Disney puts brakes on metaverse magic

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Metaproof is a media company that covers the business of the metaverse. We keep you informed how the metaverse and web3 are changing YOUR industry.

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1/ Disney cuts metaverse division as part of broader restructuring

Media and entertainment behemoth Walt Disney Co. has eliminated its metaverse division as part of staff cuts promising to slash headcount by about 7,000 org-wide over the next two months, as The Wall Street Journal reported.

The division in question: Disney’s next-gen storytelling and consumer experiences unit, which was developing strategies around the metaverse.

More to know about this developing story:

• The unit sought to explore ways to tell interactive stories in immersive formats via Disney’s extensive IP library, which includes Pixar, Marvel, and the entire Star Wars franchise.

• Mike White, the division head who took over the unit in February 2022 and was charged with getting Disney deeper into web3, will stay on but it remains unclear as to what capacity. All 50 or so team members under him, though, have lost their jobs.

• In February, Disney declared making $5.5B in cuts and cutting 7,000 jobs within a broader restructuring - apparently hit with the pressure to slash costs, often through canceling costly moonshot projects.

Disney isn’t alone in struggling to deliver on its big metaverse bet, as Meta itself appears to halt its adoption of the technology and refocus on hot AI ambitions.

2/ Ticketmaster debuts NFT-gated ticket sales, starting with Avenged Sevenfold

Ticketing giant Ticketmaster brings token-gating to a bigger arena as it announces its live Ethereum NFT token-gating feature for artists, developed in collaboration with metal band Avenged Sevenfold. The popular band, which has its own Deathbats Club NFT collection, tested the feature ahead of the complete rollout.

Key details to note:

• The feature lets artists offer up special access to their concert and event tickets among eligible NFT owners, championing the use of NFTs as access passes for digital spaces and live events within web3 communities.

• While users are purchasing, Ticketmaster will prompt them to connect a wallet to verify that they own an eligible NFT. Then it’s essentially the same buying process, yet with less competition for a small ticket pool, and without scalpers and bots.

• Ticketmaster has already minted nearly 15 million digital collectibles linked to events like NFL games, via Flow and Polygon.

Social media has so far been abuzz with positive results, with a Twitter post showing a Deathbat NFT holder saving about $540 in the base price and service fees using the token.

3/ Animoca Brands' Co-founder and Executive Chairman Yat Siu: “We believe that gaming alone will quite comfortably onboard the first billion users to web3.”

Simply put, Animoca and Siu know gaming. Since 2011 they have:

• Released more than 300 apps across multiple platforms

• Crossed over $200M game downloads

In 2014, Animoca spun out Animoca Brands to develop and publish games based on licensed content. Four years later, in 2018, they began working closely with CryptoKitties developer Axiom Zen and noticed how NFTs possessed the capacity to shift the status quo of the digital world. They eventually pivoted Animoca Brands to focus on NFT-based gaming, digital property rights, and the open metaverse.

So far, Animoca Brands has invested in 380 web3 projects including OpenSea, Polygon, and Flow.

But where does Yat Sui see the industry in 5 years?

A billion users.

How does it get there?

Better user experience and, you guessed it — gaming.

With over 3 billion gamers worldwide, we think we’ll get there.

4/ How to get metaverse payments right in 2023 and beyond

Businesses are exploring ways to create multichannel e-commerce experiences to capitalize on the projected $426B metaverse market by 2027. Payment enterprises have a chance to leverage the virtual world for embedded finance, open banking, and banking-as-a-service, while businesses can experiment further with innovative products, services, and channels.

Three key things for payment players, merchants, and fintechs as they venture into the metaverse:

• Build strong platforms to earn customer trust and gain adoption - Understand what plug-ins and APIs are needed to support to enable smooth consumer experiences.

• Expand to emerging markets - Capture up-and-coming segments across industries and countries, helping level the playing field in markets with poor financial inclusion.

