Mobile gaming company Playstudios recently announced that it is jumping into the Web3 gaming world. The company is launching a blockchain gaming division that will introduce the concept of “reward play” to users who already play the company’s games and enjoy real-world rewards. Playstudios also plans to invest $10 million in the Web3 gaming company.
Playstudios will incorporate Web3 and blockchain technology
Play Studios, a Las Vegas-based mobile gaming company with more than $300 million in funding, is divinginto the world of blockchain and Web3 gaming. The company, which owns games such as Tetris, is launching a blockchain gaming division called Playblocks and plans to add blockchain-based incentives to its “reward gaming” program.
Commenting on the move, Andrew Pascal, founder and CEO of Playstudios, toldTechcrunch:
We’ve been in the Web3 world and “Play-to-Earn” for 10 years, so I would say we are pioneers in the world of play. We have spent a lot of energy on how to reward players in our games.
The new division will be built around the acquisition of Wonderblocks, a provider of play-to-earn services to third parties. It will also ostensibly leverage Forte’s technical expertiseas part of a strategic partnership. Forte is acompany that raised $725 million last year to provide blockchain, token, and NFT services to gaming companies and facilitate the integration of these technologies into new games.
$10 Million Web3 Gaming Fund
Playstudios is establishing a fund to invest in the Web3 Gaming Initiative, with $10 million in capital. The initiative, called the Future Fund, will also allow Playstudios to invest in startups that want to integrate blockchain into their business model, bringing gamers and technology closer together.
The fund’s first investments, in unspecified amounts, were made to Forte, mentioned above, and Cryptomon, a Pokémon-like themed game that allows users to manage and train their personal NFT creatures.
While other sectors of the crypto economy are shrinking, the Web3 gaming sector seems to be thriving, with several VCs and organizations investing in these initiatives recently Griffin Gaming Partners announced in March the $750 million Web3 gaming fund launch, and A16z also launched a $600 million Web3 gaming fund in May.
Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons