Daily Insights: Updates on Crypto, Blockchain, NFTs, Web3, and Play-to-Earn Gaming

The gaming industry has gone through a transformational shift in recent years, as Play-to-Earn (P2E) games with crypto and NFTs have become increasingly popular. Players can now earn real money by playing games and participating in gaming ecosystems, thanks to blockchain technology and the rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). P2E games offer an exciting opportunity for gamers to have fun while earning money at the same time.

Play-to-earn games have become increasingly popular in recent years, as players seek new and exciting ways to earn rewards for their gaming skills. From classics like Snake to modern titles like Avalanche and Tower of Defence, there are plenty of options for players looking to dive into this exciting trend. Let's take a closer look at some of the best play-to-earn games out there, including some that feature ducks!

The DappRadar report reveals that the Web3 gaming industry raised $739 million in Q1 2023, with $434 million in March alone. Good funding is essential for Web3 games to succeed, with half of March's investment ($214 million) going towards game and metaverse companies, and $159 million to infrastructure firms. Though there was an 8.58% decline in daily unique active wallets (dUAW), gaming still accounts for nearly half (45.6%) of the Web3 industry. The report suggests that the Web3 gaming industry is thriving, with significant investment and opportunities for future growth and development.

How the Adoption of Web3 Technologies is Helping the Video Gaming Industry to Grow Even More! An Analysis of the Predicted Growth, Penetration, and Revenue of the Video Games Industry from 2023 to 2027. Web3 technologies and their role in the growth of the video gaming industry is a reality now, the report highlights projections and challenges in Web3 gaming and blockchain technology integration.

The world of Web3 was buzzing with excitement as major players announced game-changing partnerships and events on "Super Sunday". Immutable and Polygon joined forces, while gamers eagerly anticipated the Eternal Dragons Tournament and Yuga Labs' second trip into the metaverse. Here's a closer look at the exciting developments shaping the future of Web3.Another edition of Super Sunday with a lot of blockchain gaming industry news. This week saw several massive developments including Immutable and Polygon, two of the big guns in the blockchain industry, joining hands to launch zkEVM. Moreover, we have Eternal Dragons Alpha Tournament, CCP Games planning an AAA blockchain game, and popular and nostalgic Neopets planning a comeback as a Web3 game. A major update by Yuga Labs this week is the launching of Second Trip to the other side, Spider Tanks releasing a massive update, and finally, Mocaverse reveals Moca NFTs.

Dive into the captivating world of NFTs, where blockchain technology meets digital art. Learn how NFTs have evolved from their inception with Bitcoin and Ethereum to becoming a major force in the art and collectibles market. Discover the story of CryptoKitties, the game that brought NFTs into the mainstream, and the groundbreaking $69 million sale by digital artist Beeple. Understand how NFTs work through smart contracts on Ethereum, providing unique, verifiable ownership of digital assets. Explore the expanding use cases of NFTs, from virtual real estate to music and fashion. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the history, impact, and future of NFTs, shedding light on why they are revolutionizing digital ownership and creativity. Whether you're a curious newbie, an artist, or an investor, this is your ultimate introduction to the vibrant world of NFTs.

4:33 Creative Labs launches its Web3 gaming platform studio Delabs in partnership with Polygon Labs to bring exciting new Web3 games for blockchain gamers.4:33 Creative Lab unveils the launch of Delabs, a new web3-focused venture for blockchain games. South Korean-based game developer has already surpassed more than 250 million downloads across its game globally.In the Polygon blockchain ecosystem, Delabs will concentrate on creating and promoting games that are unique to the blockchain. It's yet another indication that South Korean game developers, who were the first to embrace free-to-play games, are fully committing to Web3 games.In order to accomplish these objectives, Delabs has further partnered with Polygon Labs. The Web3 development business is responsible for the popular Polygon Ethereum Layer-2 scaling protocol. As a strategic partner, Delabs will be able to make use of Polygon's quick and inexpensive transactions as well as Ethereum's strong decentralization and security to easily onboard additional participants.

NFT rebranding is necessary for the mass adoption of Web3 games, Community Gaming CEO Chris Gonsalves shares his thoughts on the matter.

Amazon plans to launch its NFT marketplace next month which will feature digital collectibles and more, but what to expect from it in Web3?

The Pokemon Company is looking for a Web3 expert. The listing shows that it has plans to get into blockchain and NFT gaming, as well as the metaverse.

