Will MapleStory Universe be able to revive the gaming market?
GAMING CHRONICLES 118
Gaming Chronicles focuses on curating the latest web3 gaming news every week.
You will find the latest news, educational content, and game reviews.
TLDR :
MapleStory Universe launches on May 15
Black Mirror is launching a token
Adidas x XOCIETY
🗞️ NEWS
MAPLESTORY LAUNCHES ON MAY 15
MapleStory Universe (MSU) is launching in just over a week on May 15. Arguably, one of the most important launches in crypto gaming, and the biggest launch since GUN’s TGE in late March
Whether NXPC will launch on the day itself or a few days before remains unknown. Around two weeks back, we covered the tokenomics in GC Alpha 45
I have lots of questions about NXPC’s launch, for example:
Will it get a Binance listing? Can it catch speculative interest? Is it going to be larger than GUN? Will its unlock schedule be its downfall? Will Web2 players buy the token?
The 2-week launch countdown that started last week is also a marketing campaign:
Yesterday, on D-9, it announced an exclusive MSU Scroll SBT drop on OpenSea, allowing players to claim branded in-game items
We expect other partnerships to be announced in the next few days (e.g., CEX listings). Plus, we already know there will be special launch events on the day itself
MSU is large in the South Korean (SK) market, both in crypto and with traditional gamers. It doesn’t have this same type of market penetration and legacy in Western markets, so the heavy lifting has to come out of Asia
It will be interesting to see how successful they would be at capturing the interest of fans and players, who aren’t crypto natives (what’s the exact hook to go Web2 > Web3?). However, I do imagine there’s a good overlap there
1mpal’s take is that the earning components of the game can serve as a viral Web2 marketing moment
Overall, SK will play a key role in this launch, a massive gaming and crypto market, which needs a win. Companies like Wemix haven’t left the best impression about crypto gaming
Will MSU be the catalyst the industry needs to revive this industry? Let’s hope so…
BLACK MIRROR IS LAUNCHING A TOKEN
Seeing another major IP “do something” with the blockchain isn’t a huge surprise anymore, as Black Mirror (BM) announced it is launching a token
This isn’t the first time we've seen BM dabble in crypto, as it launched its “Smile Pass” back in 2024 in partnership with KOR Protocol. Passholders will likely earn a share of the upcoming token launch (60% going to the community)
The Pass granted users access to an “immersive digital experience” with quests and challenges
Pixelynx (the makers of KOR Protocol) signed a partnership with BM about 3 years ago to acquire the license and bring the IP into Web3
Pixelnyx is an Animoca Brands-owned company
With the token announcement, BM doubles down on AI, introducing Iris, a virtual assistant
Iris will track your social and wallet activity, build your reputation score, and determine your access, power, and rewards in the BM Universe
The higher your score, the more access to token airdrops, various perks, and influence in the Smile Club
Users will receive a Social ID Card NFT that provides a dynamic reputation score, badges, and stains (good and bad behavior), serving as their onchain identity and passport across Web3
BM also has plans to introduce AI coaching, dynamic quests, social and onchain wagering, and Telegram & Tamagotchi-style mini-game (it’s a lot…)
Overall, they’re building out this BM experience as a reputation protocol, to create digital identities, which they then can leverage as a Web3 UA platform (I guess)
E.g., another brand comes to them to launch an NFT collection, and provides them a list of their most qualified users
ADIDAS x XOCIETY
Adidas returns to Web3 by introducing outfits and apparel through Sui NFTs
Adidas Mystery Box NFTs will be available to reveal in-game skins and brand apparel for the Adidas Alts collection
Adidas and Xociety cut a revenue share deal in which players receive rewards from other players’ spending (referral rewards)
Again, Adidas has had previous ventures into crypto and launched over 14 NFT collections in total (starting in 2022). The collective market cap of all these collections is a mere $2.9M and has a 24h volume of $1,470
The Adidas Alts and Adidas Originals NFTs remain the most active collections to date
With the brand value of Adidas in crypto being so diluted, the positive effect of this campaign is questionable
Especially, with the trust of CT in large consumer brands being at an all-time low, as Nike just rugged its RTFKT project
This is not to say gamers don’t care about integrations like these in general, as Adidas just partnered with Fortnite to release a few pairs of shoes as well
Xociety launched its Genesis collection, Xociety Frontier, back in July 2023 on ETH. Last year, in March, the studio announced its migration from Polygon to Sui
Frontier Avatars are scheduled to migrate to Sui soon
The game will also become available on the Sui Play console after it releases
FLASH NEWS
Uprising is publishing its first mobile game: QRusader the Game
Treasure is shutting down its blockchain (migrate your assets out)
Claynosaurz is expanding to Sui and will launch its mobile game soon
🆕ALPHA CORNER
Early Games: None for this week…
Join our telegram chat for daily updates & alpha as well: https://t.me/raidenalpha