Published on: 21/03/2022
GameStop to launch NFT marketplace by end of Q2
The world’s largest retail gaming destination GameStop has announced that it would launch its NFT Marketplace “by the end of the second quarter of the fiscal year 2022”. The plan was revealed in their Q4 fiscal year 2021 results. That being said, the launch of the marketplace is expected to be around June 30 this year.
GameStop earlier announced their plan to build an NFT marketplace in February. It said that it had hired “dozens” of people “with experience in areas such as blockchain gaming, e-commerce and technology, product refurbishment and operations”.
Teaming up with Australian gaming company Immutable X to execute the plan, GameStop announced a $100 million fund for NFT gamers. Immutable X there would be zero gas fees for minting and trading NFTs on their platform to keep costs as low as possible.
In addition to the partnership with ImmutableX, GameStop is expected to receive almost $150 million worth of IMX tokens after it achieves the set targets and goals for the NFT Marketplace. The additional fund will be given to developers and other creators working on the platform. It was also reported that GameStop had sold 15 million of the IMX tokens they received as a part of the deal.
“[GameStop has] entered into a partnership with Immutable X that is intended to support the development of GameStop’s NFT marketplace and provide the Company with up to $150 million in IMX tokens upon achievement of certain milestones,” the report said.
Long-awaited process
Earlier in May 2021, GameStop has hinted that it would build a platform based on Ethereum, which ImmutableX is. It is a scaling solution for transactions on Ethereum, making GameStop’s NFT Marketplace operation being done on Ethereum. ImmutableX can facilitate up to 9,000 operations per second, free of charge.
GameStop said it had also “launched a redesigned app, which includes an enhanced user interface, improved scalability for a larger product catalog and more functionality to support exclusive offers and promotions.
It added that it had “established new offices in Seattle, Washington and Boston, Massachusetts, which are technology hubs with established talent markets” and “raised more than $1.67 billion in capital and eliminated all of the Company’s long-term debt, other than a $44.6 million low-interest, unsecured term loan associated with the French government’s response to COVID-19”.
Quarterly loss
Despite the announcement regarding the launch of the NFT marketplace, GameStop’s GME stock plummeted by nearly 10 percent over the 24 hours prior to the announcement. GameStop earlier reported a loss of almost $148 million in the Q4 of 2021.
That being said, the company reported a huge growth of more than 100 percent last year, thanks to Reddit users joining hands to revive the company by buying the company’s stocks, saving it from Wall Street Hedge Funds. The move caused GameStop’s stock prices to rise by almost 180 percent from $17 to $480.
GameStop is not the only company to be interested in the Web3 world. Spotify has also been reported to be planning to embark on the same journey as well. Despite previously calling their own crypto plans “embarrassing”, Ubisoft reportedly is expecting to welcome Binance, OpenSea, and Coinbase, which all would make their platform more competitive.
