The growth of gaming in blockchain is undeniable. The number of games and number of funds interested in investing in blockchain games are both expanding rapidly. At Sarson Funds we’ve long believed the next 100 million crypto users come from the rank of 500+ million daily active gaming users. These gamers are already technologically advanced and make for a quick conversion into crypto users as they look to utilize blockchain technology to monetize their in-game items across unrelated gaming platforms.
Despite market conditions that recently seem to continue in never ending cycles of harsh events, the decentralized gaming industry has continued to stay afloat. According to DappRadar, $1.3 billion has been raised by blockchain games in Q3 of this year – a number that represents more than half of all investment activity tracked on the platform. DappRadar also reported that although investments in blockchain-based games and metaverse projects have declined, the capital raised has nearly doubled from last year along with recent increases in total of new users joining the space. Below we discuss some of the noteworthy announcements in the blockchain/gaming space.
- Andreessen Horowitz
Back in May, Andreessen Horowitz Venture Capital firm announced their new $600 million Games fund One portfolio after following what was quite a successful year in the GameFi market. Andressen Horowitz thesis includes that games will play a vital role in how humans will evolve over the next century.
- Immutable X
June 17th, Immutable X launched a $500 million fund to boost Web3 and GameFi adoption.
- Gamestop marketplace
Early February Gamestop announced a partnership with Immutable X(IMX) creating a $100 million fund for the upcoming NFT marketplace. Fast forward to October 31st, IMX announced that the gamestop marketplace is finally live on their platform. The partnership will provide access to games such as Illuvium, Guild of guardians, and Gods Unchained.
- Epic Games
Over time, the parent of well known Unreal Enjin, Epic Games has succeeded in noteworthy partnerships. Partnered with NASA, Epic Games plans to create a Virtual Reality experience of Mars, Epic has also partnered with free-to-play Blankos Block Party, and has also agreed to be the available platform for Gala Games upcoming Web3 Western – GRIT. Epic Games also announced earlier this year that it had raised over $2 billion in funding split between Sony and KIRKBI to “build the metaverse.”
- Gala
The Gala Universe has gone above and beyond with their plans and announcements. Starting with their expansion beyond simply gaming, Gala announced they will be Launching a new Web3- based entertainment platform as well as a music platform. Mid-October, Developer Drifters web3 Co-op, third person shooter, SUPERIOR, will be available on Gala Games and STEAM stores.
- Atari
Over the year, Atari has successfully rebranded itself as Atari X while its new token has been in development, Atari X has grown strong through countless collaborations and partnerships including its continued partnership with The Sandbox. Their primary developer for the new token and exchange is Nifty Labs.
- Instagram/Facebook
Over a year ago now, Facebook media platform changed its name to META in a rebranding effort with a focus on building a metaverse. Although it has received controversial feedback, Meta and Instagram have announced that the platforms will now support NFTs.
- Apple
According to CoinMarketCap, Apple is attempting to direct metaverse technologies in a different direction compared to Zuckerberg’s Metaverse. Reports state its new headset will be capable of eye and face tracking making metaverse avatars more lifelike and help locate AR information. Reports also state the headset features include far higher-resolution viewscreen and Mac-capable M2 chip 10 or more cameras both inside and outside the headset.
- Vail VR
- Sony, PlayStation
Sony recently published a patent Titled, “Tracking Unique In-Game Digital Assets Using Tokens on a Distributed Ledger.” This patent provides detail explaining this is a “system and method for tracking digital assets associated with video games” and shows that Sony is diving into the exploration of NFTs and Blockchain tech.
In light of the above investments, if you’re a gamer you can be forgiven for not knowing that cryptocurrency was suffering through a terrifying bear market. At Sarson Funds we continue to stay invested in the crypto gaming market.
Written by Jenny Mongan 
Disclosures: Not investment advice. It should be assumed that Sarson Funds or its affiliated managers hold positions in all projects that are discussed. It is not possible to invest in any project directly through Sarson Funds, Inc. or its affiliated managers. Any investment product offered by managers affiliated with Sarson Funds should be assumed to be only available to Accredited Investors and subject to the individual terms and conditions of that offering including but not limited to those eligibility requirements associated with U.S. Securities Regulation D, section 506c. Talk with your financial advisor before making any investment decisions or have them contact Sarson Funds directly at info@sarsonfunds.com
