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GTA and CoD veterans’ new studio collabs with Immutable

Web3 gaming ecosystem Immutable is helping Random Games join the blockchain gaming world. The studio was founded by veteran developers and storytellers from famous franchises including Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, Fortnite, Batman, Star Trek, The Walking Dead, Star Wars and South Park. The collaboration centers around Unioverse, a Web3 sci-fi franchise spanning multiple mediums.

Random Games plans to create a platform offering high-quality assets for game creation without royalty fees. The Unioverse community will be encouraged to produce their own stories, games and content using official assets.

Unioverse hopes to foster a continuous stream of professional and user-generated content, given its royalty-free nature. Users can monetize their creations by selling merchandise such as comic books, T-shirts and lunchboxes and retain all the profits.

Unioverse
Heroes from the first release in the Unioverse. (unioverse.com)

Immutable’s vice president of global business development, Andrew Sorokovsky says Immutable will provide the blockchain platform, tools and services, including its zkEVM for scaling and Immutable passport for digital IDs:

This will allow the team to focus on shipping a great game without having to become blockchain experts in the process — letting us take care of the heavy lifting,”

Unioverse features Hero NFTs, which are high-quality 3D digital items that you can own in the digital world. Hero NFTs started minting with ‘Reyu’ in Jan. 2023 and sold 20,000 NFTs, which was followed by the launch of ‘Krishah’ in June. With over a million NFTs minted and more than 110,000 verified accounts with connected wallets, they also debuted the first part of a six-part comic book series and introduced Proving Grounds, their first alpha game environment, in May.

Random Games previously raised $7.6 million in a seed funding round co-led by Resolute Ventures and Asymmetric.

Brawlers by Magic: The Gathering creator to launch on Epic Games Store

Brawlers, a player-versus-player blockchain card game will be launched on the massive, mainstream Epic Games Store.



It’s the debut game of Tyranno Studios, WAX blockchain’s inhouse game development team led by gaming industry veteran Michael Rubinelli, who has 25 years of experience at companies such as Disney, Electronic Arts and THQ.

Centered around the theme of pro-wrestling, Brawlers’ player-versus-player (PvP) mode was designed by Richard Garfield, famous for his creation of the popular card game Magic: The Gathering.

Releasing a blockchain game on EGS is a big deal for any developer, as the platform has over 230 million users, including 70 million monthly active users. But releasing a blockchain game on the platform is an even bigger deal as Web3 companies generally can’t access such a massive audience under such a reputable name. WAX’s Chief Gaming Officer Rubinelli calls EGS the “next step on our journey to the mass adoption of Web3.”

This launch further accelerates the paradigm shift in gaming as a whole, bringing blockchain-powered fairness, inclusivity and player-centric approach even closer to the mainstream audience.”

In the game, players compete in wrestling matches and earn BRWL tokens which can be used to craft or purchase content. Apart from the Brawlers themselves, every in-game item can be crafted, used, sold, traded or gifted among players as they’re NFTs.

Garfield emphasized the game’s similarity to traditional physical card games, where players can buy card sets and maintain complete control over their assets, enabling easy trading and exchange.

The game allows cross-platform functionality via NFT bridges to Polygon, Ethereum and Binance’s BNB Chain.

Over $2 billion invested in blockchain gaming so far in 2023

Blockchain gaming investments are up $600 million in the third quarter of 2023, bringing the year-to-date total to an impressive $2.3 billion in the midst of a bear market, according to DappRadar and BGA Games’ most recent joint blockchain gaming report.

Investments in Web3 Gaming Projects
Investments in Web3 gaming projects between Q3 2022 – Q3 2023. (DappRadar)

However, 2023’s tally only accounts for 30% of the preceding year’s total investments. But considering the state of the wider market, it’s a respectable figure that proves that a lot of people are willing to bet a lot of money that blockchain games will still be The Next Big Thing.

