Enter the afterlife in style, Solana NFT game demo hits Epic store and more
The company behind the Spartan Race has released a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that will immortalize the names of the first holders in stone, with plans to build a 35ft (10.5m) statue in ancient Sparta surrounded by 15 000 name-engraved stones.
Spartan founder and CEO Joe De Sena plans to bury his ashes under his stone at the site called the “Spartan 300 Memorial” which will pay tribute to the ancient Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartans are said to have fought and were killed.
Of the 15,000 NFTs, 300 will be “Super Rare” with holders of that NFT type given the option to spread their ashes over the memorial after their death, which could lead to it being one of the first NFT collections to provide some a final resting place.
Owners can sell NFTs on markets such as OpenSea, but it is unclear whether this burial benefit is transferred to the new owner.
The passes retail for $3,000 and also grant holders up to nine years of unlimited access to all Spartan-branded events, including the 70-hour “Death Race” and its “Tough Mudder” obstacle course, as well as exclusive merch drops.
NFT holders will also gain access to an exclusive annual event where they can train with professional athletes as well as test the fitness brands’ products and obstacles.
Star Atlas launches demo on the Epic Games store
Solana (SOL)-based NFT game Star Atlas has launched its first playable pre-alpha on September 29th through the Epic Games store for owners of the NFTs, allowing them to see vehicles they have purchased in the game’s environment.
Star Atlas is an open world space exploration strategy game set in the year 2620 where players can buy and sell NFTs that represent vehicles such as spaceships, players also collect resources to sell on the in-game market and join political factions.
The “showroom” pre-alpha demo is powered by Unreal Engine 5, a 3D creation tool released in April by Epic Games and used in its flagship game Fortnite.
The Star Atlas developers have also launched an open source tool, The Foundation Software Development Kit (F-KIT), which allows Unreal Engine 5 developers to more easily integrate their titles into the Solana blockchain.
Build-A-Bear Enters Web3
Stuffed animal retailer Build-A-Bear Workshop is entering Web3, partnering with NFT Marketplace Sweet to launch its first NFT collection to celebrate its 25th year in business.
The NFTs will be minted on the Polygon (MATIC) blockchain and will begin with the October auction of a physical and digital package that includes a unique physical teddy bear encrusted with Swarovski crystals along with the NFT counterpart.
Another November auction will offer five silver teddy NFTs also accompanied by matching physical counterparts before a December launch of 5,000 NFTs are made available for public coinage.
CryptoPunk is selling for 3300 ETH
A rare CryptoPunk has sold on NFT marketplace OpenSea for 3,300 Ethereum (ETH), worth over $4.4 million, to an anonymous buyer on September 28, marking the fourth highest sale in terms of ETH spent according to data from DappRadar.
Related: NFT trading volume plunges 98% from January despite increase in adoption
CryptoPunk #2924 has rare attributes such as being a “monkey” type, of which only 24 exist in the 10,000 person collection. It also has one “accessory” – a hoodie which is a rarity in the collection, and even more so since it is the only “monkey” to have one.
The most expensive CryptoPunk ever sold was purchased for 124,457 ETH, worth over $530 million at the time of purchase in October 2021
More good news:
Warner Music Group announced a partnership with NFT marketplace OpenSea to allow select artists to launch NFT collections on customizable and dedicated landing pages to build their Web3 presence.
Facebook and Instagram users in 100 countries can connect their crypto wallets to post and share NFTs across both platforms with parent company Meta supporting digital assets from the Ethereum, Polygon and Flow blockchains.
