🎮 Metaproof Gaming

Hey frens, this is Sophia from 🎮 Metaproof Gaming, the weekly newsletter where we keep you informed on how the metaverse and web3 are changing the gaming industry.

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💌 A quick thanks to our friends…

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📲 By the numbers

• 90% of Gen Z in the US spend an average of 12.19 hours per week playing video games and participating in virtual worlds, according to the A New Era of Engagement in Media & Entertainment Report. (Source)

📫 News & trends

✨ Dave & Buster’s enters the metaverse with a line of games on Roblox

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. is bringing its signature mix of food, drinks, and games to the virtual world with the launch of Dave & Buster's World on Roblox. This interactive and immersive digital experience promises to bring the energy and excitement of the actual Dave & Buster's to life, providing players with a new way to enjoy the classic fun of this beloved chain.

Developed by MELON, a prominent studio and creator on Roblox, Dave & Buster's World features games such as GridIron Blitz™ and Full Tilt™, Superball Dash, and Zombie Survival. These games offer a diverse range of experiences, from fast-paced action to challenging strategy, providing players with a taste of the fun that Dave & Buster's is known for.

🎮 NFL Rivals game adds QBs Hurts, Mahomes to NFT lineup ahead of Super Bowl

Never mind the lack of crypto advertising at this year’s event: web3 gaming studio Mythical Games is rolling out new NFT player packs in its NFL Rivals game ahead of Super Bowl LVII. The collection of player cards will include 22 National Football League players from the two teams that will be in the year’s largest football event on Sunday. Gamers can take their player cards into the esports game when it officially launches on mobile later this year, from Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Fox Sports said Tuesday the network would not be broadcasting any crypto commercials this year. Not unknown to many, the crypto sector was hit hard by layoffs, bankruptcies, as well as wintry conditions, particularly in the wake of the collapse of the FTX exchange, a leading crypto advertiser in 2022.

💭 How EA plans to compete with Fortnite and Roblox in the metaverse

During its Q3 2023 earnings call, Electronic Arts (EA) announced its plans to increase the user-generated content (UGC) capabilities of its games, particularly The Sims, in order to compete with other metaverse platforms. Currently, The Sims is more of a simulation game than a true metaverse platform, but EA is making changes to bring it closer to its competitors.

To this end, EA has recently switched The Sims to a free-to-play, live service model and has partnered with Overwolf to make it easier for players to access mods. The company believes that by providing players with more tools to create and share their own content, The Sims will become a more engaging and immersive experience. This, in turn, will help EA gain a foothold in the growing metaverse market.

🐕 Shiba Inu-themed Floki to release Chinese version of its upcoming Valhalla game

With its latest push to target the Chinese gaming market, crypto project Floki has set its sights on the fast-growing and lucrative gaming market in China. Floki announced a Chinese-version release of its testnet metaverse game Valhalla, which utilizes FLOKI tokens, in the coming months alongside running a three-month airdrop campaign for users of Btok, a Chinese social media platform.

In recent weeks, Floki tokens have seen a significant increase in value, with a 150% increase in the past two weeks. This growth is attributed to Floki's recent decision to burn a significant portion of its FLOKI supply, which has fueled the interest of investors and traders alike. Fashioned after the popular Shiba Inu dog breed which has spurred popular tokens including dogecoin and shiba inu, Floki has a market capitalization of $300M as of Tuesday morning.

🤝🏼 ESE Announces strategic partnership for new gaming arena

ESE Entertainment Inc. is partnering with Poznań Game Arena and Metapro to organize the first ever Web3 Game Arena (W3GA) event, which will feature a dedicated hall for web3 games. This event aims to bring together gaming enthusiasts, developers, and those interested in the emerging metaverse trend in the blockchain space.

The W3GA event represents a significant step forward for the recognition and expansion of the web3 gaming market. The partnership among ESE Entertainment Inc., Poznań Game Arena, and Metapro will focus on exploring the potential for interoperability between the gaming, esports, metaverse, DeFi, and GameFi sectors.