• Consider partnering with other businesses - Think about cooperation instead of competition, such as OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, still needing traditional players to help move money around, access various payment methods, and comply with local regulations.

🏃‍♂️ Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Alibaba Cloud opens a blockchain lab for web3 game developers in Japan. (Link)

• The FDA OKs an “immersive video game” as official ADHD treatment. (Link)

• Fortnite’s new Unreal Editor has limits on what fans can make and monetize. (Link)

• Web3 is often conflated with the metaverse - nope, they aren’t one and the same. (Link)

• Metaverses will make games a more holistic arena, diversifying and intensifying engagement. (Link)

• Spider hunting game Kill It With Fire VR arrives in April. (Link)

• 8 features of the metaverse and how they impact gamers. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci will display their digital wares in a Metaverse Fashion Week event across 3 platforms: Here's how it will work. (Link)

• Adidas and Tommy Hilfiger also go cross-platform for MFW in the same bid for interoperability. (Link)

• Incoming MFW is likely themed “Future Heritage” to connect digital designers with fashion’s time-worn institutions. (Link)

• Over 33% of fashion consumers are keen to purchase digital clothing for their virtual gaming characters. (Link)

• What Vogue Singapore has in store for MFW with partners Decentraland, Spatial, and more. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• Google upgrades its NBA Pixel Arena app just in time for the playoffs. (Link)

• Adidas launches the 3rd phase of its Into The Metaverse project next week. (Link)

• Global metaverse gaming revenues are bound to jump by almost 40% YoY and hit $13.8B in 2023, notes SportsLens.com. (Link)

• Fan-first, gamified American bike racing from the National Cycling League. (Link)

• As crypto exchange Kraken signs with Williams Formula One, is crypto sports sponsorship back on track? (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Microsoft Teams lets you transform into a 3D avatar during meetings. (Link)

• Gundam Metaverse is getting a beta in 2023. (Link)

• Apple's MR headset may debut in June with advanced features and a $3,000 price tag. (Link)

• Could the metaverse help predict and produce movie blockbusters? (Link)

• Virtual K-pop group MAVE’s 1st single generates 20 million Spotify streams. (Link)

• Digital securities in web3 games and metaverse experiences explained. (Link)

🖼 Art

• Rumors about Amazon’s NFT plans made rounds in late January and cited a spring 2023 rollout. (Link)

• Sotheby’s sale of Glitch Art via digital art marketplace Metaverse hits a glitch of its own: Artists complain about an all-male lineup. (Link)

• Binance expands its AI-powered NFT generator Bicasso. (Link)

• The UK Treasury cancels plans for a gov’t-backed NFT amid environmental concerns. (Link)

• The potential impact of combining NFTs and IoT. (Link)

• The DC Department of Buildings is taking its Vacant-to-Visual Program to the next level with metaverse expansion. (Link)

• 2023 MAD Awards finalists have arrived - and they're ready to metaverse. (Link)

🤖 AI

• Days after his viral fake pic, Pope Francis calls for ethical AI use. (Link)

• No reporters, no bias? NewsGPT claims to be the world-first news channel entirely produced by AI. (Link)

• Canva rolls out new AI-powered design tools. (Link)

• No more taking notes during meetings: Zoom's new AI tools will do the summarizing for you. (Link)

• Walmart is leveraging AI to revolutionize shopping yet again. (Link)

• "Godfather of AI" Geoffrey Hinton chats about the potential of AI. (Link)

• Ask ChatGPT for the recipe and it'll make a chocolate cake ASAP. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Porsche Australia and Atari collaborate to race two electric Taycans in a game of Pong before this week's Australian Grand Prix. (Link)

• Japanese telecom carrier KDDI follows its rival SoftBank’s entry in gaming blockchain Oasys. (Link)

• Web3 platform Reality-VR unveils a new funding platform to bring AI and metaverse to a wider audience and “build a community of innovators and enthusiasts.” (Link)

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All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

📈 If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse 📈

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