GameStop launches its NFT marketplace.
Shanghai doubles down on metaverse innovation.
And the newest additions to The Sandbox are turning heads and skating switch.
My name is Deezy.
This is your Friday NFT wrap-up.
Let's get it!
Earlier this week,
video game powerhouse GameStop premiered the beta version of their new NFT marketplace,
opening the door for millions of gamers to onboard into the space
and buy, sell and trade NFTs.
With almost 300 collections and over 56,000 NFTs to choose from,
this new marketplace also intends to educate the next wave of traders
by offering several tutorials on the basic steps on how to get started.
The release of this marketplace comes after the release of the GameStop digital wallet
that was released in May.
If you don't use their wallet,
you can use other Ethereum-compatible wallets to connect to it.
It wouldn't be GameStop without games, right?
Since they partnered with Immutable X back in February,
games such as Illuvium, God's Unchained and Guild of Guardians
will be available in the foreseeable future.
Although we're in a bear market,
the timing of this beta release will hopefully bring in a new demographic into the space
and help restore life back into the numbers.
NFT sales did dip down to one-year lows last month,
so maybe a brand name marketplace will help us get back on track.
The metaverse, also known as the 3D version of the internet,
is being innovated in all corners of the world.
And it's going to take an exorbitant amount of time and money
for us to immerse ourselves into the matrix.
Whoa!
In a move aimed to restore their financial position and lower carbon emissions,
a tweet from Watcher.Guru tells us that the Shanghai city government in China
announced plans to develop a $52 billion metaverse industry by the end of '25.
Despite China's back and forth position on Bitcoin,
they are committed to building a metaverse
because of opportunities that will arise from this technology.
Wu Jincheng, head of Shanghai's Economy and Information Tech Committee, stated,
"Industries such as the metaverse and smart terminals
are expected to constantly spur new business schemes and models.
These would give rise to killer apps and popular products,
releasing huge market value."
The Shanghai government is also providing additional funding
to help build 10 prominent corporations and 100 minor businesses.
Since studies show that over 60% of Chinese users have full intentions
on actively socializing in the metaverse.
When you factor that in,
plus the businesses and products that will add to the value of this endeavor,
they estimate that the value of the entire sector will be worth about $224 billion.
This is a very bullish sentiment for the future of metaverses,
especially now that global powers are seeing the financial opportunity they present.
Rumor has it that they're not building castles in the sandbox, but mansions.
Playboy mansions, to be exact.
That's right. Earlier this week,
Playboy announced that they are set to create a social game
that's inside a MetaMansion built inside The Sandbox.
Owners of the Rabbitars,
an NFT collection of almost 12,000 (what else?) bunny avatars released last October,
will be granted exclusive access inside Hugh Hefner's virtual paradise.
Sandbox has been pulling down a laundry list of top-tier partnerships
from Snoop to Adidas to The Walking Dead and many more.
The most recent partnership they have locked down
is the 10-time X Games gold medalist and skateboarding legend himself,
Tony Hawk.
With the help of the NFT platform Autograph,
the trio are setting out to build the world's biggest skate park in the metaverse.
Consisting of over 36 plots of land in The Sandbox,
users will be able to skate vert or street all around the metaverse.
Users will also have access to a marketplace
to customize their avatar, skateboard and the editing tools
to build the perfect park and skate the perfect line.
We all know the Birdman is no stranger to successful video games
since he released a series of 20 games over the past couple of decades.
After being propelled into action sports superstardom for being the first skater to land the 900,
the Birdhouse leader went on to start the Tony Hawk Foundation,
which helped build over 600 skate parks all over the globe.
And now he's building one more in the metaverse.
Be careful out there and don't get any sand in your bearings.
That's all I got.
Deezy out.