Gaming, entertainment embraces blockchain, metaverse, NFTs | Comment

Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology continue to be used in many industries, and the gaming and entertainment industry is by no means an exception. Gaming and entertainment venues recognize the benefits of not only paying with cryptocurrency, but also new ways to reward customers with prizes and enhance the guest experience.

Much of this investment takes place on the emerging e-sports front, which is heavily dependent on digital wallets. “Metaverset” in turn has an association with connecting activities through streaming that easily includes e-sports.

Gaming is moving forward

Community Gaming, a New York City-based e-sports tournament platform, lets players organize tournaments with easy wallet onboarding and smart contract-driven payments.

In 2019, the company switched to a hybrid platform of personal and online events using blockchain-based smart contracts to provide an all-encompassing competitive gaming experience from registration to immediate payment.

The company, with around 100,000 registered users, recently raised around $ 16 million in a Series A investment round led by SoftBank. The company wants to expand its blockchain-based subscription model that includes premium payments through this platform, and to expand to Latin America.

NFTs enter the mixture

Other e-sports operations are trying to incorporate not only cryptocurrencies, but non-fungible tokens, better known as NFTs. NFTs are cryptographic tokens found on a blockchain and can represent real-world objects such as works of art and real estate, according to Investopedia.

Sega Corp. – which has left the operation of the entertainment facility, but continues to invest in some websites through IP and continues to develop entertainment hardware – has worked on what they call “SuperGame” in collaboration with Microsoft, which will involve several titles that will include NFTs.

The streaming capacity of the new “SuperGame” will see e-sports and competing tournament elements shared across all titles under development, hoping to establish a separate “metavers” for its IP.

Several players come on board

In a similar move, Bandai Namco Entertainment recently announced plans to spend $ 130 million on a “Gundam Metaverse”, based around the flagship’s IP.

Epic Games and Lego have meanwhile raised around $ 2 billion in funding from Sony and the Lego family’s investment operation Kirkbi after collaborating to develop a “family-friendly” metaverse for children.

Epic is known for its social environment generated around its popular “Fortnite” PvP game series, which has expanded to include a large community element including live performances, film screenings and world building.

It is expected that the new development between Lego and Epic will build on this and digital toy brands.

Avatars enter the mix

In other news on the metaverse investment front, avatar developer Genies recently secured a $ 150 million investment led by Silver Lake, with the participation of Tamarack, Bond and NEA. Genies will use this investment to build its presence in the metaverse to guarantee its position in the avatar space.

Avatars, on the other hand, have become a much-discussed element in the growth of Web 3 conversations, with the virtual representation of the user in the virtual environment. The creation of digital goods, such as NFTs and celebrity recommendations that create their own avatars, is driving much interest.

Another meta-inspired investment saw Infinite Reality, a creative operation, sign an agreement to buy ReKTGlobal, an e-sports company, in a $ 470 million share purchase. This will allow the combined group to merge with Universal Security Instruments – making the combined operation public.

At the same time, the operation has started the process of raising around $ 150 million through private investment in public equity. The combined business is looking to develop content and tools to create entertainment, social media and educational properties, and will look to expand its own metaverse that will include support for e-sports.

Look for the hype to continue around the use of blockchain and NFTs in metaverse, e-sports and entertainment venues.

(Editor’s note: Excerpts from this blog are from recent coverage in The Stinger Report, published by Spider Entertainment and its director, Kevin Williams, the leading interactive entertainment news service outside the home that covers the immersive frontier and beyond.)