Weekly Digest

December is the month to be merry as Epic Games reverses its decision and welcomes back Gods Unchained onto its platform. Immutable's new Passport acts as a unified profile for Web3 gamers. Parallel and others take top honors at the GAM3 Awards as the industry continues to push forward. Improbable offloads its gaming business. Nifty Island is set to release the biggest play-to-airdrop yet?

Also in our weekly digest:

• Solana’s Aurory is exploited for $830K orth of its native AURY coins

• A new gaming HUB in Lisbon, Portugal to support web3 startups

• The Sandbox switches from Eth to Polygon for its digital marketplace

• DWF Labs invested in MOBOX

• Rumble Kong's League tokenomics revealed by co-founder

• MapleStory Universe receives $100M

• Pegaxy creator moves to Mirai Chain, a new Avalanche Subnet

A new series has started - Gaming Gems by Yoda Labs

We dissect the gaming gems for you on the progress, gameplay, partners, team, NFTs, ecosystem, tokenomics and the future potential 👀🔮 

GAMEE👇️ 

Web3 Gaming News of the Week🎮

• Axie Infinity Announces Major Update: Axies Can Now Evolve on App.axie

• Nifty Island is gearing up for the game release and airdrop

• Ultra has announced Project Citadel, an exclusive PC FPS built on its blockchain

• Shrapnel confirms the launch of early access STX.01 to arrive in the New Year and has a $3M prize pool

• Ubisoft's Web3 game, Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles, has achieved $2 million in NFT sales after its release

• Animoca Brands has partnered with T&B Media Global for cross-promotion between their NFT projects Mocaverse and Mittaria

• The Mythical team shuts down PC version of Blankos Block Party, and goes all in on small screen

• Rumble Kong’s League tokenomics have been unveiled as recent developments are discussed regarding the LEAGUE game

• Immutable Passport has become a new gamer profile in the Web3 world, integrating with playable games and marketplaces

• Improbable the company behind Otherside has sold its gaming subsidiary to Keywords Studios for nearly $100 million

• Solana-based web3 game Aurory was exploited for $830,000 worth of its native AURY tokens

• Ragnarok Landverse, a web3 MMORPG game based on the Ragnarok Online (RO) IP, is set to release major updates in December

• NexGami has completed its beta testing of its Web3 game, Metavirus, which initially had a limit of 100,000 players

• Gamifly will bring its CricketFly flagship game to WEMIX PLAY, the blockchain gaming platform

• Gods Unchained is back on the Epic Games Store as the company does a U-turn welcoming back Web3 gaming on Epic Games

• InGame Esports has secured two awards at the Dragons of Asia Awards

• ICC will host a Web3 Gaming Event and ICC Camp Opening Ceremony at the Hong Kong Web3.0 Startup Summit

• IQ Protocol partners with 19 major gaming projects for a $20,000+ community giveaway

• Pegaxy & Petopia creator Mirai Labs migrates their operations to the Mirai Chain a new Avalanche Subnet

• Gaming platform Metacade is emerging as a leader in the space after launching its mainnet beta

• Nazara Technologies Ltd. plans to launch five games through its gaming development arm, Nazara Publishing, in 2024

• Overworld has announced a strategic partnership with Horizen Labs Ventures to launch an impactful gaming token

• Metaplex has introduced Metaplex Inscriptions and Engravings, a new standard for on-chain assets on the Solana blockchain

• Immutable unveils a revolutionary gas-free gaming blockchain, zkEVM, which will eliminate transaction fees for players

• Moonlit Games has partnered with Merit Circle's Beam for its action RPG, Rogue Nation

• Nifty Island is set to launch on January 17

• Senet expands its services to the MENA region, has 600 game applications and is pushing the skill to earn movement

• GG MetaGame is launching an exclusive Christmas 2023 NFT collection for Original Gamers (OGs)

• The Sandbox has transitioned its digital marketplace from Ethereum to Polygon

• Blockchain Bets is introducing new services for Web3 gaming, including Arcade and Poker, and Fantasy League

• HyperPlay has announced the launch of a new integration involving MetaMask Snaps for native games

• Arthera, a leading player in the metaverse, can capitalize on the convergence of Web3 games and blockchain technology

• Lisbon has opened The Gaming Hub, a tech startup program, to foster game startups

• DWF Labs has invested in MOBOX to accelerate its growth strategy

• Forgotten Playland has Toy Story vibes and is the highly polished game coming to Avalanche, announced for Q2 2024 release

• GameOn has partnered with Sportsology to develop and support the fantasy sports infrastructure $GAME

• Striker, a web3-based fantasy gaming platform, is shutting down due to increased tax burdens following 28% GST implementation

• Delabs and Galxe have formed a strategic alliance for web3 game promotion

• The GAM3 Awards 2023 saw several winners, including Parallel, Shrapnel, Big Time, Deadrop and My Pet Hooligan

In case you missed it

The greatest Web3 games of 2023 were a major focus of last week's Gam3 Awards. 214 games were nominated, and 19 winners were selected. A combination of jury and public voting determined the winners. Game of the Year went to Parallel, while Most Anticipated Game went to Shrapnel. We have the full list for you below:

Game of the Year: Parallel
Most Anticipated Game: Shrapnel
Best Graphics: Shrapnel
Best Action Game: My Pet Hooligan
Best Mobile Game: Mighty Action Heroes
Best Adventure Game: Big Time
Best Casual Game: Pixels
Best RPG: Big Time
Best Shooter Game: Deadrop
Best Strategy Game: Parallel
Best Card Game: Parallel
Best Multiplayer Game: Big Time
Best Esports Game: Deadrop
Best Content Creator: Sam Steffanina
Best On-Chain Game: Pirate Nation
Best Fighting Game: Champions Ascension
Best Racing / Sports Game: NFL Rivals
People’s Choice Award: Star Atlas
Games’ Choice Award: Wildcard

Web3 Gaming Trends 🚀

• Web3 Games is expected to reach 100 million consumers by 2025

• GameSwift introduces GS Pay, a payment system that enables gamers to convert in-game treasures into real money

• Tiltyard is pioneering on-chain gaming tournaments with its first strategy game Midnight Heist

Web3 Funding News 💸

• Nexon invests $100M in MapleStory Universe, a Japanese video game, to boost the web3 gaming economy

• Medieval Empires has successfully raised over $7M in preparation for launching their inaugural game

• Farcana secured $10M in seed funding for their Web3 Shooter game, which incorporates NFTs and Bitcoin rewards

• Japanese DM2C Studio has raised $2.3M dollars through a token convertible bond sale from a consortium of eight companies

• SpaceCatch has raised over $1.6M in its presale token offering

Alpha Test, Early Access & Hands-On Gaming ⚒️

Wilder World Midnight in Wiami launch, 21Dec

Symbiogenesis launch, 21Dec

Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest news and announcements!

See you same place same time next week!

❤❤❤

Yoda Labs team