Gaming and blockchain, Twitch co-founder launches Metatheory

The co-founder of Twitch Kevin Lin launched a company that will combine gaming e blockchain: Metatheoryalready at work on the “NFT saga” of Duskbreakers. The company has collected 24 million of funds to unite the crypto world with that of video games.

Metatheory, fra gaming e blockchain

The crypto world and the world of video games come together in a new project that is raising millions of funds. Metatheory will be based in San Francisco and will focus on creating video games and virtual worlds that leverage different blockchain technologies, such as inon-fungible toker (NFT). Come Duskbreakersa game that the company has already started developing.

The funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz together with the crypto company Capital Panther e FTX Venture he collected 24 million dollars, a following the launch of the company in the third quarter of 2021. Since then Metatheory has been working on web-based games 3 and virtual worlds, creating new intellectual properties.

In an interview with VentureBeat, founder Kevin Lin explains, “I believe the idea of ​​ownership in the digital economy, in the digital world, especially when we immerse ourselves in whatever the metaverse will be, it implies that the blockchain will be an important technology “.

The blockchain has an increasingly central role in the gaming world

Among the founders of Metatheory, besides Lin, there are David Barthwell, JT Gleason, but also the artistic director Darren Geers, Adam Bado, Nick Fotheringam, Nelson Wang and a three-time Emmy Award Bernie Su. Those who face the challenge from a more artistic point of view, some more as an investor.

And they are not the only ones who believe in the marriage between gaming and blockchain. Another of the Twitch co-founders, Justin Kanhas recently launched Fractal, an NFT-based marketplace for gamers. According to GamesBeat, between 50 and 90% of the proposals for startups in the gaming sector concern NFTs and the blockchain.

Focus on history, built with the community

Lin, however, explains that their startup starts above all from the plot, from the world in which to set it and from the interaction with the people who will play DuskBreakers. “The idea was to make a whole game, for build history and lore together with our community. This is the interesting part. Our first concept was of a story world set in a different universe. It was about the relationship between man and nature, funny but with a hint of dark humor ”.

At first they thought of a game in AR, Pokémon Go style. But instead they thought of creating a virtual world completely different. Set 50 or 60 years in the future, speaks of a digital Earth and where cryptocurrencies are essential. An alien spaceship called Dusk comes and steals energy from all over the world. By sending missiles to the spaceship, users can steal resources and innovative technologies.

In December 2021, players were able to start taking these resources, sold undero form of NFT. In the first six days they sold over 1000 NFT. In January 2022 the company launched the second minigame, Beast Battler, where you can fight bosses in the same virtual environment. And collect other NFTs.

The beginning of a metaverse

These first steps and first sold NFTs become the foundation of what Lin and the other co-founders think may be an ever-expanding metaverse, with new games and new interactions. The team has experience in the world of gaming, in the world of entertainment and also in the world of social media. They then merged the skills to create a world with well-defined lore and dimensions. But that leaves room for user choices.

Lin explains that he “doesn’t have all the answers at the moment” about the future of this metaverse. But for the moment she is focusing on an environmentally sustainable blockchain and on the community. “We communicate continuously with our community. And we’re building one community very carefully with people who are really thinkers. We are focusing on building something that we are proud of and that is fun for the community. ”

The metaverse, the gaming world, the blockchain-based property. All of these variables are merging to create a virtual world that has the elements of the video game, but a much more real foundation. But it remains to be seen whether this development will be sustainable for the future for the industry. Lin himself explains: “I would say my smartest friends in the gaming industry they are very curious but cautious “. Although for him one thing is clear: “the B.lockchain as part of the gaming ecosystem is inevitable“.