Decentralized blockchain-based metaverse The Sandbox has held its first hybrid digital and real-life wedding on its Metaverse. The bride and groom, Singaporean couple Joanne Tham and Clarence Chan, CEO of music company Bandwagon, celebrated their matrimony on Sept. 17 in a “70s disco glam” themed wedding, which took place in a digital replica of Singapore's famous Alkaff Mansion. ❤️ A @TheSandboxGame wedding just happened a few hours ago. Congratulations @clarcrypto ! A special thank you to @borgetsebastien . A feature video dropping today. @thecobbleland #wedding #metaverse pic.twitter.com/141o915Hew — Smobler Studios (@smoblerstudios) September 17, 2022 While the couple was physically present …

The blockchain-based gaming industry will need to look at localized strategies to attract Web3 gamers, says decentralized gaming guild Yield Guild Games (YGG). Speaking with Cointelegraph at the 2022 Tokyo Games Show last week, Andy Chou, YGG’s head of ecosystem development, and Brian Lu, partner of Taiwan-based VC firm Infinity Ventures Crypto (IVC) gave a rundown of YGG’s plans moving forward, including how it is using its subDAOs. YGG was initially launched in the Philippines in late 2020, but following an early-stage investment from IVC, the duo teamed up to expand YGG across the globe via subDAOs, initially starting in …

Modern parents are going to need to keep an even closer eye on their kids’ gaming habits, as some of them may be accumulating a hefty tax bill, according to a crypto tax specialist. Speaking to Cointelegraph during last week’s Australian Crypto Convention, Adam Saville-Brown, regional head of tax software firm Koinly said that many don’t realize that earnings from play-to-earn (P2E) games can be subject to tax consequences in the same way as crypto trading and investing. This is particularly true for play-to-earn blockchain games that offer in-game tokens that can be traded on exchanges and thus have real-world …

Despite Minecraft creator Mojang Studios being against the integration of nonfungible tokens (NFT), a Metaverse-focused firm managed to introduce NFTs into several games including its own Minecraft server. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Oscar Franklin Tan, the Chief Financial Officer of blockchain gaming firm Enjin, and MyMetaverse CEO Simon Kertonegoro shared how they were able to connect the dots and implement NFTs into Minecraft without violating its terms and conditions. According to Kertonegoro, Minecraft’s rules on NFTs have been about protecting players from negative experiences, and many servers have violated these rules. However, the executive highlighted that within their own …

Japanese gaming giants are positioning for mainstream blockchain game adoption, and will not be swayed by the section of gamers that are against crypto and nonfungible tokens (NFTs), an exec from the Oasys blockchain project told Cointelegraph. Speaking to Cointelegraph at the 2022 Tokyo Games Show last week, Oasys Representative Director Ryo Matsubara emphasized that the project’s big-name partners such as Bandai Namco, Sega and Square Enix are not just jumping on the crypto bandwagon —there's a long-term vision for blockchain-based Play-to-Earn (P2E) gaming: "We have a shared vision about blockchain at the executive level. They don't [want to] change …

The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) of South Korea revealed plans to move away from imposing traditional video gaming laws on the Metaverse. Instead, the ministry decided to issue new guidelines for incentivizing the growth of the budding ecosystem. South Korea’s interest in garnering Web3 and the Metaverse ecosystems is evidenced by the $200 million investment it made for the creation of an in-house Metaverse. Running parallel to this effort, the MSIT identified that imposing older regulations serve as a deterrent to the growth of new ecosystems. In the first meeting of the National Data Policy committee, MSIT noted …

One of Web3’s leading digital property rights developers, Animoca Brands, announced yet another major acquisition to its increasing portfolio of gaming subsidiaries. The company announced the purchase of WePlay Media, which developed the popular blockchain-game MotoGP Championship Quest, on Sept. 16. According to the agreement, the acquisition is in an effort to bolster user engagement in motorsport mobile gaming. Graeme Warring, the co-founder and COO of WePlay Media and co-creator of MotoGP, called the acquisition an exciting development for both parties as they expand their reach to motorcycle fans across the globe. “Animoca Brands has the ability to reach hundreds …

Blockchain-based games need to spend more time actually being “fun to play” rather than developing flashy tokenomics, an Animoca Brand-owned blockchain game developer told Cointelegraph. Speaking to Cointelegraph on the first day of the 2022 Tokyo Games Show, Luke Sillay, the lead community manager at Australia-based game developer Blowfish Studios said that far too many blockchain games have put the focus on in-game rewards and tokenomics rather than gameplay. “You can see from a lot of other blockchain games that they're not actually fun to play. Like, yes, you have potential to earn quite a significant amount of token and …

Web3 projects are the talk of the current digital scene, with thousands of new companies coming to life every day in an attempt to ride out this global wave with their own product releases. Unfortunately, reality has shown most of these offerings do not provide any tangible value to their players or user bases. Instead, they rely on superficial hype of cryptocurrencies, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and related buzzwords, a seemingly unnatural method to pursue user growth. At present, these efforts result in short-term successes and unsustainable growth. To ensure projects are built on foundations that enable long-term value, startups are …

Animoca Brands, a major player in the metaverse and blockchain gaming, has officially disclosed details of a funding round led by Singapore's state-owned investor Temasek. Animoca announced on Thursday that it closed a strategic funding round of $110 million from the issuance of convertible notes to a small number of institutional investors. Completed at a conversion price of 4.5 Australian dollars, or about $3, the new round values Animoca similarly to its previous funding round, the firm said. The notes round included new investors like Temasek, the private equity firm Boyu Capital and the global venture capital firm GGV Capital. …

Highly anticipated medieval strategy massively multiplayer online (MMO) game Blocklords is out, unraveling iconic characters, pitched battles and engrossing drama. A genre-defining grand strategy game of MetaKing Studio, Blocklords introduces players to a universe where players' actions have a bearing on their characters, other players and the medieval world around them. A captivating multi-player play-to-earn (P2E) game, Blocklords gives players the freedom to play the way they want. It is a distinct world in which the players drive the story, deciding the destiny of their heroes with their playing skills. Blocklords is not only brimming with fun but also enables …

Gaming retailer GameStop is partnering with United States crypto exchange FTX US to bring more customers to crypto and work together on online marketing initiatives. In a Sept. 7 statement, the gaming retailer noted that the new partnership will introduce GameStop’s customers into the FTX ecosystem, including its marketplaces for digital assets, while also seeing the retailer become FTX’s “preferred retail partner in the United States.” The partnership will also see certain GameStop retail stores carrying FTX gift cards. As of Aug. 31, there are 2,970 GameStop stores across the United States. In its Q2 earnings call, GameStop CEO Matt …