Gaming

Zynga’s free Sugartown Oras NFTs spotlight the power of mystery in the digital asset realm as prices surge on speculation.

Oasys, a blockchain-based game development platform, will team up with non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace αU market and cryptocurrency wallet αU Wallet – a crypto wallet by KDDI, one of Japan’s top three telecom companies – for users to trade NFTs on the αU market. See related article: Weekly Market Wrap: ETF developments bolsters Bitcoin above […]

Blockchain games are often touted as the next big thing. Joseph Cooper, CEO of Earn Alliance, takes a hard look at the industry’s challenges and how to overcome them.

Wreck League: New PVP NFT game with custom mechs set to dominate. Partnerships with Yuga Labs and Bored Ape Yacht Club promise big potential in shifting NFT market landscape.

The latest in blockchain gaming has shades of game tech and development from the Web2 era. Is this a regression — or sign of a maturing industry?

Bitcoin and Ether fell during Monday afternoon trading in Hong Kong, with XRP leading losses in the top 10 non-stablecoin cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Investor sentiment remained subdued given regulatory concerns and a lack of positive catalysts, industry experts told Forkast.

NFT trading volumes continue to stay low but gaming NFTs gave traders some positive news this week.

CyberKongz plans a shift to the Ronin blockchain alongside Axie Infinity as Sky Mavis gears up for its first PFP collection and third-party NFT mint.

Sky Mavis, the Vietnam-based firm behind breakout play-to-earn title Axie Infinity, has announced a partnership with the CyberKongz non-fungible token (NFT) project to introduce the Genkai collection to the Ronin blockchain for the first time. In this exclusive interview, Forkast Lab’s NFT strategist Yehudah Petscher speaks to Kathleen Osgood – Director for Business Development of Sky […]

Already home to most of the world’s gamers, Asia has a rich pedigree in seeding and embracing new technologies, writes Robbie Ferguson of Immutable.

Top blockchain and crypto news: Standard Chartered eyes US$120,000 per Bitcoin | Another week of declines in NFT market | Sega and Line team up.

Zebedee, a New Jersey-based payments technology firm, will allow Minecraft players to earn Bitcoin by completing in-game quests.

The Japanese gaming giant is currently somewhere in the Web 2.3 to 2.7 range, says co-Chief Operating Officer Shuji Utsumi.

Japanese multinational gaming firm Sega Corp. is withdrawing from blockchain-based games as play-to-earn games are “boring,” according to Shuji Utsumi, the company’s co-chief operating officer cited by Bloomberg on Friday. 

From pay-to-play arcade video games to sales of home consoles, gaming’s evolution into peer-to-peer marketplaces is posing a new challenge to the status quo, writes Jackson Poon.

Despite its potential, Web3 gaming has had mixed reviews from gamers and developers, writes Freddie Ng. Here are the challenges and opportunities.

In the Land of the Rising Sun, where the culture and ethos already align with the principles of blockchain games, the dawn of a new era of in gaming has arrived, writes Daiki Moriyama of Oasys.

Opinions about Web3 gaming remain divided, but it’s undeniable that NFTs and GameFi offer players big opportunities, writes Ramona Ciocea of Protokol.

While the community might be small, there’s a growing buzz around Web3 in Japan, with overseas companies now taking note. For clues on how to make it big in the land of the rising sun, follow the lead of the nation’s largest firms, says Sebastien Guillemot, co-founder of Paima Studios.

It’s currently fashionable to publicly knock blockchain gaming, but behind closed doors, a growing number of developers are realizing its potential, writes Tim Dierckxsens of Venly.

NFTs are changing in-game item ownership and value, yet the gaming industry remains skeptical. With microtransactions set to exceed $76 billion this year, it’s time for gamers to understand the benefits of NFT technology.

The lack of clarity in crypto rules in the U.S. not only affects exchanges but also this U.S.-based blockchain gaming company, John Linden said.

Crypto’s share of venture capital money is now going to artificial intelligence, says Mysten Labs founder, Evan Cheng.

Securing keys is an issue that has bedeviled the crypto world, as the $600M Ronin and $300M Wormhole heists have painfully shown. Is there a better way?

Momoguro: Holoself, an Ethereum-native non-fungible token (NFT) collection launched by Emmy-winning animation studio, Baobab Studios, generated over 12,000 sales worth US$7.6 million on the first day of its launch, according to NFT data aggregator CryptoSlam. See related article: Weekly NFT sales drop, unique buyers surge amid Coinbase’s new NFT airdrop Fast facts See related article: […]

The metaverse has the potential to make the real world more just and inclusive, writes Sébastien Borget of The Sandbox. Here are the key ingredients for its future success.

