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Griff is out touching grass so you’ve got the short king this week as I’ve come up for air from the Stardew trenches [read:mines] but this is supposed to be about web3 gaming right!? Wrong.

I’m feeling real nostalgic this week with MMORPG Ragnarok: Monster World NFTs the most traded on Ronin Market. Spent countless hours playing Ragnarok Online growing up as many kababayans do and even got some flack when I told my World of World guildies that my first MMORPG looked like something seen on Cartoon Network. For the uneducated I’ll pop a video in the Bonus loot section.

Anywho, for the NPCs that don’t know the programming, here’s the slate:

• Insert Coin to Continue: The latest funding rounds in web3 gaming.

• Co-op Campaigns: Who’s teaming up in the gaming world?

• Change Log: Updates, patches, and new features from games we’ve covered.

• Release Radar: Upcoming games, playtests, and drops.

• On-Chain Activity: New on-chain game announcements and network migrations.

• Other News: The other things that happened in web3 gaming this week.

• Bonus Loot: Cool media we’ve been digesting this week.

Insert Coin To Continue

The latest funding rounds & grants in web3 gaming.

• NDUS Interactive ($7.5M). Funding for their third-person shooter Xociety, led by Hashed and Sui Foundation, with contributions from Spartan, Neoclassic, Bigbrain Holdings, and Krafton.”

• The Sandbox ($20M). The metaverse OG raised on a $1B valuation cap to enhance UGC metaverse, improve creator tools, and expand mobile access, backed by Kingsway Capital and Animoca Brands.

• Gamefam ($5M Creator Fund). Supporting innovative creators with financial, design, and live ops resources for Roblox, Fortnite, and emerging platforms, dedicating 25% to underrepresented voices.

• Ronin Forge ($50k Grants). Sky Mavis invites experimental game studios to apply for RON grants, Sky Mavis resources, and community access.

• Altura ($1M Grant Fund). Altura unveils a Web3 Gaming Grant Fund to foster innovation and creativity, empowering gamers and developers with community voting and extensive support for new projects.

Co-Op Campaigns

Who’s teaming up in the gaming world?

• MetaMask x HyperPlay. HyperPlay now powers a directory of Web3 games within MetaMask Portfolio, enhancing the visibility and mainstream adoption of innovative blockchain games.

• The Sandbox x Upland. Partnership to enhance metaverse experiences by establishing each company's presence within the other's platform, boosting community creation and cross-ecosystem engagement in their virtual worlds.

• Animoca Brands x Everest Ventures Group. Solidifying their collaboration in Web3 projects through cross-investments in OpenSocial Protocol, Zeek, Legend of Arcadia, Last Odyssey, Darewise, Anichess, and Mocaverse.

• zkRace x Transak. The web3 horse racer, partners with Transak to launch a fiat-to-crypto on-ramp for the ZERC token, enhancing game accessibility and promoting mass adoption of the platform.

• The Sandbox x Food Angel. The Sandbox and Food Angel launch Food Rescue World, a metaverse experience where players assist in food conservation quests, raising awareness and supporting charitable causes. Earn coupons to support Food Angel's initiatives.

Change Log

Updates, patches, and new features from games we’ve covered.

• Illuvium announces its Launch date as June 25th alongisde updates to game modes, weapons systems and rewards for players.

• Pirate Nation’s Release 75 has fixed UI bugs, display issues with active bounties and solving the disappearing Marks or PGLD issue when trading.

• Legends of Elysium Season 1 kicked off on May 27th, introducing new challenges, rewards, and gameplay dynamics, encouraging players make their way up the competitive rankings.

Release Radar

Upcoming games, playtests, and drops.

• 🎮 Immortal Rising 2 (Closed Beta): Registration Live

• 🎮 Overworld Arena ($110k Prize Pool): Live

• 🪙 GameOn, $GAME (TGE): Live

• 🪙 Pirate Nation, $PIRATE (TGE): June 13

On-Chain Activity

New on-chain game announcements and network migrations.

• Archery Club (Immutable). Boomland’s first game announcement in the slate looking to onboard web2 gamers with “soft tokenization” through their sharpshooting mini game.

• Car Driving School (Immutable). The second of the dual announcement from Boomland sees a mobile based driving simulator with web3 elements (aka assets).

• Zone Nine (Ancient8). Ancient8 announced the zombie-survival game as the inaugural game on the network.

• Crown Chaser (Polygon → Elysium). Incantum Games partners with Elysium Blockchain to integrate blockchain tech into their FTP tower defense game Crown Chaser.

• Eldarune (Avalanche). Eldarune integrates with Avalanche, covering ELDA Token, NFTs, and four games, starting with the Red Box Free Mint Event that happened earlier this week.

Other News

• Dutch developer Gamedia accuses Gala Games of unfulfilled promises, failed payments, and mismanagement, leading to legal disputes and a deteriorating partnership over the game Spider Tanks.

• The Sandbox DAO has been announced, allowing holders to govern game aesthetics, interactivity, creative landscape and more.

Bonus Loot

• 📖 How People Discover New Games in 2024, Game Dev Reports (Read)

• 📖 Top 50 Blockchain Game Companies of 2024, Blockchain Gamer (Read)

• 📺 Death of a Game: Ragnarok Online (& Ragnarok Online 2), nerdSlayer Studios (Watch)