- GameStop is launching an NFT marketplace for gamers to ride the boom in digital collectibles.
- It will use the liquidity platform of Immutable X, a layer 2 scaling solution for NFTs on the ethereum blockchain.
- GameStop is also creating a $100 million fund alongside Immutable X to support game developers and studios.
- Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.
GameStop has selected a key partner to help launch a non-fungible token marketplace for gamers to ride the boom in digital collectibles.
The video game retailer will use the liquidity platform of Immutable X, a layer 2 scaling solution for NFTs on the ethereum blockchain later this year, Immutable said Thursday.
Building on Immutable's protocol will enable quicker, carbon-neutral transactions at more affordable prices, especially for gaming developer-focused NFT projects, the company added.
The integration will allow all of the projects built on Immutable X to be featured on GameStop's marketplace. Existing partners of Immutable X include TikTok, Gods Unchained, Guild of Guardians, Ember Sword, and Playco, among others.
"Gaming is now bigger than music and movies combined — but the time and value that gamers invest cannot be turned into real economic value," Robbie Ferguson, co-founder of Immutable, said in a statement. "GameStop, in partnership with Immutable, has the potential to cement itself as the ultimate destination for the next paradigm of gaming."
GameStop is also creating a $100 million fund alongside Immutable X to support game developers and studios that will partner with them.
The Wall Street Journal reported in early January that GameStop is developing an NFT marketplace and has hired around two dozen employees to work on its digital asset push.
The beleaguered gaming retailer — once criticized as being too slow to adopt a digital video-game business — is revamping its corporate structure to focus more on online sales rather than physical stories. Coming a year after the Reddit-fueled GameStop stock frenzy, this effort is helmed by its chairman, Ryan Cohen, the co-founder of pet supply company Chewy.
GameStop joins a growing list of companies that are launching NFT marketplaces, including FTX and Coinbase. Mark Cuban-backed OpenSea remains the largest NFT marketplace, with monthly ethereum trading volume hitting a record $4.9 billion last month, according to data from Dune Analytics.
NFTs — digital representations of artwork, sports cards, or other collectibles tied to a blockchain — have surged in popularity as investors from Hollywood to Wall Street join in the craze.
