American retail giant Walmart has taken its first steps into the Metaverse with the launch of Walmart Land and Walmart's Universe of Play on Roblox. According to the company's Monday announcement, Walmart Land focuses on "immersive experiences" with key features including a physics-defying Ferris wheel, unlockable tokens and badges, an interactive piano walkway and a D.J. booth for users. See Walmart like never before Walmart Land is our new world on #ROBLOX with fun & games for all. From film to fashion — whatever you’re into, let’s have some fun with it. Come for the inspo, stay for the verch …

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have taken the gaming world by storm. Whether it’s through limited edition collectibles, avatar enhancement or play-to-earn incentivization, digital assets have given in-game ownership a new meaning. The ways in which NFTs are available to players are becoming increasingly tangible. In the case of Blockxer, the latest blockchain game from Blokhaus Inc., every component of the game has been NFT-ized and available for modification by users. Mark Soares, the founder of Blokhaus Inc., told Cointelegraph that when every aspect of the game is an NFT, users can create completely “bespoke” game experiences. Everywhere a user turns in …

What we have today in terms of Web3 gaming is not working. Play-to-earn has not worked and neither will play-to-earn or any X-to/and-earn. On top of that, traditional gamers view nonfungible tokens (NFTs) with suspicion. They dunk on expensive apes and are skeptical of large game publishers applying the lipstick of NFTs for further monetization. Nobody knows what a successful Web3 game will look like yet. To get there, we need more developers to experiment with more models. We need infrastructure that will lower the barriers to Web3 game development and make it easy for developers to experiment. That’s why …

Blockchain company Zilliqa is launching a Web3 focused console with a cryptocurrency wallet and mining capabilities, along with featuring gaming titles from the company. On Sept. 23, prototype images were released showing an array of ports including HDMI, Ethernet and USB connections, although full hardware specifications and the price of the unit remain guarded. The console itself looks similar to something from Xbox, but has two green panels on the top. The #Zilliqa gaming console seems to be taking a page form the OG Xbox playbook by putting letter into the hardware design.$ZIL #web3 #playtoearn pic.twitter.com/mln1kiUrwD — ChaseRaz (@ChaseRaz) September …

Some may argue that the Metaverse has been around for years, as demonstrated by early gaming platforms, yet virtual ecosystems are now being embraced by almost every industry. A recent report from consulting firm McKinsey & Company believes that the Metaverse has the potential to generate at least $5 billion in value by 2030. McKinsey also found that investments exceeding $120 billion have been put toward Metaverse platforms this year, indicating that major growth is underway. While notable, there is still the perception that most metaverse platforms are lacking when it comes to graphic quality. For example, Mark Zuckerberg was …

In this week’s newsletter, read about how a science fiction comic book uses nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to make the reading experience more interactive and how Web3 musicians view NFTs. Check out how big names like Bandai Namco, Sega and Square Enix are eyeing blockchain gaming. In other news, find out how a metaverse-focused fir- integrated NFTs within Minecraft despite its ban on NFTs. And, don’t forget this week’s Nifty News featuring the first metaverse wedding at The Sandbox. Sci-Fi NFT comic book project lays the foundation for CCG development An NFT comic book project created by former game developers is …

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 …

You can now play Solitaire, Snake, and even Counter-Strike to earn Satoshis, a tiny fraction of Bitcoin (BTC). Cointelegraph spoke to executives at Thndr Games, a play-to-earn (P2E) company built around Bitcoin, and Zebedee, a gaming platform that will “Transform gaming with the power of Bitcoin.” Thanks to the Lightning Network (LN), a layer-2 payment solution built on top of Bitcoin, instant microtransactions of Sats can quickly pay out to gamers across the globe. “This genuinely fixes a need in gaming,” Ben Cousens, chief strategy officer at Zebedee, told Cointelegraph. Zebedee offers Bitcoin and LN support for popular games such …

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 …

Avichal Garg, the CEO and co-founder of Electric Capital, defines himself as “an NFT maximalist” – who believes that nonfungible tokens (NFTs) will play an essential role in bringing crypto to the masses. Unlike other crypto niches, NFTs are relatable to aspects of everyday life such as art, music and games. “I could imagine that NFTs are actually many billions of people because it's ultimately culture. And that's something that everybody can participate in and everybody can understand,” said Garg in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph. In particular, Garg is bullish about NFTs being used in the gaming industry, which …