Walmart Enters Metaverse, ‘@NFT’ Founder Hacked & More

by · October 23, 2022

American retail giant Walmart has taken its first steps into the Metaverse with the launch of Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play on Roblox.

According to the company’s Monday announcement, Walmart Land focuses on “immersive experiences,” with key features including a physics-defying Ferris wheel, unlockable tokens and badges, an interactive piano aisle and a DJ booth for users.

Products from Lottie London, Bubble, UOMA by Sharon C and other brands will also appear in the virtual world, along with a store of virtual goods, or “verch”, for the user’s avatars.

In October, Walmart Land will add a motion-capture concert called Electric Fest, featuring performances from music artists YUNGBLUD, Madison Beer and Kane Brown.

Meanwhile, Walmart’s Universe of Play offers games featuring products and characters from Jurassic World, Paw Patrol, Magic Mixies and Razor Scooters, and the ability to explore play worlds, earn coins and redeem them for virtual goods.

The retail company first signaled intentions to enter the Metaverse after filing a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on December 30, covering its own “digital currency” and “digital token,” while a separate application covered a trademark for the Walmart brand in virtual reality and augmented reality.

The founder of the now-banned “@NFT” account gets hacked

Leverage Game Media co-founder Jason Falovitch was the victim of a hack over the weekend with his account on NFT marketplace OpenSea wiped out by a Mutant and Bored Ape and two Doodles.

Falovitch has claimed that the hack has cost him over $1 million in Ether (ETH) and NFTs.

Falovitch is also the founder of the since-banned “@NFT” Instagram and Twitter handles, both of which have been suspended after repeated violations of the platform’s community guidelines, following allegations of promoting NFT projects without proper disclosure.

In a post to his more than 170,000 Twitter followers on Sunday, Falovitch, known as jfx on Twitter, said he was hacked the night before and urged the public not to buy any of the items or anything else from his wallet.

Falovitch is known among the community as the founder of the “@NFT” account on Twitter and Instagram. He is also the co-founder of Leverage Game Media, a company he co-founded with American billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban that owns NFT assets and claims to help promote NFT projects through major social sports sites.

However, his past involvement with the banned social media accounts has not escaped some of the grudge community members, with some calling the recent hack “karma”.

Pixelmon rises from the ashes

After a less than stellar response to the launch of its NFT collection back in February, Pixelmon has returned with a new plan and fresh leadership under LiquidX, a Web3 venture capital studio.

According to the company’s statement, LiquidX acquired a 60% stake in the project, and LiquidX co-founder Giulio Xiloyannis will serve as CEO of Pixelmon.

Earlier this year, many early coiners of the Pixelmon NFT collection were disappointed after the project revealed the finished art in February, which ended up falling well short of expectations.

However, under new management, the updated Pixelmon Roadmap now turns the underwhelming monsters from the original NFT collection into 3D characters that can be used in the upcoming Pixelmon massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).

Pixelmon was originally supposed to launch a playable alpha of the MMORPG before the end of 2022, but now alpha testing for the game will begin in Q1 2023, with the game now set for a late 2023 release.

The new roadmap under LiquidX also includes the future launch of virtual land NFTs and separate utility and governance tokens to power Pixelmon’s economy.

AC Milan partners with Solana-based MonkeyLeague

Professional football club AC Milan (Rossoneri) has signed a new deal with MonkeyLeague, a Web3 football game built on the Solana blockchain – becoming yet another sports brand to leverage the technology for fan engagement.

The partnership will see the creation of exclusive AC Milan-branded NFT game assets, including new players for the game, skins, in-game clothing and stadiums.

Casper Stylsvig, chief revenue officer of AC Milan, said the club is “thrilled” and called the collaboration “which allows us to strengthen our positioning in digital innovation”.

According to the MonkeyLeague website, the game is a Web3-based esports game that will allow users to build and manage a dream team of at least six MonkeyPlayer NFTs, compete against other players and climb the league ranks.

AC Milan was founded back in 1899 and are currently the reigning champions of Serie A, Italy’s top-flight football division.

Related: Disney Seeks Corporate Counsel for “Emerging Technologies” and NFTs

More good news:

Reddit Avatar NFTs have seen erratic price performance in recent months, with Reddit user u/Warfared posting an analysis tracking the exchange of NFTs on trading platform OpenSea.

The co-founder of NFTGo, Tony Ling, believes that the mainstream presence in the NFT space is not a game changer, but innovation will be a key factor in its adoption.