GameStop, a video game and electronics retailer, has announced a partnership with blockchain developer Immutable to develop an NFT marketplace and secure funding to attract developers.
GameStop, a game retailer that was at the center of the battle between Wall Street hedge funds and retailers last year, announced plans to launch its own NFT marketplace. The company announced in a press release Thursday, confirming retailers’ suspicions and announcing a partnership with Immutable using a platform built on the Ethereum blockchain.
Robbie Ferguson, co-founder and president of Immutables, said in a dedicated channel, Bankless Live Stream, on February 4th: For crypto-related news.
In fact, it was the company’s fan base that GameStop predicted to move to NFT and Web3.0 spaces after some job listings seeking professionals in these areas were posted on the company’s recruitment page.
The market announcement highlights GameStop’s transition from retail retailers to modern consumer electronics organizations that are beginning to embark on cryptocurrencies and technology. This was driven by Ryan Cohen’s appointment as chairman of the board in April 2021. Cohen, a prominent entrepreneur and petsmart investor, has helped the company turn around by hiring top executives from Amazon and liquidating GameStop’s debt.
The use of the Immutable X platform aims to mitigate some of Ethereum’s shortcomings, such as high transaction fees or “gas charges” and environmental costs. Immutable promises to pay carbon offsets for the environmental costs incurred.
“The partnership will establish up to $ 100 million in Immutable X IMX tokens, which the parties will use to subsidize the creators of non-fungible token (” NFT “) content and technology.” The press statement continued. The fund aims to use Immutable’s unique IMX tokens to provide game developer and studio grants for building products on the ImmutableX platform and NFTs.
The market announcement was a widely announced “memestock” battle between hedge fund shortsellers and retail traders in early 2021, with stock prices skyrocketing amid rising volatility and a generation of young traders entering the company. Public forums such as Reddit that follow every move.
With many other game-related NFT products from major game developers facing a fierce backlash, it’s still unclear if GameStop’s move to NFT and Web 3.0 will eventually be accepted. The retailer’s main business is still driven by the sale of home appliances and video games, and it’s still unclear what the NFT market will look like, but like last year’s company promotion and subsequent cult. Given that, further development can be out of breath.
