Metaverse, NFT & Gaming Report — November Edition
Monthly comprehensive report that summarises all major trends, developments and funding across the Metaverse, NFT and Web3 Gaming space
1. NFT Overview
November turned out to be a strong month for NFT markets despite the FTX debacle. From the increased NFT sales volumes across blockchains to the continued interest in NFT bluechips, the NFT sector maintained its resilience through November.
The combined NFT trading volumes across popular blockchains (Ethereum, Solana, BNB, Polygon, Flow & Immutable X) for November stood at $514 million, up a drastic 15% from the previous month, according to data from CryptoSlam. November was noteworthy for NFTs in that the combined monthly NFT sales volumes increased MoM for the first time since April of this year. Despite the drop in value of crypto assets, the NFT space seemed to be in its own bubble for the most part.
Sales volumes on Ethereum increased 26% MoM and we saw a large amount of interest in top bluechips. Cryptopunks, Bored Apes, and other popular NFT collections experienced large sales numbers and higher trading volumes than in previous months, indicating that interest has not fallen with the FTX debacle. Blur.io was by far the biggest winner of all in November, owing to its sleek features and care package/airdrop campaign. The NFT marketplace and aggregator managed to attract significant volumes and increased its positioning as a leading destination for NFT traders.
Onto the negatives in the NFT space — Solana has been the ecosystem that has been hit the hardest due to its relationship with FTX and the significant drop in SOL prices. Although the chain clocked higher trading volumes than the previous months, NFT collections on Solana were the ones to suffer. Collections were up in Sol prices but overall dwindled in USD terms. It remains to be seen how the Solana NFT ecosystem will be impacted in the coming months.
In terms of funding in the NFT sector, the space continued its monthly descent to clock in the lowest funding amounts of the year at $37.9 million. The largest funding amounts went to Courtyard and Joepegs, drawing in $7 million and $5 million, respectively.
NFT Recent Developments
Instagram users start minting and selling NFTs on the platform (Article). The feature has been used by a handful number of artists and influencers in November.
Nike unveiled .Swoosh, a Web3 platform for its virtual creations (Tweet). The platform is set to launch in 2023 and aims to onboard the next million into the world of web3 and digital assets.
Adidas Originals launches its inaugural NFT wearables collection (Announcement). Representing the brand’s first wearables NFT collection, the launch accelerates the brand’s drive towards its open Metaverse strategy.
Yuga Labs acquires WENEW and its flagship NFT collection, 10KTF (Article). WENEW is a Web3 ecosystem that boasts partnerships with Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
Top NFT collections reach global audiences. Popular NFT collection Azuki partnered with F1 team Redbull to feature their NFTs, while Pudgy Penguins partnered with Kellogg’s to feature Pudgy’s on cereal boxes
NFTs created using the FTX NFT marketplace are unavailable and stuck due to the collapse of the exchange. Notable collections like the Coachella Lifetime passes that were created in partnership with FTX have been affected.
Uniswap launches its NFT aggregator that surfaces NFT listings from all major NFT marketplaces (Tweet). Cheaper gas fees and a wide range of NFT listings are a few of the key features of the aggregator.
Opensea announced it will enforce royalties across all collections (Tweet). The marketplace also launched its first on-chain royalty enforceable tool for new collections in November.
Apecoin DAO launches a community-driven NFT marketplace. The new marketplace lists for-sale NFTs from Yuga Labs-owned collections like BAYC, MAYC, BAKC and Otherdeeds.
Monthly NFT Stats
NFT Project Fundraises
2. Web3 Gaming Overview
November was a mixed month for Web3 gaming, minimally overshadowed by the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Despite the drawdown in value across most crypto sectors, the blockchain gaming sector has been quite resilient to the FTX collapse. The sector remained consistent in daily active users, with an average of 813,400 daily gamers and a visible increase in gamer numbers at the tail end of the month.
While not completely immune to the collapse, shockwaves were felt in the sector — particularly in the Solana ecosystem. Multiple Solana-based games were hit hard in November. Star Atlas for instance was the first few crypto startups to publicly announce that its cash runway was cut in half, and in the process sent shockwaves across the space. Token prices and NFT floor prices in USD were also hit hard in other well-known Solana gaming projects like Aurory and Tap Fantasy.
Despite this black swan event, Web3 games showed no signs of slowing down in November. The largest and most popular games like Splinterlands and Alien Worlds ended the month with increased user counts. Additionally, we also saw the launch of a $100 million grants program by Game7 DAO dedicated to accelerating Web3 games in the middle of the bear market.
On the funding end, Web3 gaming sector saw a nominal increase in funding amounts compared to the previous month. November saw an inflow of $282 million in funding across 18 rounds, the most amount of funding and deals across the space in November. The largest funding amounts went to Fenix Games and Wemix, drawing in $150 million and $46 million, respectively.
