VanEck,aleadingglobalassetmanager,hasannounceditssecondmajorgaminginvestmentunderitsliquidtokenstrategy.ItisbettingonGunzillaGamesandtheirambitiousnewproject,OffTheGrid(OTG).

VanEckInvestsinGunzilla’sWeb3Game“OffTheGrid”

VanEck’sMattMaximomadetheannouncementonOct.31.MaximohighlightedGunzillaGamesasthecreatorsofthefirstWeb3-enabled,AAA-ratedgamethatwillbeavailableonmultipleplatforms,includingPC,Xbox,andPS5.Accordingtohim,VanEck’sliquidtokenstrategyiskeenlyfocusedongaming,whichisoneofthemostpromisingareasforblockchainandtokenizedinvestments.

Excitedtoannounceour2ndmajorgaminginvestmentat@vaneck_usliquidtokenstrategy:GunzillaGames,creatorsofthefirstweb3-enabledTriple-Aratedgame,OffTheGrid,onPC,XboxandPS5.

Here\'swhywe\'rebullishonOTGandtheintersectionofgamingandblockchain:
🧵https://t.co/ws5YqvlVml

—Matt(@mattmaximo1)October31,2024

GabeRabello,anothercriticalfigureinVanEck’sliquidtokenstrategyteam,initiallysharedthatgamingrepresentsacorepillarofthefirm’sinvestmentoutlook.Sofar,VanEckhascommittedtotwolong-terminvestmentsinthisspace:ParallelTCGandOffTheGrid.

GunzillaGamesdevelopedOffTheGrid,a“dystopiancyberpunkshooter”whereplayerscanearnGunzilla’snativeGUNtoken.ItisdirectedbyOscar-nominatedfilmmakerNeillBlomkampandaimstoprovideplayerswithanimmersiveworldthatcombinesbothnarrative-drivenandmultiplayergameplay.

Thisblendofstorytellingandinteractivity,coupledwithintegratingWeb3features,positionsOTGasapioneeringentryintheemergingmarketofblockchain-enabledAAAgames.MattMaximofromVanEcksharedontheXplatform:

Weviewcryptoasawaytoenhancegamingexperiencesandrefinemonetizationstrategies.

~MattMaximo

Gamingstartupsattract$517millioninQ32024funding

AccordingtodatafromKonvoy,aventurecapitalfirm,gamingstartupsattracted$517millioninfundinginthethirdquarterof2024.ThisinfluxfollowsVanEck’sinvestmentinMarchinParallel,aWeb3-basedcardgameinwhichtradablecardsexistason-chainNFTs.Parallel’s$35millionfundingroundalsosawsupportfromSolanaVenturesandCoinbase’sBaseEcosystemFund.

Maximonotedthatgamershavelongcreatedsystemsfortradingin-gameitems,withplatformslikeSteam’speer-to-peermarketplacegeneratingover$32billionintradingvolume.Henotedthatblockchaincanmeetplayers’needsfortransparencyandcontroloverin-gameassets.

InOffTheGrid,playersearnGUNtokenstounlockin-gameitems,whichtheycanstoreinWeb3wallets.Thegame’smarketplace,builtonanAvalanchesubnetcalledGUNZ,letsplayersbuyandsellitemsusingGUNtokens.

OffTheGridenlistedRichardMorgan,authorofAlteredCarbon,anddirectorNeillBlomkamptodriveitscreativedirection.Afewyearsago,VanEcklauncheditsDigitalAssetAlphaFund,whichfocusedonliquidtokensandusedtraditionalvaluationtechniques.

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