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The report underscores how Web2 gaming giants are “making assertive strides into the Web3 realm.” One of the most notable being FarmVille creator Zynga’s successful introduction of Sugartown, which received instant adoption and high praise from the Web3 community. It’s a welcome development as better studios generally mean better games.

Daily unique active wallets (UAWs) saw an uptick of 12% compared to last quarter, reaching a daily average of 786,766 UAWs. Alien Worlds, a community-built metaverse, kept its crown as the most-played blockchain game of Q3 2023, capturing over 60% of WAX’s blockchain activity.

Top 5 Web3 Games by Transaction Volume
Web3 games with the highest transaction volumes for Q3 2023. (DappRadar)

Web3 gaming’s flagship titles, Axie Infinity and Gods Unchained, blazed the trail in terms of transaction volume, with volumes of $90 million and $55 million, respectively.

In the third quarter, virtual worlds experienced a dip from the last quarter’s $58 million as numbers showed $13 million in trading volume with 28,000 land sales. Despite virtual worlds’ declining trading volume, substantial investments like Animoca Brands’ $20 million funding for Mocaverse keep the metaverse fire alive.

Upland’s Spark shines on Ethereum

Metaverse platform Upland will enable trading of its in-game utility token, Spark, on Ethereum. The decision was approved by 87.25% of voters in a recent community governance vote.

Known as the Sparklet White Paper, the proposal was presented to the Upland community in late September. The plan involves bridging the game’s in-app token, Spark, to the Ethereum blockchain, where it will be mirrored and minted as the Sparklet token. Each Sparklet is equivalent to one-thousandth of a Spark.

Upland co-founder and co-CEO Dirk Lueth says the move is a win for decentralization:

Adhering to our mission to build the largest digital open economy, Sparklet allows us to take the next step towards progressive decentralization in a responsible way by offering tradability to our users while having mechanisms in place that can shield and protect Upland’s economy from unwanted externalities.”

A finite supply of 1,000,000,000 Sparklet tokens will be issued on Ethereum, although Upland has not shared the exact timeline yet. The Sparklet supply will be mirrored by the minting of 1,000,000 Spark on the EOS blockchain, ensuring a balanced ownership structure between the platforms.

Hot Take: Guild of Guardians

Guild of Guardians is a mobile rogue-lite squad RPG that is being developed by Mineloader and published by Immutable. It held a “friends and family demo event” this week for testing and I was one of the fortunate people that got to try the game.

As soon as the game opens, nicely composed Harry Potter-esque background music welcomes you to the world of Guardians. The demo consists of core dungeon battles, crafting loops, quests and level-up options. The graphics look decent, while the music and sound effects are on point.

Players assemble a team of heroes and venture into dungeons for combat. When assembling a team, you need to consider factional, elemental and class synergies and team composition. For instance, a team composed entirely of Hordes receives a raw attack boost, while teams of all fire elements have an increased chance of inflicting damage over time. Heroes are also split into traditional RPG roles like tank, healer, support and DPS – short for damage per second, which is used to describe damage-focused characters.

The main challenge Guild of Guardians needs to tackle is that squad-based PvP gaming has somewhat matured. None of the heroes feel original or new, and the user interface looks like every fantasy-element-bearing mobile game ever.

Artwork from Guild of Guardians
Guild of Guardians promotional art. (Guild of Guardians)

Of course, it’s not fair to judge such aspects by a “friends & family” demo, so it’s better to check the full version to see if there are improvements and refinements to form your own opinions — it’s going to be free-to-play anyway. Who knows, you might love it and find your next 600-hour addiction!

More from Web3 gaming space:

– Zynga’s Web3 IP Sugartown introduces an NFT collection called Oras.

– NFL Rivals announces 6-month partnership with Amazon Prime Gaming.

– Gods Unchained Season 2: Tides of Fate launches Oct. 25.

– Social web game Habbo ditches ‘Habbo NFTs’ for ‘Habbo Collectibles’ in its terminology.

– Animoca Brands subsidiary Darewise raises $3.5 million in token presale for sci-fi Web3 game Life Beyond.

