Google Play allows NFTs in games

Binance pours $15M into Xterio, Sega forges another web3 game alliance, Roblox comes to Meta Quest

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This week we are covering…

💎 Google Play now allows NFTs in apps and games

💰 Binance invests $15M in web3 game publisher Xterio

🤝 Another 3rd-party game tie-up for Sega

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Google Play now allows NFTs in apps and games [Link]

Google Play has announced a major policy shift, allowing developers to integrate NFTs into their apps and games.

The finer details:

  • Partners will be required to disclose the presence of blockchain-based elements in their apps through the Play Console.

  • Google collaborated with Reddit on these updated guidelines, focusing on creating a level playing field and promoting responsible usage of blockchain tech.

  • The new policy emphasizes user trust and prohibits the promotion of potential earnings from playing or trading activities.

Apps that don't meet the eligibility requirements for gambling cannot incentivize the purchase of in-game items for a chance to win NFTs. Tests of the new experiences will begin in late summer, with a full rollout expected later this year.

The likely “why”: Google Play says that the move will allow partners to reimagine “traditional games with user-owned content” as well as boost “user loyalty through unique NFT rewards.”

It displays a stark contrast between previous and this current Google policy: It used to be a “black box,” with games kicked out of the Play Store without explanation and crypto mining apps banned (this rule stays with the current guidelines).

Now, the tech giant shows a favorable web3 stance, allowing the following:

  • ArDrive Mobile, an app for decentralized data storage, to appear in the store last year

  • Axie Infinity: Origins to be listed in select Google Play markets

Binance invests $15M in web3 game publisher Xterio [Link]

Binance Labs, the investment arm of leading crypto exchange Binance, commits to investing $15M into Xterio, a web3 game platform and publisher. Xterio will then use the funding for further game development involving integration of AI and the rollout of its own tokens.

What pushed the investment ahead: Binance Labs, whose assets recently grew to $9B, cites the fast-expanding ecosystem of Xterio and how it “bridges free-to-play genres with on-chain gaming enhanced by AI capabilities.”

Through its free-to-play gaming platform and GameFi-as-a-service product, Xterio - which raised a $40M round August last year - assists developer partners in building 3rd-party games. Looking ahead, it seeks to expand its AI focus and tap into an AI toolkit for high-quality 2D and 3D assets.

Another 3rd-party game tie-up for Sega [Link]

After announcing in previous weeks that it would back off on web3 game development and instead rely on 3rd parties, Sega forges a partnership with Line Next to create a web3 game for the blockchain gaming platform Game Dosi.

Some key partnership details:

  • Line Next, which signed an MoU to bring one of Sega’s popular video games to Game Dosi via IP licensing, is South Korea-based and the division of mobile messaging company Line that develops and expands its NFT ecosystem.

  • Line Next will support NFT production, digital payments, and marketing activities within the agreement.

  • Launched in May, Game Dosi offers user- and game-centered services and has so far rolled out 6 titles including its in-house game Project GD.

Roblox comes to Meta Quest sooner than later

Roblox has partnered with Meta Platforms to bring the popular gaming platform to the META Quest VR Headset 2 and Pro, giving Quest users access to a variety of VR experiences.

Roblox is banking on an expanding base of 66M+ daily users. While the Roblox metaverse is an early entrant, it’s accessible on mobile devices without the need for VR headsets and is supported by its own digital currency, Robux, for a host of engaging and immersive experiences including celebrity-headlined musical concerts.

The launch on the Meta Quest platform is scheduled in the coming weeks, starting with an open beta on App Lab. Existing experiences will work automatically in VR, and developers can easily create VR experiences.

New web3 games in the works

In the world of gaming, exciting developments are underway with major collaborations and new game releases.

  • Cool Cats Group is collaborating with three gaming publishers to produce games featuring their brand, launching in late 2023 to early 2024: A venture with nWay - an SF-based arm of Animoca Brands - commencing with a competitive multiplayer arcade game; an in-browser, endless runner game in 2D, made in association with Animoca-backed iCandy Interactive Limited; and a match3 game on mobile platforms, similar to Bejeweled or Candy Crush, in a joint endeavor with Sync Studios.

  • Find Satoshi Lab (FSL) is building an MMO game called Gas Hero, which will be playable on web browsers and mobile phones and slated for launch later this year. The game will have social elements and rewards for players, with a sci-fi world powered by natural gas and a contest to design characters for a chance to win prizes.

  • Electronic Arts (EA) is developing a Black Panther game with the new studio Cliffhanger Games, in honor of the superhero's 60th anniversary. Focused on a new character attempting to become the new Black Panther after the death of an earlier incarnation, the game will be unrelated to Skydance New Media's Captain America x Black Panther team-up game. This is the 2nd EA x Marvel project in development, and while details remain sparse, fresh job listings for the game’s new development studio Cliffhanger Games reveal that the game will be powered by Unreal Engine 5.

🏃‍♂️Quick Hits

  • Sony agrees to a 10-year deal for Call of Duty with Microsoft to keep the franchise on PlayStation after the proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition. (Link)

  • Here’s a wealth of VR headsets to choose from for a phenomenal metaverse experience. (Link)

  • The FBI turns to Nintendo and the Switch to locate a missing 15-year-old girl. (Link)

  • Even before blockchain, gamers were already engaged with more multiplayer games. Why is gaming so closely entwined with the metaverse? (Link)

  • How data science and AI are transforming gaming, with common techniques in racing games like rubber banding. (Link)

  • Sony intends to pour some $2.3B into gaming research and development. (Link)

  • Blockchain gaming platform Spielworks creates a refundable NFT program, where the NFTs will provide mining power and material drops to players of the Dungeon Worlds game. (Link)

  • Web3 game Kited rolls out an AI-powered 3D model generation system for its upcoming augmented reality game. (Link)

  • Amid the regulatory turmoil faced by the crypto space, blockchain gaming dominates web3. (Link)

  • Reports have it that Sony is considering porting Roblox to PlayStation systems for which the video game publisher had previously voiced concerns about its impact on “child safety” on the platform. (Link)

  • London-based Sandbox Group has licensed the blue ’80s icons in a new learning app called The Smurfs—Educational Games, launching in Q4. (Link)

  • The Volley app, from the eponymous creator of voice AI games, rolls outs the beloved game show Jeopardy! as its first offering on Roku. (Link)

  • Rumble Racing Star is a Mario Kart-alike with web3 elements and monetizable elements like earning and trading in-game digital assets. (Link)

  • Team shooter game The Machines Arena adds in-game rewards, letting seasoned players unlock character skins for eventual minting as NFTs. (Link)

  • A growing hub for digital arts and gaming, Spain’s Canary Islands sets the stage for a conference on European video game policy and virtual environments. (Link)

  • 40 years ago, the movie WarGames predicted our current AI fears, floating the prospect of the world being destroyed by AI gone rogue. (Link)

  • Chinese gaming firms are eyeing expanded opportunities in overseas markets. (Link)

  • New mobile martial arts game Justice is being billed as NetEase’s answer to Tencent’s Honor of Kings and HoYoverse’s Genshin Impact. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

  • Embrace raises $20M to help devs build better mobile games and apps. (Link)

  • GameOn partners with Professional Fighters League (PFL) to launch next-gen fantasy games. (Link)

  • Dypius partners with Conflux network to unveil NFT marketplace and new game update. (Link)

  • EA Games partners with Tipalti to support music creators in gaming. (Link)

  • Gamercraft raises $5M to expand AI-powered competitive gaming platform. (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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