Playstudios launches blockchain gaming division and $10M web3-focused fund – TechCrunch
Playstudios, a publicly traded mobile gaming platform and developer, is venturing into the web3 world with a new blockchain division and investment fund.
The gaming entity, which owns popular mobile apps such as Tetris, is now launching a new blockchain-focused sector, which will use “rewarded gaming” to leverage blockchain technology and deliver more rewarding experiences to users across its gaming portfolio. A $10 million investment, the Future Fund, has also been announced to support companies building rewarded gaming alternatives.
Previously, the game studio accumulated a huge portfolio of free games – such as MGM Slots Live, myVEGAS Slots and others – that give players the opportunity to earn real rewards through the loyalty program. To date, the community has used their in-app loyalty points to purchase over 10 million rewards, the company said.
“Going into the web3 space, we’ve kind of been doing play-to-earn for 10 years, so I’d say we’re the pioneers in the play world,” Andrew Pascal, founder and CEO of Playstudios, told TechCrunch. “We’ve spent a lot of energy thinking about how to reward players in our games.
The new division will be built on the acquisition of a blockchain-based loyalty platform for games WonderBlocks, as well as a strategic alliance with blockchain infrastructure game developer Forte.
“A lot has been done in the promise of web3 games,” said Pascal. “The fact that people can acquire assets that are no longer specific to one game, it’s really huge that it can enrich over time as that asset can be incorporated and leveraged across games. Interoperability is one of the more exciting dimensions of what web3 games can unlock.”
The fund has already made investments in blockchain gaming technology such as Forte and will be used to grow its strategic innovation through blockchain loyalty and reward models, Pascal said.
Last month, industry players said that the web3 gaming industry is one of the few sectors seemingly less affected by current crypto market conditions due to players seeking entertainment regardless of volatility, although overall sales volume in the sector is still largely declining. The blockchain gaming space has continued to garner attention over the past year as both developers and funds continue to invest in the industry through new capital and innovations.
“It is our intention to continue to grow, adopt and diversify our games and our audience and the things we offer our players,” Pascal said. “With the emergence of blockchain models and the web3 space, we have certainly seen how it has evolved in all its different forms. We believe we will have a unique take on the way we approach tokenization of our loyalty programs to continue to enrich the benefits for players.”