In this week's Super Sunday news roundup, the world of Web3 blockchain gaming has seen several significant updates and events. The trend of blockchain-based games continues to flourish, with NFT blockchain games introducing new features and collaborations, and blockchain companies forging new partnerships and projects.Lionel Messi's company has thrown its support behind the upcoming blockchain game Matchday, adding a high-profile endorsement to the game's Web3 approach. Meanwhile, prominent video game streamer Dr. Disrespect has passionately embraced NFT games, expressing enthusiasm for the technology and defending it against detractors.Immutable X, a notable player in the blockchain space, has formed a strategic partnership with entertainment giant Warner Bros. The collaboration focuses on the development of Blocklete Golf, an upcoming mobile Web3 game that enables players to fully own unique in-game assets through NFTs. The partnership highlights the growing integration of blockchain technology in the entertainment and gaming industries.However, not all news has been positive. The Sandbox, a popular metaverse company operating on the Web3 platform, recently experienced a security breach. Unauthorized third parties gained access to an employee's computer, potentially jeopardizing user information. Phishing emails were subsequently sent to users, containing links to malware that could compromise their digital assets. This incident marks a notable breach in the Web3 space and serves as a reminder of the security challenges inherent to decentralized technologies.In the realm of specific games, several notable updates have taken place:Champions Ascension has introduced team-based combat in its arena, offering players an enhanced and more complex gameplay experience. The mode includes destructible elements, power-ups, and improved targeting mechanics.The blockchain game Chronos has added a crafting system, allowing players to create NFT items and trade rare in-game finds with the Shady Merchant. This expansion enhances the player-driven economy within the game.Continuum World has launched the first live version of its blockchain game "First Explorers." The free-to-play game mode involves resource collection, structure building, and mission completion, all of which offer various rewards.These updates and events underscore the ongoing evolution and growth of Web3 blockchain gaming, showcasing its potential to reshape the gaming landscape by offering unique ownership experiences and innovative gameplay mechanics.

Next year, Square Enix will release its first NFT blockchain game. Plans for the future show that Web3 games will still be on its list.

Since its launch, Starbuck's NFT program has made over $200,000 in sales, which is a good sign. However, is it worth it for crypto fans and other people?2021 was a golden year for the crypto market, during which a lot of famous brands introduced their own NFTs, hoping that it will result in profit for their brand. However, their hopes were shattered with the downfall of cryptocurrencies, resulting in the abandoning of these ventures, as NFT sales dropped 83% compared to the previous year. With its project, Starbucks Odyssey, launched in December, Starbucks moved into the NFT space. This is a new part of their rewards program, which lets people earn points by buying coffee and playing online games and quizzes. Since December, when it started in beta with a small group of customers, the project has already raised a huge amount of money. On the secondary market, NFTs that only cost a little more than a few cups of coffee can be bought for as much as $1,900, even though they were sold for more than $200,000 in the first place.On social media, crypto fans are praising the program and saying that it's a great way for crypto to get into the mainstream. Analysts from Bank of America liked the program and said it was "more complete than the industry's previous NFT initiatives." The new batch of 2,000 Starbucks NFTs sold very quickly, and they were all gone in just minutes. Each NFT was sold for $100, which caused so much activity on the website that it crashed.The buzz about Starbucks' NFT program, on the other hand, seems to be a bit overblown. The increase in activity hasn't changed much, if anything, about whether or not most people who drink coffee every day will add Starbucks NFTs to their daily routines. With the program being used by the crypto community, they are in the lead. Even though Starbucks said it would offer rewards and other incentives in the future to bring in more customers. It's important to remember that Starbucks doesn't call their NFTs "NFTs." Instead, they call them "stamps." And most of them aren't kept on the blockchain. Customers have to do certain things to get stamps. There are trivia questions about Starbucks and coffee, or you can order two drinks with non-dairy milk. These stamps go into the Starbucks Rewards accounts of the people who bought them. Recently, the company started letting customers buy certain stamps instead of having to earn them.At the moment, crypto and web3 fans, as well as Starbucks, are pushing for the program to be used. Chris Fierro is from Rhode Island and says he loves coffee. He used to work as a barista at Starbucks and was excited to hear about Odyssey when he first heard about it. Fierro says that so far, the process has been easy because credits are added to his account whenever he finishes a task, like buying a bag of coffee beans in a store.Starbucks is using the ideas of scarcity and utility to make their NFTs more valuable. The Holiday Cheer Stamp was only made in 5000 copies for their first NFT release. Even though the stamp's owner is still unknown, the company says that NFT holders will get special perks like classes on how to make martinis and trips to coffee farms in Costa Rica. So, NFT traders are betting that the NFT's current value, which has risen above $1,000, will be less than the rewards that Starbucks has promised. Fierro says that people are either betting that the price will go up or trying to complete their set, which is common in the cryptocurrency world.

