The Defiant

Polygon Doubles Down on Gaming and NFTs with $100M Fund

Polygon is raising a $100M fund to support blockchain game developers and NFT creators, and tapping the chops of Atari, the trailblazer that gave the world Pong, Space Invaders, and Asteroids. Polygon has already attracted over 100 NFT and gaming projects, according to awesomepolygon.com. But now the scaling solution is pursuing a far more ambitious…

By: Owen Fernau Loading...

Polygon Doubles Down on Gaming and NFTs with $100M Fund

Polygon is raising a $100M fund to support blockchain game developers and NFT creators, and tapping the chops of Atari, the trailblazer that gave the world Pong, Space Invaders, and Asteroids.

Polygon has already attracted over 100 NFT and gaming projects, according to awesomepolygon.com. But now the scaling solution is pursuing a far more ambitious agenda with the new venture, called Polygon Studios, which aims “to serve as a bridge between Web 2.0 & Web 3.0,” according to its Twitter account.

Atari CEO Fred Chesnias has long expressed a deep interest in blockchain’s potential. Polygon Studios has also formed partnerships with Metaverse giant Decentraland and NFT marketplace OpenSea.

To accomplish its mission, Polygon Studios will provide “360-degree building and launch support for blockchain games and NFT teams.” It will help facilitate launches for established brands and offer play-to-earn activities.

Play-to-Earn on the Rise

Play-to-earn games have been receiving more attention recently as the success of Axie Infinity has made headlines. Axie Infinity has earned $89.2M in revenue in the last 30 days, according to data provider Token Terminal. That’s $77.3M more than the next closest dapp by revenue, PancakeSwap.

“NFT gaming has been all the rage, but there has also been a ton of noise and not a lot of actual building,” said Kieran Daniels, CEO and co-founder of SmartDeFi, a Polygon-enabled project that aims to become a consumer-facing crypto app similar to Robinhood. “Polygon Studios is changing that — the platform they have built [will be] a new hub of innovation that will help all kinds of people, from artists and game developers to celebrities and consumer brands, to launch their own custom NFT models and marketplaces.”

Daniels, having spoken with Polygon co-founder Jaynti Kanani about the launch, said that Polygon Studios’ new fund will focus on the NFT gaming ecosystem, “helping with investment, marketing, technology, and community support.” The fund will be used to attract Web 2.0 companies into Polygon’s ecosystem and the broader Web 3.0 world, he said.

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