M) and above make UAE their new home. (Link)

• Blockchain mavens on how Ubisoft’s 1st web3 title Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles helps shape the future adoption of blockchain in gaming. (Link)

• Blockchain gaming shines in Q2, with 36% industry engagement and active wallet increases for Klaytn and Oasys. (Link)

• With the recent sale of the Golden Mint Pass for $130K, here’s how Cross the Ages is doing in web3 gaming and NFTs. (Link)

• Could these new patents filed by Sony possibly point to a new attachment for the PlayStation VR2? (Link)

• PvP space shooter Galaxy Commanders is slated for release on Ethereum scaling network Immutable zkEVM. (Link)

• Meshing nostalgia with innovation, the KMON trading card game launches to present beloved classics like Pokémon and Yugioh in web3. (Link)

• The Simplio app banks on 1-click web3 mobile gaming. (Link)

• Neopets is an independent company again, cancels NFT game - the details inside. (Link)

• Meanwhile, TikTok users viewed over 3 trillion gaming-related videos in 2022. (Link)

• LA-based, Zynga founder-backed startup Artie is pinning its hopes on Threads, launching its maiden game on it this fall. (Link)

• Playboy, in collaboration with The Sandbox, announces the virtual game contest Bunnies Treasure Island. (Link)

• KAP Games launches as web3’s 1st browser and mobile-native gaming distribution and publishing platform, packed with a gaming portal, solutions for developers, and a new indie game studio. (Link)

• Galaxy Fight Club (GFC) shakes things up in the NFT universe with its new cross-IP game. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• GGWP raises $10M for an AI-based platform to moderate multiplayer games. (Link)

• SCCG management announces strategic partnership with Land Vegas for metaverse VR gaming. (Link)

• Scalo Technologies leads a $3.5M investment round for Hexacore, publisher of hybrid mobile web3 games. (Link)

• ENV Media joins forces with Ken Research to examine Indian gambling behavior. (Link)

All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

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If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse.

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