In a recent report by DappRadar, the numbers for Gamefi look good. Among Web3 companies, Metacade is one of the best when it comes to on-chain games.In early 2023, on-chain gaming activity bounced back from a difficult 2022, as reported by DappRadar's latest Games Report. Gala Games (GALA/USD), Axie Infinity (AXS/USD), Decentraland (MANA/USD), Floki Inu (FLOKI/USD), and many other established players in the game-fi industry have been driving the momentum.A notable industry analysis report says that DapprRadar shows that Floki has taken the lead with a huge 380% increase, followed by Wemix with a 322% increase. This shows that the game-fic world is growing in a positive way. With this much potential, there is plenty of room for many players to get a big share of the market. Investors should think about putting together a portfolio that includes both well-known companies and new companies like Metacade, which are trying to bring something new to the industry. DappRadar says that on-chain data shows that gaming activity went up by 1.31 percent in January, with 858,621 daily Unique Active Wallets (dUAW) making up nearly half of all dapp activity. But these numbers are still small compared to the gaming industry as a whole, which has 2.69 billion customers around the world. People think that the gaming industry will make about $170 billion in 2022, which is five times more than what movies make at the box office. Some estimates say that by 2030, the gaming industry around the world could be worth $470 billion.The question that arises is what role the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry will play in shaping the gaming industry's growth trajectory until the end of the decade. The Web3 gamefi industry has demonstrated its competitive edge against traditional video games and Defi as evident in DappRadar's several reports. Progress, new ideas, and investments in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies back up this claim. The fact that Gala Games bought Ember Entertainment is a big deal that happened just in 2023. Also, Ember's games were added to Gala's layer 1 blockchain, Square Enix's NFT game was released, and part of Courtside Ventures' $100 million fund was set aside for gaming. Lastly, Metacade was able to raise about $9.3 million in five rounds of pre-sales. Metacade is different from other gaming companies because it offers a wide range of games to suit everyone's tastes. As a game-fic project, it lets people play games that let them earn money. It also has plans to become a full-fledged DAO by the year 2024. This will let the community use the MCADE token to take part in running the project. Players will also be able to earn tokens by completing tasks, taking part in player-versus-player sessions, writing reviews, and attending events.The success of Metacade's presale rounds highlights the increasing enthusiasm among investors for new projects.In the sixth round of pre-sales, the MCADE token costs $0.017. It's a big jump from the $0.008 it was worth in the beta round. Investors who want to take part in the next round of Metacade should move quickly. As the presale process nears its end, the price is likely to go up even more. The coin will also be listed on major cryptocurrency exchanges like Bitmart and Uniswap. So, it is usually a sign that the coin could go up in value in gamefi and web3.

Lionel Messi's Play Time invests in Matchday, an upcoming NFT blockchain football game in Web3 that will offer true ownership.FIFA is working with the studio to make Web3 games, which will be backed by professional soccer star Lionel Messi's venture capital firm, Play Time.The Web3 gaming startup Matchday has raised $21 million in seed capital for developing a range of soccer games. Notably, one of the companies funding Matchday is owned by soccer legend, Lionel Messi. In addition to Messi's company, Play Time Sports - Tech HoldCo LLC, venture capital firms such as Courtside Ventures, Greylock, Capricorn Investment Group, Horizon Ventures, and HackVC have also invested in the project. Matchday has teamed up with both Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi and Spanish soccer star Alexia Putellas. Putellas is the founder of the company's new game series on a global scale. Messi, who is the captain of the Argentine national team and plays for Paris Saint-Germain FC, has put a lot of money into the NFT space. He is one of the best football players who has put a lot of money into NFTs.Lionel Messi currently serves as the brand ambassador of Sorare, a popular NFT fantasy football game, and Socios, a fan token platform. In addition to his ambassadorship, he has also made an investment in Sorare. Messi has reportedly entered into an endorsement deal with Socios worth $20 million. Additionally, he has launched an official NFT collectible through the Ethernity Chain Platform.Derrick Ko, co-founder and CEO of Matchday, said in a statement that the company is making a game for a group of soccer fans that hasn't been reached yet. He also said that the game will be set up for people who don't play it all the time. In the same way, Matchday's chief gaming officer, Sebastian de Halleux, said he was excited about the game. Matchday's chief gaming officer, Sebastian de Halleux, said that the new game will be easy for anyone to play and will focus on giving players real ownership of digital items that they can be proud of. Matchday has been making soccer games for a long time and has official licenses from FIFA and FIFPRO, the players association. In a statement, De Halleux said, "Our games will be open to all players and will be based on true ownership of digital items that will be a source of pride for all players."The company is confident about its next project because Halleux has worked on similar projects before at Electronic Arts, a big game publisher. Halleux worked on the FIFA game series and the Madden NFT game series while he was at Electronic Arts. Stats show that Web3 users have spent about $4.3 billion on non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which give the user ownership. With their new project, Matchday is building on the idea that "ownership is equal to emotion." The company thinks that blockchains can help football fans feel like they own the game.Matchday was the first to suggest making a soccer game based on the blockchain. The fact that experts like FIFA, the official group in charge of the World Cup, are involved makes it important. The players' union, FIFPRO, is also involved. Derrick Ko, co-founder and CEO of Matchday, said in a statement that the games will be made for "casual" users. "We are building for a football audience that hasn't been reached yet," Ko said.