Gamestop and NFTs: a project dedicated to gaming

As anticipated, Gamestop yesterday finally unveiled its new marketplace of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) dedicated to gaming.

The platform was built using ImmutableX, as anticipated last February when the two companies entered into a partnership that also involved an investment of a whopping $100 million.

The marketplace has been in beta for about four months, since last July, to test all its features and then be ready for the official launch on Monday, 31 October.

Aimed at giving easy access to the Web3 world and enabling the sale and purchase of NFT gaming assets, the platform includes popular games such as Gods Unchained, Guild of Guardians, and Illuvium.

Gamestop’s NFTs

Going to the marketplace website, opened as a subdomain of Gamestop’s main website, it is clear at first glance that it is a platform where the gamer is at the center.

Indeed, Gamestop’s goal with this new project is precisely to facilitate access to Web3 and thus lead gamers into the world of blockchain gaming. Not surprisingly, ample space is also devoted to tutorials.

It is also interesting to note that there is a section dedicated to Habbo, a game from the 2000s that could be considered one of the forerunners of today’s metaverses.

What is ImmutableX

ImmutableX is a layer 2 based on the Ethereum blockchain that allows for fast transactions and virtually zero fees. This also allows for a 100% carbon neutral technology.

The main use of this layer 2 is aimed at the world of NFTs and thus Web3 and gaming, with games such as Delysium, Undead Blocks, Starheroes and many others.

Gamestop’s involvement in the NFT and crypto world.

Back in July, Gamestop also launched a self-custodial Ethereum wallet that leverages Loopring‘s Layer 2 technology for crypto, NFTs, and dApp custody. The wallet, which can be found on Gamestop’s official website, is available as a browser extension and also for the iPhone.

The goal of the new Ethereum-based wallet is to make it easy for users to store, send and receive ETH, NFTs, ERC20 tokens and use dApps, using Loopring’s Layer 2 ZK-rollup technology.

The Gamestop case on Reddit

About a year ago, in the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown and pandemic, Reddit became the stage for an organized pump of Gamestop’s stock, GME, by the Wall Street Bets group.

GameStop, as of December 2020, was a company in deep crisis. Listed on the stock exchange since 2004, it had suffered from both the crisis of the digital shift and thus the futility of physical stores and also the crisis related to the pandemic.

In December 2020, the RC Ventures fund acquired 13% of the company for $76 million, presenting a revitalization plan focused on ecommerce. In January, GameStop’s shares rose from $4 to $18. 

Despite this, hedge funds bet on GameStop’s demise, and Melvin Capital and Citron Research begin short-selling GameStop’s shares. 

This is where the Wall Street Bets group comes in, which began buying GameStop’s shares en masse to drive up its price, proving that a group of “small investors” can succeed in bringing even traditional finance to its knees.

Soon after, this group of retail investors also pumped up cryptocurrencies such as Dogecoin and even Ripple.