Quick take:
- AQUA has launched its flagship marketplace for web3 games.
- The web3 community platform also announced a $10 million investment from Steve Cohen-backed web3 venture fund DIGITAL.
- AQUA has already landed three partnerships including Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians, which will be featured on the platform.
AQUA has officially debuted its flagship marketplace for web3 games. The community-driven platform also announced a $10 million fundraising from DIGITAL, a web3 venture firm backed by Steven Cohen.
The company is looking to bring in-game NFTs to the masses through partnerships with leading blockchain gaming titles. AQUA has already landed some of the most promising web3 games in Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians.
Cohen is one of the hedge fund billionaires looking to capitalise on the marketwide adoption of web3. The New York Mets basketball team owner and head of Point72 Asset Management started investing in crypto in 2018.
In-game crypto and NFTs are among the most exciting investment verticals in web3. Ideally, gamers use in-game tokens to acquire game items, offered as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Nearly all blockchain games are powered by a native token, which players must purchase to start playing.
AQUA’s web3 gaming marketplace leverages some features of gaming guilds and cross-game interoperability to allow gamers to buy and sell in-game assets. The platform is set to feature assets from multiple blockchain games, starting with Guild of Guardians and Gods Unchained.
According to AQUA CEO Sean Ryan, the company wants to offer more than just playable gaming NFTs.
“You can definitely go to OpenSea or a general purpose marketplace and purchase gaming assets,” Ryan told CoinDesk. “But we want gamers who are interested in, ‘How do I play this game? What do I do with these assets? How do I find other people to play with?’”
Ryan’s gaming experience dates back to his time at Facebook, as head of games partnerships. Together with co-founder John Cahlil, the duo previously co-founded Meez, one of the very first companies to take on the metaverse in 2008.
Ryan believes that gaming will play a crucial role in onboarding the next 300 million into web3. “Gaming is the biggest, fastest-growing media on the planet and has some pretty technically adept folks who can put up with some of the friction that we see right now if they’re really excited about the game,” he said.
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