Web3 gaming could see a huge turn in growth in 2023. Is there potential for this industry to match the growth and performance of the mainstream video game industry?

Many gamers still oppose NFTs and blockchain gaming, overlooking the myriad benefits of the latest technology, writes Ramona Ciocea of Protokol.

Investors may view Web3 through the lens of financial opportunities and revenue, but that misses the point of trying to build a fairer and more transparent infrastructure, with content creators at the forefront, says Mysten Labs co-founder Evan Cheng

A South Korean court ruled against the release of a blockchain P2E game last Friday after determining that in-game NFTs promote speculation.

Yosuke Matsuda, the president of Square Enix, has reaffirmed the gaming company’s commitment to blockchain technology.

Japan-based game company Gumi has announced a business alliance with Square Enix SBI Holdings to grow its metaverse business.

Several venture funds tell Forkast they have become conservative and are only investing in ‘true believers’ of Web 3.0

Stablecoins in USD are becoming the digital world’s default currency — which burdens ordinary crypto users and monetary policies in smaller nations, writes Wei Zhou of Coins.ph.

The Philippines might have moved on from Axie Infinity and other NFT collections, but its still steaming ahe

Blockchain adoption in the Philippines is struggling because businesses are focused on survival, according to Dr. Donald Lim, lead convenor at Philippine Blockchain Week in Manila.

The delisting poses a great obstacle to the game maker’s growing blockchain empire, while Wemade’s CEO blames the crypto exchange

South Korea-based blockchain game developer Wemade is working on a fix for WEMIX after four major crypto exchanges in the country added the cryptocurrency to an “investment warning” list for inaccurately reporting circulation numbers.

The future of the burgeoning Web3 sector will be gaming and non-fungible tokens, said Eric Anziani of global digital asset exchange Crypto.com.

A stablecoin that is not stable is an ‘oxymoron,’ said Henry Chang, CEO of South Korea-based blockchain game developer Wemade.

WEMADE, a South Korean blockchain game developer, recently launched its stablecoin, WEMIX$, for growing its blockchain ecosystem, which houses NFTs and DeFi.

Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd., a Tokyo-based video game company, announced a recruitment effort for 13 new positions to integrate its game titles with Web3 and metaverse technologies. See related article: NFTs may be the next killer app for video games, but some traditional players object Fast facts The game developer is planning to launch […]

India’s financial crime fighting agency has frozen additional cryptocurrencies worth around US$58,000 as part of an ongoing money laundering probe against mobile gaming application E-Nuggets and its former executive. See related article:  Indian authorities probe alleged $125 mln money laundering cases involving crypto, report says Fast facts The additional cryptocurrencies include WRX, the utility token […]

Beyond the bear market, Web3 technology is shining bright in gaming and music, writes Hannes Graah of Gro. Are we at a tipping point for mass adoption?

South Korea will issue a guideline for regulating the metaverse instead of applying existing law on video games, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced at a government briefing on Wednesday. See related article: S.Korea’s science ministry announces ethical principles for the metaverse Fast facts The guideline that will be used to better promote […]

Over US$30 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea-linked hackers has been seized by law enforcement, with the help of crypto organizations like the Chainalysis Crypto Incident Response Team. See related article: North Korea behind Ronin hack: US Fast facts This marks the first time that digital assets stolen from North Korean hacking groups […]

GameStop shares jumped over 11% in after-market trading on Wednesday following an announced partnership with the cryptocurrency exchange giant FTX US, which will focus on “new e-commerce and online marketing initiatives.” See related article: FTX agrees to help South Korea’s Busan build its own crypto exchange Fast facts The announcement came in tandem with GameStop’s […]

Axie Infinity’s decline shows that earning can’t be everything, writes Riaz Lalani of Gambit Games. What went wrong with P2E and what can we learn from it?

Are you a good runner? Or eater? Or sleeper? Chances are whatever you’re good at, there’s a Web3 project out there to reward you in crypto. But do the tokenomics stack up?

Singapore state-backed fund is leading a US$100 million funding round into Hong Kong-based blockchain and game venture Animoca Brands, Bloomberg reported.  See related article: Singapore’s Temasek says doesn’t own Bitcoin, but prepping for tokenized assets Fast facts Temasek will make the investment through convertible bonds, according to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg. Temasek has been […]

The hackers responsible for stealing US$610 million worth of crypto from Axie Infinity’s Ronin bridge back in March have since transferred most funds from ETH into BTC using renBTC and privacy tools like Blender, ChipMixer, and TornadoCash, according to a report. See related article: Axie Infinity blockchain Ronin hacked for over $600M Fast facts The […]

Follow the money? Korea Blockchain Week concludes this weekend in Seoul and one of the overarching themes is enthusiasm for blockchain-based gaming as the key to opening up a Web3 world to a broader audience.

