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Magical Eden has launched Magic Ventures, a new venture capital fund that will focus on investments in web3 games†
San Francisco-based Magic Eden is a community-based marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and now it funds its own games. In addition, the company is also expanding its own in-house gaming division, Eden Games.
It has also hired new game leaders and established new partnerships with game developers. While blockchain games are controversial, Magic Eden believes Web3 games will be a stepping stone for millions of users to use blockchain, the transparent and secure digital ledger.
The launch of Magic Ventures and the appointment of Tony Zhao as Head of Gaming Investments will enable Magic Eden to invest in promising games and gaming infrastructure, fueling the growth of Web3 gaming, the company said.
“The fund is only part of our solution to help developers in the Web3 ecosystem,” Zhao said in an interview with GamesBeat. “We provide end-to-end solutions, including our NFT coin launch pad, our wallet solutions, game marketplace solutions, and cross-chain solutions in the future. This fund is just one way to support great developers and help them succeed.”
Prior to joining Magic Eden, Zhao was a key member of the business development and investment team for Tencent Games, where he focused on investing in emerging games, acquiring world-class studios and forming strategic partnerships across Tencent Games. portfolio.
Zhao said the company is not disclosing the size of its Magic Ventures fund. He did say that the company is not aiming for a high return. Rather, it wants to help make its partners successful.
“This is part of a package bundle to help developers ensure they can get the best support from us when building their games,” said Zhao. “We are not a venture capital fund. The purpose of this fund is not to place bets. It is intended to support and grow the Web3 ecosystem in general. We will be working with the developers to make sure they feel comfortable working with us.”
The company has competition like Justin Kan’s Fractal, but Magic Eden is the leader in transactions on the Solana blockchain.
Tiffany Huang, head of content and marketing at Magic Eden, said in an interview with GamesBeat that the company is responsible for 90% of NFTs sold on Solana, and Magic Eden recently raised $130 million in a financing round that valued Magic Eden at $1.6 billion. Magic Eden has a launch pad for marketing inaugural NFTs, and it has a secondary NFT trading window where players and other users can sell their NFT collections.
Magic Eden has over 10,000 collections and has launched nearly 300 projects.
“We believe gaming will be the next big vertical on Web3 for NFTs,” Huang said.
Jack Lu, CEO of Magic Eden, said in a statement: “The world of gaming is a huge market that is just getting started in the world of Web3. We plan to deepen our relationships with both gamers and game developers to help the future of games on the blockchain. With Magic Ventures, we are excited to invest in the next wave of creativity and innovation in Web3 gaming.”
Zhao joins Yoonsup Choi, Harrison Chang and Matt Biamonte, who all have backgrounds in professional gaming and esports. Choi and Chang are former championship-class League of Legends and Fortnite players and, along with Biamonte, have all launched NFT projects separately.
The trio’s in-depth knowledge of both traditional gaming and NFTs will provide developers with the dedicated advisory and operational support necessary for go-to-market success, the company said.
Zhao said he was attracted to Magic Eden and Magic Ventures because it offered the opportunity to build something new at an early stage. He said that while Web3 games today cannot compete with traditional games like Halo or Call of Duty, they still have the potential for growth because of new technologies they use.
“The next big Web3 games won’t look like traditional games,” he said. “I’m looking for new experiences for players using Web3 in the future.”
In addition to founding Magic Ventures, the gaming investment arm, Eden Games has also partnered to power gaming marketplaces including, but not limited to, Aurory, Genopets, Mini Royale: Nations, Nekoverse, Remnants, Yaku, Halfwish , VBA and Sugar Realm .
Magic Eden plans to continue building a suite of essential tools and services for games so developers can focus on building gameplay, rather than worrying about blockchain technology. Huang said Magic Eden has a close relationship with its creators and has emphasized building tools like the creator launch pad.
“By hiring Tony, Harrison, Yoon and Matt, we are building a strong foundation from which to continue working with exciting innovators in the Web3 gaming ecosystem,” said Lu. “Eden Games is a fast-growing sector of our company and we are excited to continue developing it.”
Eden Games has ushered in more than 50 games and seen more than 310,000 users mint or trade game-related NFTs in the company’s marketplace. Since its inception, the market has traded 21.2 million SOL (worth nearly $2 billion) in secondary markets since its launch in September 2021. The company has more than 100 employees.
In June, Magic Eden represented over 92% of all gaming NFTs traded on Solana. Magic Eden is excited to build the best Web3 gaming compatible NFT platform, enabling game developers to carry out their project vision and players to discover new games and connect with other digital cultures.
Huang said Magic Eden does not allow “wash trading” where users sell themselves to hype an NFT before unloading it, as Magic Eden does not encourage such behavior. The company also screens content and verifies NFT collections in an effort to minimize fraud where perpetrators sell fake versions of NFTs.
The company has signed more than 10 white-label marketplace agreements with various collections to build custom marketplaces. Crypto markets have been tanking lately.
Zhao said it takes three to five years to make solid games, which is why the company isn’t looking for an immediate return. That means it is not worried about the crypto winter that has started with the latest crash of the cryptocurrency market.
“It doesn’t matter to us whether it’s a bear market or not,” Zhao said. “We see this as a long-term bet. Regardless of the market conditions, a good quality game will always find users, find enthusiasts. That is the beauty of our industry.”
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