Immutable, Earn Bitcoin by Eating Tickets, ‘Big Studios Appear’ — Web3 Gamer

The approval of a spot cryptocurrency ETF, along with the influx of new funds and the inclusion of more traditional gaming companies, shows that Web3 gaming is reaching a turning point.

That’s according to Robbie Ferguson, co-founder of game development platform Immutable.

“The Web3 ecosystem is at a pivotal point in reaching a future where players have true ownership of their assets and share control of the marketplace with studios. It’s a win-win,” Ferguson told the magazine.

This year has been a big year for cryptocurrency adoption, with a spot Bitcoin ETF getting approval in January and a spot Ether ETF getting approval in May. Ferguson says it’s hard to see a direct link between these approvals and the gaming industry, but it certainly can’t hurt.

“While it’s hard to see a direct correlation between the two, ETF approval has certainly revived cryptocurrencies in the minds of the general public, and ultimately, gaming is one of the easiest entry points for those looking to experience what the industry has to offer,” Ferguson explains.

Jack O’Halloran, CEO of Skale Labs, the company behind the Layer 2 Ethereum scaling solution Skale Network, echoed similar sentiments, saying that an ETF would only have a positive impact on the Web3 gaming industry.

“As institutional influx increases, we expect to see an increased focus on Web3 gaming projects, which will potentially accelerate development and innovation within the industry,” O’Holleran told the magazine.

“These regulatory developments reinforce Ethereum’s role in the decentralized ecosystem, paving the way for broader adoption and integration of blockchain technology across gaming platforms,” O’Holleran added.

Ferguson points out that when the Ethereum ETF was approved in late May, the market cap of blockchain gaming tokens had increased significantly compared to the beginning of the year.

“The data shows similar interest and capital inflows, with the market cap of blockchain gaming tokens closing at $25.64 billion in May, up about 21% since January 2024,” Ferguson said, noting that more and more traditional gaming companies are starting to invest in the Web3 space.

Legacy game companies are flocking to Web3

“More than half of the major gaming companies are already investing in Web3, either by developing blockchain games, investing in Web3 game projects, or hiring for blockchain positions,” Ferguson said.

He explained that gamers see a more level playing field in Web3 games compared to the dominance of gaming giants.

“Now they’re seeing how monetization, with the right mechanisms in place, can increase the value of the player experience,” he said.

“Unfortunately, when game publishers experiment with new business and monetization models to increase player retention and reduce costs, gamers are often the ones who suffer the most. Aligning player and publisher incentives is critical to mainstream adoption,” Ferguson said, emphasizing that Immutable plans to release a significant number of new titles by the end of 2024.

“Immutable currently has over 330 games under contract, with 40% expected to launch in 2024. That’s a culmination of roughly $20 billion invested in games and gaming platforms over the past four years,” says Ferguson.

Notcoin rises 17% as other gaming tokens plummet

Notcoin, the gaming token for the Telegram-based tap-to-win game Notcoin, has risen by 16.76% over the past seven days, while other gaming tokens have fallen by 15-20% over the same period.

The price of NOT surged after Notcoin announced an accelerator collaboration with AI-based analytics firm Helika Gaming for game developers interested in creating Telegram games, sending the entire cryptocurrency market into a tailspin.

“Notcoin and Helika will help game studios, mobile apps, and indie developers build great gaming experiences on top of the Telegram platform and the TON blockchain,” Notcoin said.

“We want to expand on this and open up an accelerator for game developers who will lead the Telegram gaming movement,” he added.

Launched in March, the “idle game” attracted over 30 million users on Telegram in its first two months, leading them to set up cryptocurrency wallets based on The Open Network.

By tapping the screen to acquire NOT tokens, the game brought more than 3% of Telegram users into the Web3 world. While Notcoin soared, other gaming tokens plummeted.

According to CoinMarketCap data, Gala was the hardest hit, down 21.95%, while Immutable, Beam, and Ronin fell 21.81%, 17.41%, and 17.27%, respectively.

Hot Take: Bitcoin Snake

If you love classic mobile games and miss the simplicity of old brick-built phones, Bitcoin Snake might be for you.

Developed by THNDR Games (the creators of Bitcoin Solitaire, Bitcoin Bay, and other Bitcoin-earning games), Bitcoin Snake is a modern take on the classic Snake game that first appeared on the Nokia 6610 device in 1997.

If you’ve forgotten the days of playing on your old brick phone, the basic concept of Snake is to crawl between grids to get food, but the snake must not touch the walls or its own tail.

Bitcoin Snake is similar, but a little different. The snake eats tickets while the user plays, and the user can use the tickets to enter a daily draw to win Bitcoin.

The more tickets you collect, the higher your chances of winning in the daily Bitcoin raffle, similar to the meat raffles at your local pub.

Although the game is called Bitcoin Snake, it is not a traditional game where you just play to earn money like Axie Infinity.

It’s not an easy way to earn Bitcoin, but it’s a fun and nostalgic game that brings back the old days.

So, if you want to earn Bitcoin while enjoying retro games, give Bitcoin Snake a try.

Other news:

— Sky Mavis, creator of Axie Infinity, has teamed up with Philippine cryptocurrency exchange Coins.PH to launch PHPC, the “Philippine stablecoin.”

— Motoverse, a game backed by gaming giant Animoca Brands, has announced a partnership with cryptocurrency Mimecoin Turbo tokens. This involves a token swap of Motoverse’s Revv tokens and Turbo tokens.

—Tomarket, a decentralized new asset trading platform, has launched the beta version of a new Telegram game, “Tomarket Drop Game”. Recently, an event was held where early users could lock their bonuses and participate in the game to earn Tomato points.

— Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said the viral cryptocurrency game Hamster Kombat is “the latest internet phenomenon” after 239 million people signed up to the app in just three months.

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Sheeran Lyons

Ciaran Lyons is an Australian cryptocurrency journalist. He is also a stand-up comedian and has worked as a radio and TV presenter on Triple J, SBS and The Project.