🔮 Metaproof

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.

🔮 Metaproof is a weekly newsletter that aggregates all of the top stories from each of our industry-specific newsletters so you get a holistic view on what is going on.

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse news roundup every Friday.

📲 By the numbers

• With JP Morgan analysts estimating $54B spent annually on virtual goods and McKinsey predicting the metaverse could generate up to $5 trillion in value by 2030, the fastest-selling goods on IMVU include pop neon hair, idol fade hair, and streetwear blue sneakers. (Source)

• The Games Developers Conference’s 2023 State of the Game Industry Survey questioned 2,300 game development professionals, 2/3 of whom have worked in game development for 3 to 20 years, and saw prevailing attitudes toward the metaverse and blockchain in the profession. (Source)

• Experts note the global digital twin market was valued at $6.3B in 2021 and is projected the market size to reach $143.2B by 2030. (Source)

📫 News & trends

🏀 Metaproof Sports

⛹🏼‍♂️ ‘Pokemon Go’ creator returns to ‘real world’ recipe for NBA game

Niantic, the company behind the popular game Pokemon Go, is introducing the new mobile game NBA All-World in aims of bringing players out of their homes and into the real world to play with others. The hybrid-style game, dubbed as a “real-world metaverse,” is designed to be accessible to all players, requiring only a mobile phone and no expensive VR headsets or goggles.

Niantic is hoping to make money from microtransactions, allowing players to purchase virtual items to customize their avatars. The company is also planning to monetize the game through sponsored locations and in-game advertising.

However, it's worth noting that Niantic has not been able to produce another hit game since Pokemon Go, with notable flops like Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, which was shut down due to lack of interest. The company is facing a high level of competition in the mobile gaming market, and it remains to be seen if NBA All-World will be able to generate the same level of success as Pokemon Go.

🕶 Metaproof Fashion

👜 Yves Saint Laurent files its metaverse and NFT trademark applications

As of January 12, Yves Saint Laurent has filed trademark applications for its name and logo for use in the NFT and metaverse space. With the luxury house planning to offer virtual goods such as makeup, skincare, and face care preparations for use in the virtual world, the trademarks include the offering of downloadable multimedia files which contain artwork, text, audio, and video related to perfumery, toiletries, and cosmetics that will be authenticated by NFTs.

The trademark applications also mention an online retail store for Yves Saint Laurent that will feature virtual goods, as well as retail store services that will feature virtual goods.

This isn’t, however, the first time a high-end brand has filed trademarks for metaverse and NFT applications. Companies like Mercedes Benz and Rolex both filed trademarks for the metaverse and NFTs near the end of 2022, while celebrities like Kanye West and Christina Aguilera also filed NFT and metaverse-related trademarks.

🎮 Metaproof Gaming

🐱 Neopets raise $4M to bring the game into the metaverse

As the iconic 90s pet game woos the new generation, renowned virtual pet game Neopets raises $4M from various Game-Fi brands - including industry leaders Polygon, Hashkey Capital, Blizzard Avalanche Fund, and NetDragon Websoft - to enter the metaverse. With this latest funding round that follows the success of Neopets Meta Alpha: Winter Edition, over 150 million fans worldwide will soon be able to raise their digital pets once more in a new web3 universe.

Now the Neopets Metaverse project seeks to fuse the power of the metaverse with the digital pet experiences, allowing players to fully own, monetize, and engage with the game in unprecedented ways. It will be a free-to-play game accessible to crypto enthusiasts, casual players, and fans alike, and thanks to the addition of blockchain technology to its gameplay mechanics, players can also build, own, and monetize their gaming experience. The metaverse game, too, involves minigames, PvP battles, as well as a unique Neopet care and customization system.

To the uninitiated, the original Neopets is a classic web browser game founded in 1999. The funding allows Neopets Metaverse to “bridge generations between gaming,” where old-time players revisit their long lost pets while new players gain a new Neopian experience.

🎥 Metaproof Media, Entertainment, IP

💸 Web3 brand Doodles buys ‘Rick & Morty’, Disney animation collaborator Golden Wolf

Web3 media and entertainment powerhouse Doodles is set to acquire transatlantic animation studio Golden Wolf, known to produce ancillary content for Adult Swim animated series Rick & Morty and make content for Disney, Illumination, Nike, and Facebook. Doodles started out as a series of digital collectibles based on characters created by artist Burnt Toast (real name Scott Martin) in October 2021.

