Weekly Digest

March continues to be the month of major news as gaming companies are making big moves in blockchain and Web3 gaming. Nexon ditches Polygon and shifts MapleStory to Avalanche. While Illuvium discusses governance and rewards. Sony introduces super-fungible tokens for trading in-game assets. Not to be outdone Ubisoft continues its expansion into Web3 by joining XPLA. Apeiron launched its $APRS token on Ronin for its ecosystem. Animoca Brands partners with KACST in Saudi Arabia. HYCHAIN launched its mainnet ahead of HYTOPIA's beta. And GAIMIN unveiled a Web3 game launcher platform.

Also in our weekly digest:

• CCP Games reveals details of survival game Project Awakening

• Nakamoto Games plans to expand its gaming platform

• Aether Games is holding its $AEG Launch Tournament

• Hall of GOATS has partnered with Xai

• Gala Games is still going strong with abundance of updates

• Web3 gaming offers more vibrant gaming ecosystem than trad games

• MetaCene has secured a $10 million raise during its Private A funding round

The Future of Gaming: Layer 2 and 3 solutions 

Web3 Gaming News of the Week🎮

• EVE developer CCP Games has revealed the first details of a blockchain-based survival game called Project Awakening

• Nexon's MapleStory Universe ditches Polygon and shifts to Avalanche for blockchain gaming expansion

• Illuvium Governance update discusses revenue share, Open Beta features, smurf accounts, and Fuel Crate Airdrop

• Sony is introducing super-fungible tokens to allow players to own, trade, and sell in-game assets

• Ubisoft Expands Web3 Presence and joins XPLA as a Network Validator

• Readyverse, a metaverse inspired by the Ready Player One book and film, has teased a battle royale game called Open

• TURNUP, the number one game on Polygon, is launching the first-ever Bid & Earn NFT Auction

• Nakamoto Games plans to expand its Play2Earn gaming platform in March

• Aether Games is holding its $AEG Launch Tournament from March 8th to April 8th

• Big Time launches a new crafting event called The Lost Weapons of Ancient Egypt

• Hall of GOATS has partnered with Xai, a layer-3 gaming network on Arbitrum

• Gangster Arena, an idle on-chain game, is launching a public playtest with a reward of 1 million $FIAT tokens

• Oxya Origin has announced a Private Beta for their third-person survival shooter, Road to Genesis

• DeRace has expanded its Sugar Cubes in-game rewards, allowing players to reduce breeding cool-downs for NFT horses

Gala Games Still Going Strong

After the recent founder turmoil, Gala Games is still very relevant in the Web3 blockchain gaming space. A $1 million GalaChain GDC 2024 Hackathon in collaboration with AWS and Alienware is being hosted to inspire creativity among developers. Alongside this, they've announced the return of Fuzzle NFTs, AI companions created by EndlessAI, to the GalaChain ecosystem, enhancing the gaming experience.

In a move towards decentralized governance, Gala Games has revised its Referral Incentive System proposal, allowing Founder's Node operators to vote on it. This aligns with their upcoming game, Last Expedition, which will feature an in-game economy with earnable currencies minted on GalaChain, blurring the lines between virtual and real economies. Furthermore, Gala Games has partnered with PlanX to create community-oriented, ownership-empowered gaming experiences, underscoring their commitment to liberating players and encouraging a sense of ownership within the gaming ecosystem. These initiatives remind us of Gala Games' pulling power in the blockchain gaming industry, offering opportunities for players, developers, and partners alike.

• Wemade adds Chainlink CCIP integration ahead of Night Crows’ launch

• Mobile crypto gaming platform BlockGames announced its new BLOCK token through an airdrop farming campaign

• French mobile gaming publisher TapNation has partnered with Immutable

• Animoca Brands signs a deal with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST)

• GAIMIN launches its Games Launcher platform for Web3 gaming

• The Tezos Foundation grants funds to Oxalus.io, the developers of Auto Hero

• The Starknet Foundation has formed a 50 million $STRK Gaming Committee

• Apeiron is launching its ecosystem token, $APRS, on the Ronin Network 

• The HYCHAIN Mainnet went live ahead of the HYTOPIA beta release

• The Machines Arena has introduced a new feature allowing players to mint character skins earned in-game as NFTs

• The Sandbox's VoxEdit Contest invites creatives to create Easter-themed voxel art

• TCG World collaborates with Chooky Records for Busta Rhymes

• Ambrus Studio has announced the launch of E4C:Games Fallen Arena and Final Salvation on Sui

• Castle of Blackwater launches its March beta season, featuring exclusive faceoffs and prizes

• Soccerverse has launched its final public open beta phase, featuring over 3500 clubs from 90+ countries and 120k players

• Magnificent Century and The Sandbox are partnering to create a virtual Sultanate experience for fans

• Frutti Dino announces Q1 2024 game updates, focusing on improving FDT and NFTs utility

Web3 Gaming Trends 🚀

• Weiwei Geng believes blockchain can revolutionize the gaming industry by offering a more inclusive and vibrant gaming ecosystem

• Web3 gaming is gaining popularity, leading to a shift in mobile games and entertainment

• Indonesia's People's Consultative Assembly chairman, Bambang Soesatyo, has expressed support for Creo Engine

Web3 Funding News 💸

• MetaCene has secured a $10 million raise during its Private A funding round

• Studio369 has raised $5 million to develop MetalCore, an open-world, PvP mech combat game built on Web3

• Memeinator has raised $6.5 million in its ICO, with the team optimistic about the presale selling out quickly

• Oneness Labs secured $4 million in seed funding to develop the Oneness Matrix

• Blockus, a web3 gaming tech stack and payments provider, has raised $4 million in pre-seed funding

Alpha Test, Early Access & Hands-On Gaming ⚒️

Apeiron’s APRS token sale on Ronin, 12th-15th March

Kaidro’s first NFT mint on Ronin, 14th March

Oxya Origin closed beta with $15,000 prize pool, 15-24th March

Last Remains third alpha playtest, 16th March

WOW Summit, Hong Kong, 26-27th March

Autonomous Anonymous fully onchain game event, Lisbon, 16-18th April

Southeast Asia Blockchain Week, Bangkok, 22-28th April

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See you same place same time next week!

❤❤❤

Yoda