GameStop recently teased the launch of the Beta version of its highly-anticipated NFT marketplace. The company’s NFT website currently does not feature any digital artwork but touts its upcoming Immutable X Gaming Collections.
Meanwhile, the excitement around GameStop’s pretty much empty NFT marketplace has also positively impacted the company’s shares, which closed the day up by more than 8%.
GameStop to Launch NFT Marketplace and Crypto Wallet
On Thursday, the official Twitter account of GameStop NFT posted “gm!”—a cryptic tweet that is the acronym for “good morning.” The tweet, which was also the first tweet from the account, stirred up speculations that the video game retailer might be eventually close to launching its NFT platform.
gm!
— GameStopNFT (@GameStopNFT) May 19, 2022
“Meet the new kid on the blockchain,” GameStop NFT tweeted shortly after. In an accompanying statement, the company also acknowledged the benefits of blockchains, arguing that they would give the power back to players.
“What the internet did for communication, blockchains do for value. Now, global communities can connect, coordinate, and transact like never before.
Public, permissionless, credibly neutral value layers – > Power to the players.”
GameStop’s NFT marketplace is currently in its beta version, and pretty much empty. However, in an announcement bar at top of the website, the company touts its upcoming “Immutable X Gaming Collections.” It also reminds users of the GameStop and Immutable X grant program, which offers $100 million to projects and game developers building on the platform.
GameStop’s Web3 Journey
GameStop first unveiled plans to launch an NFT marketplace in May 2021. At the time, the gaming retailer released a website named nft.gamestop.com, which included a call to action for developers, engineers, and community leaders.
In late 2021, the company posted several NFT and “Web3 gaming” job positions. “Future creators won’t just build games but also the components, characters, and equipment. Blockchains will power the commerce underneath,” job descriptions said, suggesting the company expected a metaverse-esque future for the gaming industry.
While initially it was speculated that the company would form a partnership with Loopring, a Layer 2 solution for Ethereum, to create its NFT marketplace, GameStop ended up choosing the Immutable X liquidity platform to launch its NFT platform. In a press release, the company said it has chosen Immutable because of its “zero gas fees for trading and minting NFTs in a carbon-neutral environment.”
GameStop’s NFT marketplace would most likely enable users to browse, purchase, and sell in-game digital assets.
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GameStop Plans for its Web3 Wallet
GameStop has plans to launch the Beta version of its Web3 wallet too, dubbed the GameStop Wallet. Unlike the company’s NFT marketplace, the wallet has been more of a mystery so far. Some Internet sleuths discovered the wallet earlier this month, but its website soon disappeared.
Nevertheless, the wallet is currently live and users can even utilize it to interact with the company’s NFT platform. “Store, send and receive NFTs. Easily connect to the upcoming GameStop NFT marketplace and trade NFTs from anywhere,” the wallet’s website says.
Notably, the wallet enables users to leverage the power of Loopring and trade assets and collectibles with low fees. Moreover, similar to other popular Web3 wallets like MetaMask, it is a self-custody wallet, meaning users will have full control of their crypto assets at all times.
“The GameStop Wallet is a self-custodial Ethereum wallet, which gives you full control of your assets. Power to the players!”
With everything that is going on with crypto currently, do you think GameStop is waiting for the right time to unveil its NFT marketplace? Let us know in the comments below.
The post GameStop Hints at Launching NFT Marketplace and Web3 Wallet Soon appeared first on The Tokenist.