Gaming Recent Developments
Playstation has been working on NFTs and Blockchain technology, Sony patent reveals (Article). Filed last year and published this month, the patent covers a system that could be used to track the creation, use, modification and transfer of digital assets within a game.
FIFA unveils a range of new web3 games ahead of FIFA world cup in Qatar (Announcement). The new gaming integrations include experiences from Uplandme, Matchday, Phygtl and AI league — all designed with web3.0 and the future of digital engagement in mind.
South Korean Gaming Giant NCSoft has invested $15 million in Mysten Labs (Announcement). The investment will go towards fueling Layer-1 blockchain Sui to become an infrastructure for web3 games.
Star Atlas loses half of its runway due to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Hit hard by the loss in funds, the space-themed strategy game has announced a multimillion-dollar ship sale.
Web3 DAO Game7 launches $100 million fund to accelerate blockchain games (Announcement). The program will empower games by smoothing technological bumps on the path to adoption.
Magic Eden integrates with Polygon to grow blockchain gaming and NFT ecosystem (Article). This expansion aims to provide Magic Eden the ability to support polygon’s game developers.
Popular Blockchain Game Splinterlands lays off 45% of its staff (Announcement). The move is attributed to the continual weakening of the crypto market in addition to the broader markets.
Sorare partners with 18 football national teams for its blockchain fantasy game Global Cup 22 (Announcement)
Monthly Web3 Gaming Stats
Gaming Project Fundraises
3. Metaverse Overview
November turned out to be a decent month for Metaverse markets, but once again overshadowed by the collapse of FTX. Multiple Metaverse worlds had strong volumes and transactions in November — something that seemed somewhat perplexing given the market conditions.
Metaverse trading volumes for the month grew significantly as $19.4 million was spent on the Metaverse, up an astonishing 83% from the previous month, according to Metacat. Much of the increase in Metaverse sales volumes can be attributed to the Otherside Metaverse. The Metaverse in specific saw the highest purchase volume since July 2022 and more than doubled the volumes seen the previous month.
Other metaverse worlds like Sandbox and Decentraland also had action — although not quite as much as Otherside did. Sandbox initiated its first of three land sales in collaboration with multiple big-name brands like playboy with 345 Lands sold. Meanwhile, Decentraland hosted its Second Annual Music festival with virtual performances from 100s of renowned artists. For November, 8 in 10 land sales were linked to Otherside Metaverse, while 0.8 in 10 were associated with the Sandbox.
November also saw the continued interest in brands and companies entering the Metaverse. Some of the major brands to have stepped foot into the Metaverse last month were Kellogg’s, The Voice and Bloomingdales. On the funding end, the month saw an inflow of $52 million entering the space. While not high as the other months, there was enough funding to outpace last month’s numbers by 225%. The largest funding amounts went to Yahaha and Rendezverse, raking in $40 million and $7.5 million respectively.
Metaverse Recent Developments
South Koreas largest mobile operator SK Telecom launched its metaverse platform across 49 countries (Article). It aims to develop engaging content with overseas partners to become a leading social metaverse platform.
Renault launches its Industrial Metaverse, aiming to save $330 million by 2025 (Article. The digital twin replica will allow it to diminish warranty expenses, delivery times, and the carbon footprint of its activities.
Sony acquires 3D animation Company Beyond Sports to Offer a Complete Sports Metaverse Experience (Article). With this acquisition, Sony is set to offer a full Metaverse experience for sports matches, with tech from companies already in its portfolio.
World’s first Airport Metaverse gets launched in Bangalore, India. Powered by Intel, AWS, and Polygon, the Metaverse allows visitors to have various experiences.
Yuga Labs acquires Beeple’s 10KTF game and hints at Metaverse Integrations (Article)
Metaverse platform Sandbox opens a new virtual neighborhood with 1,900+ land parcels up for sale in various phases (Announcement).
Decentraland hosted its second annual Metaverse Music Festival over a four-day event with virtual performances from 170 artists across 15 stages.
Deloitte releases its Metaverse in Asia report and estimates the Metaverse to generate $800 million to $1.4 trillion for Asia’s GDP by 2035 (Report)
Monthly Metaverse Stats
Metaverse Project Fundraises
About Rising Capital
Rising Capital is a Singapore head-quartered ‘Digital Assets Management’ firm focussed on early-stage blockchain investments (Rising Funds) and venture building studio (Rising Studios) in South & Southeast Asia. Since 2013, the team has built, operated and sold several crypto ventures before setting up ‘Rising’ to capture significant return asymmetries by picking and investing in brilliant founders, while keeping a majority of investments in liquid assets.
Our experience & global network allows us to be at the forefront of changing narratives in crypto such as NFT, Gaming, Metaverse, L1s and L2s, along with advancements in blockchain protocol technologies by conducting thorough research on the “next big things” while managing risk with proper licenses, audits, compliance and security management. Have an interesting idea for partnership or working on a startup?
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