Square Enix invests in NFT gaming company, Beeple talks NFT art future and more

by · January 4, 2023

Nonfungible token (NFT)-friendly Japanese gaming giant Square Enix has invested 7 billion yen ($52.7 million) in game developer Gumi to create “high-quality” mobile games, blockchain games and a Metaverse initiative, among other things.

Gumi mobile game: Gumi

According to a translation of the press release, the partnership will help Gumi leverage certain intellectual properties from Square Enix, while it has also teased that the duo could team up for a gaming NFT-focused marketplace.

“We are already considering establishing a platform dedicated to blockchain games and an NFT marketplace, etc. Through cooperation between the two companies, we will offer a one-stop service from the development and distribution of blockchain games to the sale and distribution of tokens and NFTs. “

The company also outlined plans to work on a number of NFT games that will likely have metaverse integrations. The Japanese company has outlined a quirky new term called “Wow and Earn”, which essentially refers to games built from world-famous IP that are integrated with blockchain-based play-to-earn (P2E) features.

“In the future, as we consider the use of powerful content that everyone recognizes, we will break away from the highly speculative blockchain games of the past and create value while enjoying fun and excitement. “We strongly recognize the need for game users worldwide to create a blockchain game that realizes ‘Wow and Earn,'” the release said.

Gumi also stated that it is “working day and night” to develop its metaverse-focused part of the business, as it looks to add another source of revenue outside of mobile games.

Gumi previously worked with Square Enix on a couple of mobile games as part of the Final Fantasy Brave Exvius series, and both firms are partners in the Oasys blockchain gaming project, which is building its own network designed exclusively for P2E gaming.

Beeple outlines the future of NFTs and art

Michael Winkelmann, the widely successful digital artist also known as Beeple, believes that all physical art in the future will one day have an NFT attached to it.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal on December 23, Beeple suggested that NFTs will help the art industry tremendously by providing superior methods for tracking provenance and storing verifiably authentic data.

“I think eventually all paintings will have NFTs attached just because again, it’s a better system than just giving you a piece of paper,” he said, adding that:

“If you had a standardization around ‘this is a painting’, you could have all the origins in the metadata of that NFT. You could have [that data on] where that painting was shown. So everything is there and it is searchable in a database.”

As such, he believes that NFTs will ultimately help build a standardized art database that “everyone relies on.”

Beeple: Wall Street Journal

Pokemon takes NFT company to court

The Pokémon Company International has taken an Australian company to court for advertising an unlicensed NFT-based Pokémon game, according to documents filed in the Federal Court of Australia.

The company in question is called “Pokémon Pty Ltd” and it has announced an unlicensed “metauniverse” P2E game on Ethereum called Pokeworld.

Pokeworld: Pokémon Pty Ltd

On its website, it also claims to have worked on a number of official Pokémon games in the past, while it also claims to have an official partnership with Pokémon Company International.

However, in the court documents, the Pokémon IP holders seek to prevent Pokémon Pty Ltd from representing that they have a license, partnership or rights to sell Pokémon NFTs.

It has also asked the company to stop launching the game, and promote it using Pokémon trademarks on its website and social media.

HSBC trademarks

British multinational megabank HSBC has filed virtual trademarks for its name and logo, outlining potential plans for a range of NFT, blockchain and metaverse products.

In its filing, highlighted by licensed trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis via Twitter on December 23, HSBC lists a variety of products and services, including downloadable virtual NFT goods and files, virtual world-friendly debit cards, NFT music and video content files.

The metaverse appears to be a strong focus in the filing, as it also says it is looking into offering financial advisory and entertainment services in the metaverse and other virtual worlds.

Other good news

Hackers linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group are reportedly behind a massive phishing campaign targeting NFT investors – using nearly 500 phishing domains to dupe victims.

NFT marketplace OpenSea has banned artists and collectors from Cuba, citing US sanctions as the main reason behind the move.