– Business simulation strategy game Legacy launches on Oct. 26.

Erhan Kahraman

Erhan Kahraman

Based in Istanbul, Erhan started his career as a gaming journalist. He now works as a freelance writer and content creator with a focus on cutting-edge technology and video games. He enjoys playing Elden Ring, Street Fighter 6 and Persona 5.

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US CLARITY bill could allow Tesla and Meta to evade SEC rules — Senator Warren

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US CLARITY bill could allow Tesla and Meta to evade SEC rules — Senator Warren

US CLARITY bill could allow Tesla and Meta to evade SEC rules — Senator Warren

The legislation to establish crypto market structure is one of three bills the US House of Representatives is expected to consider starting next week.

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What is a wealth tax, how would it work in the UK and where else has one?

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What is a wealth tax, how would it work in the UK and where else has one?

The idea of a wealth tax has raised its head – yet again – as the government attempts to balance its books.

Downing Street refused to rule out a wealth tax after former Labour leader Lord Kinnock told Sky News he thinks the government should introduce one.

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Lord Kinnock calls for ‘wealth tax’

Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said: “The prime minister has repeatedly said those with the broadest shoulders should carry the largest burden.”

While there has never been a wealth tax in the UK, the notion was raised under Rishi Sunak after the COVID years – and rejected – and both Harold Wilson’s and James Callaghan’s Labour governments in the 1970s seriously considered implementing one.

Sky News looks at what a wealth tax is, how it could work in the UK, and which countries already have one.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the launch of the 10-year health plan in east London. Pic: PA
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Will Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer impose a wealth tax? Pic: PA

What is a wealth tax?

A wealth tax is aimed at reducing economic inequality to redistribute wealth and to raise revenue.

It is a direct levy on all, or most of, an individual’s, household’s or business’s total net wealth, rather than their income.

The tax typically includes the total market value of assets, including savings, investments, property and other forms of wealth – minus a person’s debts.

Unlike capital gains tax, which is paid when an asset is sold at a profit, a wealth tax is normally an annual charge based on the value of assets owned, even if they are not sold.

A one-off wealth tax, often used after major crises, could also be an option to raise a substantial amount of revenue in one go.

Read more:
No wealth tax under a Labour govt, Rachel Reeves said in 2023

UN criticises Starmer’s welfare reforms and warns measures will ‘increase poverty rates’

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Wealth tax would be a ‘mistake’

How could it work in the UK?

Advocates of a UK wealth tax, including Lord Kinnock, have proposed an annual 2% tax on wealth above £10m.

Wealth tax campaign group Tax Justice UK has calculated this would affect about 20,000 people – fewer than 0.04% of the population – and raise £24bn a year.

Because of how few people would pay it, Tax Justice says that would make it easy for HMRC to collect the tax.

The group proposes people self-declare asset values, backed up by a compliance team at HMRC who could have a register of assets.

Which countries have or have had a wealth tax?

In 1990, 12 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries had a net wealth tax, but just four have one now: Colombia, Norway, Spain and Switzerland.

France and Italy levy wealth taxes on selected assets.

Colombia

Since 2023, residents in the South American country are subject to tax on their worldwide wealth, but can exclude the value of their household up to 509m pesos (£92,500).

The tax is progressive, ranging from a 0.5% rate to 1.5% for the most wealthy until next year, then 1% for the wealthiest from 2027.

Bogota in Colombia, which has a wealth tax
Image:
Bogota in Colombia, which has a wealth tax

Norway

There is a 0.525% municipal wealth tax for individuals with net wealth exceeding 1.7m kroner (about £125,000) or 3.52m kroner (£256,000) for spouses.

Norway also has a state wealth tax of 0.475% based on assets exceeding a net capital tax basis of 1.7m kroner (£125,000) or 3.52m kroner (£256,000) for spouses, and 0.575% for net wealth in excess of 20.7m kroner (£1.5m).

