Playson lands content deal with Rank Group to strengthen UK presence

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Yaniv Baruch, COO of Playnance, a dedicated GameFi ecosystem running on PlayBlock:

Let me cite the newest DappRadar games report: “While August may have seemed like a relatively quiet month for blockchain gaming, it reached a new all-time high in activity.” The number of daily unique active wallets (dUAW) set another record, hitting the 4.2 million mark — a 5% increase from the previous month. The GameFi industry hasn’t been making headlines lately, but new games keep launching, and users continue to demonstrate increasing engagement with blockchain games. 

However, Web3 gaming has given up its leadership in the dApp niche over the past two months — AI-based applications have claimed the top spot, capturing a 29% share of the market. One might assume that GameFi is losing ground — but I believe Web3 gaming has a stronger potential than any other crypto narrative for four reasons.

First, investment figures suggest that VCs continue to show strong interest in the industry. GameFi projects raised $1.1 billion in Q2 2024, which is 314% more than in the previous quarter. Investments are going towards gaming studios rather than specific titles — we see a strong focus on infrastructure development and the holistic growth of the industry, which should lead to a comprehensive outcome in the next months and years.

Second, GameFi continues to overcome the limitations that have hindered mass users from embracing blockchain games. Thanks to account abstraction, Web3 games are evolving to feel just like traditional games in terms of user experience — they eliminate the hassle of private key management, the need to constantly sign transactions, and even gas fees. Solutions like Arbitrum Stylus allow devs to launch smart contracts written in languages other than Solidity, opening the door to GameFi for thousands of experienced developers in Rust, C, and C++.

Third, GameFi is becoming increasingly immersive — and in the coming year, we’ll hit a new milestone as the first Web3 gaming devices go live. SuiPlay0X1 and Play Solana Gen1 are set to elevate the blockchain gaming experience, making it even more akin to Web2 products. Along with account abstraction, crypto consoles seamlessly integrate blockchain technology into games, making it more accessible to the masses.

Last but not least, we’ve seen a significant influx of users entering the Web3 gaming space, largely due to the popularity of TON and Telegram-based games, primarily tap-to-earn projects. These games and their airdrops have become the first crypto experience for millions of users. Token recipients began seeking ways to trade and withdraw their rewards, create accounts on crypto exchanges and Web3 wallets, and discover other crypto games. New products keep emerging in the Telegram gaming ecosystem every month, so TON is likely to continue pushing GameFi forward.

GameFi is sharing the spotlight with AI applications, but its potential remains largely untapped. Web3 brings specific utility to gaming — it provides ownership of in-game assets and ensures their security in games where these assets hold real value. Blockchain allows users to freely manage them, enhancing the overall experience and deepening connection with the game. Blockchain perks are also widely applied in iGaming — dApps where users can earn based on their predictions. This sector is one of the top 12 crypto narratives for 2024, and also has immense growth potential as part of GameFi. In this case, decentralization creates transparency and trust, fostering trust between developers and players. Ultimately, the speed and performance of new blockchain solutions is a critical factor for this sector. So, the modern L2 and L3 solutions are an important driver here (e.g. Playblock L3 solution has 0.1s time block, with 1.7M daily transactions) to provide the best user experience for any type of GameFi and iGaming solutions.   

The stage is set for Web3 gaming resurgence with continued investment pouring in, user experiences becoming seamless through account abstraction, and exciting Web3 gaming devices on the horizon. The wave of new users drawn in by TON and Telegram is a promising sign that this vibrant ecosystem is just getting started. GameFi has the potential to thrive, taking a position among the most exciting crypto narratives.

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GameOn expands service offering to provide outsourced highly experienced marketing services

GameOn, the industry’s most prominent B2B PR agency, has today announced the launch of a new division, which will provide companies with access to a highly skilled team of marketing experts, to help create and accelerate their global marketing strategies.

The new division will be headed up by Alex Wilson, previously Head of Marketing for Microgaming and latterly Apricot Investments and will be working with clients to offer a wide range of services including multi-national brand management, the creation and implementation of sales driven marketing, corporate and product communication strategies. She will also be working with clients on employee branding and engagement, organisational transformations, market research and managing digital acquisition, affiliate, PR and creative functions.

Commenting on Alex’s appointment to the business, Sarah Blackburn, co-founder of GameOn, said: “I’ve had the privilege of working with Alex for the last couple of years and seen first-hand her extraordinary aptitude to implement the most effective marketing strategies across multiple brands.

“Together we identified a gap in the market to offer companies at all levels, an opportunity to provide an experienced team of marketing professionals, that is both cost effective and supported by the entire GameOn team.”

Alex Wilson, Head of Marketing Division said: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time working in an industry that is constantly innovating and evolving and I’m excited to start this next phase of my career.

“There are so many businesses in our industry that could benefit from a service that provides a high level of expertise, on a flexible working basis, and that doesn’t require the same level of investment that recruiting someone on a full time basis would incur. I’m really excited and can’t wait to get started.”

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Social live streaming product now available to operators via state-of-the-art platform provider and content aggregator

Vegangster, the trusted platform partner and content aggregator, has joined the Livespins revolution to give its operator partners access to one of the most socially charged online casino experiences in the market.

Under the breakthrough partnership, Vegangster’s customers can now add Livespins to their casino lobbies, allowing them to tap into the huge demand for slot streaming.

The award-winning Livespins allows players to not only watch streamers fire up the reels on blockbuster slots from top-flight providers such as No Limit City, Evolution and Relax Gaming, but they can also get involved by betting together with the streamer.

If the streamer wins, they win. But even if the spin doesn’t result in a win, players are guaranteed a fun, social experience. The innovative bet behind system creates a group bet and shared player journey with plenty of social interaction.

Not only can the players chat with the streamer and each other throughout, but they can also drop reactions, emojis and gifs. There really is no other casino experience like it, and that’s why Livespins has taken the industry by storm.

Because Livespins sits within the casino lobby, players are offered all of the protection tools required under the operator’s local and international licences and this in turn means online casinos can leverage the huge popularity of streaming while being fully compliant.

The integration with Livespins is a major boost for Vegangster, further positioning it at the cutting edge of platform and content provision.

Michael Pedersen, Chief Commercial Officer at Livespins, said: “We are always looking to spread the Livespins revolution further and this partnership with Vegangster allows us to do just that.

“It works with some most exciting online casino brands in the space right now, and these brands will absolutely benefit from being able to offer their players slot streaming experiences for the first time.

“But Livespins takes this to the next level, with players getting directly involved in the action via our innovative bet behind system. This is a great deal for us, for Vegangster and players around the world.”

Daria Filipska, Head of Sales at Vegangster, added: “We go to great lengths to bring the best content and new products to our platform so that our operator partners can stay ahead of the game. In Livespins, we have a truly unique product that allows operators to tap into the huge demand for casino and slot streaming.”