Highlights:
- The gaming company, which is the owner of well-known mobile apps like Tetris, is now introducing a new blockchain-focused sector.
- According to the firm, its community has already purchased more than 10 million prizes with its in-app loyalty points to date.
Playstudios, a free-to-play mobile, and social games producer and a publicly traded mobile gaming platform, is foraying into the web3 space with a new blockchain business and investment fund.
The gaming company, the owner of well-known mobile apps like Tetris, is now introducing a new blockchain-focused sector. This sector will use “rewarded play” to take advantage of blockchain technology and provide customers with more rewarding experiences across its library of games. It also disclosed a Future Fund, a USD 10 million investment supporting businesses creating compensated play choices.
The gaming studio has amassed a sizable library of free-to-play games over the years, including titles like MGM Slots Live and myVEGAS Slots, which enable users to earn tangible rewards through the studio’s loyalty program. According to the firm, its community has already purchased more than 10 million prizes with its in-app loyalty points to date.
“As we enter into the web3 space, we’ve kind of been doing play-to-earn for 10 years, so I’d argue we’re the pioneers in the world of play,” said Andrew Pascal, founder and CEO of Playstudios. “We’ve spent much of our energy thinking about how to reward players in our games.”
The acquisition of WonderBlocks, a blockchain-based loyalty platform for games, and a strategic partnership with Forte, a developer of blockchain gaming infrastructure, will serve as the foundation for the new division.
“A lot has been made in the promise of web3 games,” Pascal said. “The fact that people can acquire assets that are no longer specific to one game, it’s massive 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 gaming can unlock.”
According to Pascal, the company’s capital has already been invested in blockchain gaming platforms like Forte. It will be utilized to expand its strategic innovation through blockchain loyalty and reward systems.
Industry insiders claimed last month that the web3 gaming industry is one of the few that appears to be less impacted by the current conditions in the cryptocurrency market. This is because gamers continue to seek entertainment despite market volatility, even as the overall sales volume in this sector has slumped. Since last year, the blockchain gaming sector has continued to attract attention as developers and funders continue investing in it and bringing new ideas to the market.
Pascal said, “It’s our intention to continue growing, adapting, and diversifying our games and audiences and the things we offer our players. With the emergence of blockchain models and web3 space, we certainly have watched how it has evolved in all its different forms. We think we’ll have a unique take in the way we approach tokenizing our loyalty programs to continue to enrich the benefits for players.”
