Shalini Nagarajan

Sony Group’s internet services division is offering a Web3 incubation program in partnership with multi-chain decentralized app (dapp) hub Astar Network.&nbsp;



The program will be jointly hosted by Singapore-based Startale Labs, a company led by Astar’s CEO Sota Watanabe, and will run from mid-March to mid-June. Startale Labs is a developer of dapps and other infrastructure like wallets.&nbsp;



In April last year, Sony Network Communications launched a Singapore-based business to explore NFT-related development outsourcing and consulting.



The three-month <a href="https://astar.network/incubation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">incubation program</a> will begin accepting applications on Feb. 17 and close on March 6. Most of the program will be conducted online, with communication about mentoring and Web3 sessions on Slack. The demo day will be in person at Sony Group’s headquarters in Tokyo during Japan Blockchain Week in mid-June.



Watanabe <a href="https://twitter.com/WatanabeSota/status/1626402571673034753" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> 10 to 15 Web3 projects from around the world will be selected for the program, which coincides with <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/toyota-tests-developer-skills-with-hackathon">an effort to attract developers</a> in partnership with Toyota.



Global VC firms and Web3 companies will participate in the business and technology strategy sessions. Participants will also have access to making direct contacts and getting feedback from companies like Web3 Foundation and Alchemy.



Sony will consider projects that show promise for investment opportunities.



The Japanese conglomerate was already actively exploring opportunities in the Web3 space. In November, its subsidiary Sony Interactive Entertainment published a <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=US378324956" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">patent</a> that suggested NFTs could soon be integrated into the company’s line of video game consoles, PlayStation.



The Sony patent, &#8220;Tracking Unique In-Game Digital Assets Using Tokens on a Distributed Ledger,&#8221; covers a system for tracking digital assets associated with video games.&nbsp;



The digital assets may be in-game digital assets like in-game items or characters, assets representing moments of gameplay like video clips or images, the patent says.



&#8220;Individuals often find it meaningful to own or use unique physical items related to respected celebrities or activities,&#8221; a background note of the patent says, citing baseball memorabilia as an example. <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/gaming-giant-square-enix-sells-major-franchises-to-fund-blockchain-initiatives">Square Enix</a>, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ubisoft-nft-efforts-are-off-to-a-rocky-start">Ubisoft</a>, <a href="https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/konami-announces-plans-to-launch-a-platform-for-trading-in-game-nfts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Konami</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Blockworks_/status/1575818971470856193" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sega</a> are among other gaming companies that have launched NFT projects.



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Sony Eyes Investment in Web3 Projects From Around The World

Sebastian Sinclair

<div id="highlights-block_6254c9ca036e5" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Epic Games has secured a whopping $2 billion in additional funding from Sony and KIRKBI to further its metaverse ambitions</li>
 <li>While some see the Fortnite developer&#8217;s position to port their games to Web3 as a challenge, others view the move as a positive</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The developer of one of the world&#8217;s most popular games, Fortnite, has scooped up $2 billion in additional funding in a bid to accelerate its metaverse ambitions.



Epic Games said Monday it had received $1 billion each from existing investors Sony Group Corporation and KIRKBI, the family-owned investment company behind The LEGO Group.



Following regulatory approval of the deal, Epic&#8217;s post-money equity valuation stands at $31.5 billion.



The fresh funding will be used to build out Epic&#8217;s vision for the metaverse and support its continued growth, according to a <a href="https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/sony-and-kirkbi-invest-in-epic-games-to-build-the-future-of-digital-entertainment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>. Epic said it is attempting to create novel &#8220;social entertainment&#8221; by exploring the connection between the digital and physical worlds.



“As a creative entertainment company, we are thrilled to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the metaverse field, a space where creators and users share their time,” Kenichiro Yoshida, president and CEO of Sony Group Corporation, said.



Sony&#8217;s participation in the round extends upon its <a href="https://www.roadtovr.com/sony-epic-games-investment-implications/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$250 million cash infusion</a> for Epic in 2020 and a further <a href="https://www.roadtovr.com/epic-games-unreal-engine-1b-investment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$200 million</a> a year later. Epic&#8217;s accrued capital is slated for the developer&#8217;s project to build “real-time 3D social experiences leading to a convergence of gaming, film, and music,” its CEO Tim Sweeney reportedly said at the time.



While the funds have been flowing, questions are mounting over how the developer will best attempt to monetize their efforts in a world seemingly designed for decentralization and individual ownership of digital assets.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">This does not mean LEGO in Fortnite, but Epic Games is working with them to create a &quot;Digital Experience&quot; and with references of the metaverse, it doesn&#39;t rule out anything to do with Fortnite 👀&mdash; T5G (@Top5Gamingx) <a href="https://twitter.com/Top5Gamingx/status/1512038899304087555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



&#8220;What they&#8217;ve been building with Fortnite, is what they&#8217;re kind of calling a metaverse, but I&#8217;d say it&#8217;s a closed ecosystem, where they rely on external investments and deals with large intellectual property rights, instead of a more open web3 metaverse,&#8221; Lost Relics and Codebit Labs Director Cliff Cawley said.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">&#8220;It seems that some companies are merely using the term metaverse as another marketing term to ensure their balance sheets remain profitable for themselves,&#8221; Cawley added.</blockquote>



Fortnite is a hugely popular free-to-play battle royal game where 100 players are dropped on an island and duke it out by crafting, shooting and looting their way to a top spot. 



While the model is free-to-play, Epic generates substantial profit through microtransactions via its in-game store. Players can purchase skins, emotes and sprays in exchange for the company&#8217;s in-game currency called V-Bucks, which are purchased using fiat.



Epic uses V-Bucks to turn a large portion of its profit. In 2018, the company generated $5.5 billion in gross revenue from its Fortnite title and $3.7 billion the following year, according to <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/20696836/epic-apple-trial-epic-games-exhibit.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">leaked documents</a> from last year&#8217;s Apple v. Epic Games trial.



&#8220;It would be next to impossible for Epic to smoothly transition Fortnite into a Web3 Game,&#8221; Simon Kertonegoro, CEO and founder of MyMetaverse, said. &#8220;Its game mechanics and monetization are already set up to run in a Web2 way.&#8221;



Web3 refers to the idea of a decentralized internet where ownership of data is possessed locally by the individual. Metaverses, meanwhile, refer to the experience individuals will have based on an intersection of technologies including virtual reality, blockchain and Web3 infrastructure. 



Both concepts are in their early infancy, but development and major funding have continued to push the bounds and explore new revenue streams that share collectively in the success of a particular title.



While revenue models will need to be hashed out, some blockchain gaming developers believe Epic&#8217;s foray into the metaverse will help position the budding industry front and center.



&#8220;We should definitely anticipate more innovation happening in the space as new economic models are introduced,&#8221; Brian Akaka, chief marketing officer at Laguna Games, the developer behind the upcoming non-fungible token (NFT) title <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-unicorns-nets-26m-in-token-sales-led-by-tcg-backed-vc/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crypto Unicorns</a>, told Blockworks.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">&#8220;It is important for game developers to incorporate new mechanics as a natural part of gameplay, rather than treating it as an add-on.&#8221;</blockquote>



Kertonegoro believes Epic is poised to take advantage of an entirely new title centred around the concept of monetizing in-game assets that give players the option to share in the profits of Epic&#8217;s sales.



&#8220;I believe Tim Sweeney and Epic Games, in general, are smart enough to know that, in the end, the solution that&#8217;s best for players will always win,&#8221; he said.



Epic continues to distribute only a single class of common stock outstanding and remains controlled by its CEO and founder.



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