🎉Taipei Game Show 2023’s grand opening featuring many gamers

The 2023 Taipei Game Show has emerged as a massive success, bringing together 275 vendors from 25 countries and showcasing 250 games and consoles. This year's event was a celebration of gaming and technology, offering a glimpse into the future of the industry. Some of the highlights include:

• The Asia Pacific Game Summit, which hosted physical conferences and explored the latest trends in gaming

• The Metaverse Forum, which focused on the trend of metaverse-related technologies for brands and the impact they would have on the industry

• The B2C Zone that was packed with gamers, offering a chance for attendees to get hands-on with the latest games and consoles

• The 10th anniversary celebration of "Tower of Saviors," a major draw with fans lining up to play and meet the developers

• Xbox, which made a big impression, presenting its PC Game Pass and showcasing new works; and

• A range of events including cosplay contests, gaming tournaments, and special exhibitions

🚩 Web3.0, metaverse, and fan engagement: The building blocks of futuristic gaming and esports

The gaming and esports industries are growing, and businesses are looking for new methods to engage fans and generate brand loyalty. Web3 and the metaverse provide a solution to this problem by allowing people to own and control their digital assets in a decentralized environment.

Web3 enables fans to own and exchange virtual things and currencies, resulting in a new level of interaction with their favorite games and brands. The metaverse, a virtual environment accessible via the internet, also plays an important part in fan engagement by allowing fans to communicate with one another as well as with the games and companies they support. Companies who embrace these innovations will have a competitive advantage in terms of fan engagement, as well as the ability to deepen customer connections and establish new income sources.

🏃‍♂️Quick hits

• In an innovative approach to healthcare education, Abdullah Alosaimi, a nurse based in Jeddah, has developed an interactive game called "Syringe and Pandemic" to help healthcare professionals hone their skills. The game presents players with realistic scenarios that require quick thinking and precise decision-making, providing an engaging and effective way for healthcare professionals to sharpen their abilities.

• GamesPad, a holistic blockchain gaming ecosystem, has made a major move to expand its capabilities by acquiring Aguascalien3D, an AR, VR, and 3D development company. The acquisition will help GamesPad become a one-stop-shop for everything gaming, NFT, and metaverse, with Aguascalien3D serving as its AR/VR/3D development arm.

• The Master Certificate in Metaverse Game Design is a nine-month practice-based program that trains developers how to use Unreal Engine, the gaming framework behind popular games like Fortnite. At the end of this course, developers will create their own multiplayer game as a proof of concept.

• RobotEra is a GameFi platform that allows players to design and build their own unique robots. What makes it unique is the level of customization it offers, with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that allows players to reflect their personal style and interests in their robots. Robots can be upgraded by purchasing in-game NFTs designed by the community.

• W3E, the web3 esports organizer, has announced three tournaments to keep up the excitement in the Web3 esports scene: the W3E Creator Championships, W3E Company Clash, and W3E Premier League. These tournaments will take place in EV.IO, a first-person shooter game on Solana. The W3E Creator Championships will gather well-known content creators and Web3 personalities, the W3E Company Clash will host eight web3 companies, and the W3E Premier League will feature 16 esports teams battling in a 15-week tournament system.

💸 Finance buzz

• Latent Technology, based in London, has raised $2.1M to develop advanced animation technology for virtual worlds and gaming avatars. In contrast to the existing system, which uses hundreds of manually crafted animations, this business uses AI-driven animation and genuine physical laws to allow virtual characters to move in a really precise manner in real time. (Source)

• WEMADE and Metagravity have formed a strategic alliance to integrate WEMADE's blockchain technology into Metagravity's metaverse engine, with the goal of transforming everyday games and establishing the WEMIX token as a key currency in the gaming industry. (Source)

🗣️ Quote of the week

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.

If you enjoyed this content, Subscribe here and stay informed via our Twitter to get your fix of metaverse gaming news. See you next Thursday!

90% of Gen Z in the US spend an average of 12.19 hours per week playing video games and participating in virtual worlds, according to the A New Era of Engagement in Media & Entertainment Report. (Source)