The deal is reported to close in the next few weeks, with the following facts revealed at this point:

• Golden Wolf’s team will Join Doodles, with CEO and founder Ingi Erlingsson becoming Doodles’ chief content officer but will continue to oversee and operate Golden Wolf’s offices in London and New York

• As part of the deal, Psyop will invest in Doodles, which counts Pharrell Williams on its board

• An early project will see Burnt Toast and Golden Wolf collaborate on “original narrative content” and development of the Doodles characters and story, which potentially comprises original series, video games, and product marketing assets

Doodles has transformed into a franchise of animation, gaming, merchandise, music, and live events, with an apparent bid toward original content with this new acquisition.

🎵 Metaproof Music

🎸 Woodstock to bring its storied music festival to the metaverse

Looks like the ghosts of Woodstock past are getting a tech upgrade. The festival, known for bringing together over half a million people in 1969, is partnering with Sequin AR to bring its famed festival to the metaverse.

The goal? To make new and emerging artists more discoverable to a global audience through Woodstock World, an immersive 3D metaverse experience. The experience, built using Unreal Engine 5, will transport attendees back to the original festival while also allowing them to discover new artists. Think of it like a time machine, but with less chance of getting stuck in the past (and no need for a DeLorean).

But before you start dusting off your fringed vest and tie-dye shirts, there are a few things to note. Currently, there's no exact launch date for Woodstock World. Additionally, it's unclear how the experience will be monetized. Will virtual flower crowns be sold? Only time will tell.

In 1969 during the first festival, Woodstock exploded into the music world and brought together over half a million people using just analog tools. Today, founders hope to bring together what it calls an “infinite” audience using Sequin AR’s high-fidelity 3D metaverse experience, enabling attendees to discover new artists while having a taste of the original festival. The planned virtual interactive spaces will offer an “even more magical experience liberated from the boundaries of time and space”, said Joel Rosenman, co-producer of the original Woodstock and spokesperson with his partners in Woodstock Ventures.

We'll keep you updated as more information becomes available, but in the meantime, start practicing your virtual peace signs.

🎨 Metaproof Art

🔥 Kaws releases first blockchain-backed works with creative studio

For the first time, contemporary artist Brian Donnelly - known as Kaws - is releasing a set of blockchain-authenticated works. Done in partnership with Hong Kong-based creative studio AllRightsReserved (ARR), KAWS BRONZE EDITIONS comprises 12 bronze sculpture editions (each with an edition of 250, plus 50 artist-proof editions), celebrating 12 years of collaborations with the artist and the studio’s 20th anniversary.

The works pay homage to their past global exhibitions, including the first-ever large-scale outdoor COMPANION sculpture unveiled by ARR in Hong Kong in 2010. Others include works from KAWS: HOLIDAY exhibitions that have taken place worldwide, such as Seoul, Hong Kong, Taipei, Mount Fuji, and Singapore. The figures represented include PASSING THROUGH, CLEAN SLATE, BFF, SEEING, and WATCHING, each with varying dimensions; the tallest figure, SEEING, stands at 175 mm or nearly 7 inches. The works are each priced at HK$21,980 (US$2,826), with drawings open on the AAR’s DDT store until December 19.

KAWS BRONZE EDITIONS use blockchain technology for asset authentication, with each utilizing “tap-to-own” technology through a chip that is unique to each work. Collectors can verify and claim an accompanying on-chain asset that both proves ownership as a certificate of authenticity (COA) and acts as a digital collectible on its own.

💸 Finance buzz

• Plai Labs, a company that specializes in building social platforms for web3, raised $32M in a seed funding round led by investment firm a16z. Led by former executives from gaming studio Jam City and social platform Myspace, Plai Labs plans to use the funding to expand its team and hire developers, and to reimagine the “use [of] your AI-based profile and putting it in any situation, like a piece of art,” with implications for games and the metaverse. (Source)

• The future of metaverse art galleries is looking bright. Korea-based Gallery Stan’s CEO expects that a gallery will be able to trade about 5B won ($4.1M) worth of art pieces through the virtual reality space annually. (Source)

• Syky, a digital fashion business launched by Ralph Lauren's former Chief Digital Officer Alice Delahunt, has secured $9.5M in a series A fundraising round, which represents an investment in Delahunt's vision for digital fashion at a time when many in the field are seeing reduced crypto funding. (Source)

• The global metaverse industry, of which the MENA region is a leading investor, is expected to generate revenues of $966B (Dh3.55 trillion) worldwide by 2030. (Source)

🗣️ Quote of the week

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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.

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse news roundup every Friday.