Today’s special episode of The Daily Forkast, we take a deeper on location in Seoul, at the sold-out Korea Blockchain Week.

Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki said on Wednesday the metaverse platform will begin testing an immersive advertising system later this year as a potential means to increase revenue. See related article: Naver’s Zepeto metaverse starts blockchain initiative with Solana Fast facts See related article: How can I become a metaverse real estate mogul?

South Korea’s new administration under President Yoon Suk-yeol will likely abolish its ban on blockchain and play-to-earn gaming in 2023, Henry Chang, CEO of South Korea-based video game developer Wemade, said in a media interview joined by Forkast on Tuesday at Korea Blockchain Week 2022. See related article: NFT gaming to drive wider blockchain adoption, […]

Blockchain gaming will likely remain a key driving force for wider Web 3.0 adoption, and the gaming sector will be “quite hit-driven” over the next 12 months, Robbie Ferguson, cofounder of Immutable — which builds Immutable X, a layer-2 scaling solution on Ethereum — told Forkast on Tuesday at Korea Blockchain Week 2022. See related […]

Mythical Games, a California-based studio that developed non-fungible token (NFT) game Blankos Block Party, focuses more on in-game assets than the earning aspects of its games, Chief Executive Officer John Linden told Forkast on Tuesday at Korea Blockchain Week 2022. See related article: Play-to-earn game developers pivot to engaging fans Fast facts “We are going […]

Immutable has let go of about 6% of its workforce, including lead designer James Wakeham who was involved in the development of the game developer’s popular non-fungible token (NFT) game Gods Unchained.  See related article: Play-to-earn game developers pivot to engaging fans Fast facts A spokesperson from Immutable’s U.S. branch told gaming media outlet Kotaku […]

Developers behind Minecraft, one of the biggest video games in the world, said they are not looking to support integration with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or blockchain technology, arguing they “encourage profiteering.” See related article: Polium’s NFT/Web3 game console plan meets with plenty of skepticism Fast facts In a recent blog post, developer Mojang Studios said […]

Crypto trading volumes plummet as the crypto winter continues. Meanwhile, India calls on G20 to share information on crypto.

The country’s major game developers continue to focus on overseas markets as there are no signs of a thaw in the government’s stance on games that include elements of blockchain and play-to-earn.

A focus on economic sustainability, or play-and-earn, is driving the P2E industry to rein in incentives and instead attract and engage gamers in the hope that they will end up spending on in-game assets.

Players are being educated to turn into writers, content creators, streamers or e-sports players as earnings from play-to-earn games aren’t enough to substitute for a day job.

A large number of Japanese Web 3.0 companies are moving to or at least setting up new offices in Singapore, executives from Japanese blockchain gaming infrastructure builder Oasys told Forkast on Friday. See related article: Japan’s government approves policy to drive Web 3.0 adoption Fast facts Japanese firms operating in the Web3 sector need to […]

Web 3.0 company Polium’s plan to make the world’s first “multi-chain gaming console” to support games across different blockchains is an ambitious goal that has met a chorus of skepticism.  See related article: What is Axie Infinity and how is it ushering in gaming 3.0? Fast facts Polium, a startup that first announced its plans […]

Bitcoin CEO Roger Ver denies defaulting on a loan to CoinFLEX. Meanwhile, Youtuber Bitboy takes aim at Celsius Network.

Sky Mavis’ Ronin Bridge is back online after one of the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) heists in history prompted a three-month network hiatus, Ronin announced in a Tuesday newsletter. See related article: Are we helpless against attacks on blockchain bridges? Fast facts Ronin Bridge is used by non-fungible token (NFT) game Axie Infinity players to […]

Forkast x CryptoSlam! is proud to present Moments in NFT History — a new video series hosted by Forkast’s Joel Flynn, that gives you a front-row seat of history-in-the-making. In Episode Two, we take a look at the aftermath of the CryptoKitties craze — this time, it’s NFT unicorns. Watch and learn, and you might […]

The right balance of regulations can better protect gaming companies’ intellectual property as well as players’ assets, writes Henry Chang of Wemade.

The future world will run on digital money—the most trusted being Bitcoin, writes André Neves of Zebedee. Here’s how gaming can bring BTC to the masses.

Untamed Planet has closed a Series A funding round led by Animoca Brands and built a partnership with Animoca’s video game arm nWay to create a natural world in the metaverse, Animoca said in a press release. See related article: Need for Speed gets Hong Kong’s Animoca in driver’s seat Fast facts The project, the […]

Crypto rookie Joel Stein dives into Axie Infinity and the curious economics of ‘play to earn.’ Will his teenage gaming dreams come true?