Marketplace focuses on Web3 gaming and launch of in-game storefronts
Magic Eden is the leading Solana NFT marketplace. The company has been doing exceptionally well even during this crypto bear market. Recent funding has pushed the valuation of the platform to over $1.6B finalizing its unicorn status. The new influx of funds are being used to bolster new innovations on the Solana blockchain.
The company has decided to launch a gaming investment arm. The investment arm will be known as Magic Ventures and will be completely focused on web3 gaming. The company is serious about this ambition and has hired Tencent games Tony Zhao as head of gaming investments.
The current ideology of the gaming branch is to support developers of NFT powered video games. The support will be purely strategic and not focused on making a return as the company truly wants to be the defacto space for web3 gaming investment and growth.
Magic Eden currently holds 90% or more command of NFTs on the Solana blockchain and the game designers that join on Magic Eden will be entered into the ME ecosystem which includes a launchpad, aid in primary sales of new NFTs, secondary marketplace support for ongoing sales, and more. The plan is to allow developers to focus on creating fun innovating games for the web3 space.
There is currently no fixed number in terms of the amount of money ME plans to spend on this initiative but the investment size would be pretty small since there is a strategy to the whole situation. There have already been some investments on certain projects but the team has not disclosed what those investments were. Zhao emphasized that ME is not meant to be a funding source but rather a source of NFT infrastructure solutions.
The company has also announced that there are partnerships reached with Aurora, Mini Royal:Nations and Genopets to offer in-game NFT marketplaces powered by ME with more games to follow suit in the future. Players will be able to purchase and sell their NFTs within the game and will not need to go to an external site for their needs. The integration will be made for seamless marketplace utilization.
This new focus on web3 gaming has now poised Magic Eden as a competitor for Justin Kan’s Fractal. Justin is the co-founder of Twitch and Fractal is his web3 initiative that focuses on interactive gaming assets. Magic Eden focuses on pfp, and other types of NFT. Zhao spoke on how he believes ME is poised to be a more comprehensive than Fractal.