Norway has both a municipal and state wealth tax. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Norway has both a municipal and state wealth tax. Pic: Reuters

The maximum combined wealth tax rate is 1.1%.

The Norwegian Labour coalition government also increased dividend tax to 20% in 2023, and with the wealth tax, it prompted about 80 affluent business owners, with an estimated net worth of £40bn, to leave Norway.

Spain

Residents in Spain have to pay a progressive wealth tax on worldwide assets, with a €700,000 (£600,000) tax free allowance per person in most areas and homes up to €300,000 (£250,000) tax exempt.

Madrid in Spain. More than 12,000 multimillionaires have left the country since a wealth tax was increased in 2022. Pic: Reuters
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Madrid in Spain. More than 12,000 multimillionaires have left the country since a wealth tax was increased in 2022. Pic: Reuters

The progressive rate goes from 0.2% for taxable income for assets of €167,129 (£144,000) up to 3.5% for taxable income of €10.6m (£9.146m) and above.

It has been reported that more than 12,000 multimillionaires have left Spain since the government introduced the higher levy at the end of 2022.

Switzerland

All of the country’s cantons (districts) have a net wealth tax based on a person’s taxable net worth – different to total net worth.

Zurich is Switzerland's wealthiest city, and has its own wealth tax, as do other Swiss cantons. Pic: Reuters
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Zurich is Switzerland’s wealthiest city, and has its own wealth tax, as do other Swiss cantons. Pic: Reuters

It takes into account the balance of an individual’s worldwide gross assets, including bank account balances, bonds, shares, life insurances, cars, boats, properties, paintings, jewellery – minus debts.

Switzerland also works on a progressive rate, ranging from 0.3% to 0.5%, with a relatively low starting point at which people are taxed on their wealth, such as 50,000 CHF (£46,200) in several cantons.

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Jingye and Whitehall officials hold talks over British Steel future

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Jingye and Whitehall officials hold talks over British Steel future

The Chinese owner of British Steel has held fresh talks with government officials in a bid to break the impasse over ministers’ determination not to compensate it for seizing control of the company.

Sky News has learnt that executives from Jingye Group met senior civil servants from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) late last week to discuss ways to resolve the standoff.

Whitehall sources said the talks had been cordial, but that no meaningful progress had been made towards a resolution.

Money blog: €1 home goes on sale – but there are T&Cs

Jingye wants the government to agree to pay it hundreds of millions of pounds for taking control of British Steel in April – a move triggered by the Chinese group’s preparations for the permanent closure of its blast furnaces in Scunthorpe.

Such a move would have cost thousands of jobs and ended Britain’s centuries-old ability to produce virgin steel.

Jingye had been in talks for months to seek £1bn in state aid to facilitate the Scunthorpe plant’s transition to greener steelmaking, but was offered just half that sum by ministers.

More on British Steel

British Steel has not yet been formally nationalised, although that remains a probable outcome.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, has previously dismissed the idea of compensating Jingye, saying British Steel’s equity was essentially worthless.

Last month, he met his Chinese counterpart, where the issue of British Steel was discussed between the two governments in person for the first time.

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Inside the UK’s last blast furnaces

Jingye has hired the leading City law firm Linklaters to explore the recovery of hundreds of millions of pounds it invested in the Scunthorpe-based company before the government seized control of it.

News of last week’s meeting comes as British steelmakers face an anxious wait to learn whether their exports to the US face swingeing tariffs as part of US President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Sky News’s economics and data editor, Ed Conway, revealed this week that the UK would miss a White House-imposed deadline to agree a trade deal on steel and aluminium this week.

Read more from Sky News:
Is Britain going bankrupt?
Public finances in ‘relatively vulnerable position’, OBR warns

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Jingye declined to comment, while a spokesman for the Department for Business and Trade said: “We acted quickly to ensure the continued operations of the blast furnaces but recognise that securing British Steel’s long-term future requires private sector investment.

“We have not nationalised British Steel and are working closely with Jingye on options for the future, and we will continue work on determining the best long-term sustainable future for the site.”

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