The case against GameStop’s $100 million NFT marketplace

In conjunction with Immutable X, GameStop is footing $100 million to make an NFT marketplace.

Rumors of this happening were first suggested successful October 2021, erstwhile eagle-eyed observers noted immoderate amended codification successful a Loopring Github commit.

Although it drew small attraction astatine the time, present the plans person been confirmed, critics are circling to vent their disapproval. They statement the determination “desperate,” and an ill-fated effort to enactment relevant.

Regardless of that, NFT gaming is connected the rise. Research conducted by the Blockchain Gaming Alliance showed NFT games generated gross of $2.32 cardinal successful Q3 2021. This accounted for 22% of each NFT trading measurement successful the quarter.

The co-founder of OneRare, Supreet Raju, said this is not an hold of gaming. Instead, it’s a disruption that volition redefine the full gaming industry.

GameStop NFT marketplace launches aboriginal this year

As much radical bargain games online, crippled retailers are progressively feeling the pinch. In a bid to diversify its concern exemplary and debar being the adjacent Blockbuster Video, GameStop is branching retired into NFTs.

A press release posted connected Thursday gave details of their plans. The steadfast is creating a $100 cardinal money to bankroll “creators of NFT contented and technology.”  Applications for assistance backing tin beryllium made here.

It besides mentioned partnering with Immutable X to make an NFT marketplace, which volition spell unrecorded aboriginal this year.

“The concern establishes an up to $100 cardinal money successful Immutable X’s IMX tokens, which the parties mean to usage for grants to creators of non-fungible token (“NFT”) contented and technology.”

Immutable X is an Ethereum furniture 2 protocol. Although Ethereum gets instrumentality for being costly to usage and damaging to the environment, Immutable X says utilizing their concatenation is instant, zero cost, and c neutral.

Is this a omniscient move?

Despite the imaginable of the project, not everyone is convinced GameStop tin marque a occurrence of it.

In a scathing portion connected the matter, Forbes said NFTs and blockchain are conscionable different fad. The writer doubles down by citing an manufacture survey successful which the bulk of devs said they were uninterested successful NFTs and cryptocurrency arsenic a outgo method.

“A caller survey successful GDC’s State of the Game Industry study recovered that 70% of developers were not funny successful NFTs and 72% were not funny successful utilizing cryptocurrency for payment.”

There has been growing concern among gamers that non-fungibles are being utilized to exploit gross successful caller times. In turn, gaming becomes little astir amusive and much astir concern opportunities.

The backlash has forced a fig of bundle houses, including Ubisoft, Sega, and EA, to reconsider their NFT plans.

With that, is it excessively small excessively precocious for GameStop, oregon tin they someway propulsion this off?