GameStop has now officially launched its NFT-focused marketplace, effectively transitioning from a dying dinosaur to a Web3 enterprise. To wit, as per GameStop’s press release, the company’s dedicated NFT portal is now available to the general public: GameStop’s NFT-focused marketplace is built on Loopring’s technology and harnesses the ability of Immutable X – an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) solution – to allow for the minting and trading of NFTs in a “carbon-neutral” and zero-fee environment. In order to attract NFT creators, GameStop has created a $100 million fund that is denominated in Immutable X’s IMX tokens. Eventually, GameStop aims to host billions of low-cost, in-game digital assets and NFTs, including digital real estate and in-game skins, thereby creating a sizable new source for revenue generation. Of course, this is not the only Web3-focused initiative that GameStop is currently spearheading. The company has also launched a browser extension-based digital wallet that would allow users to send, receive, and store cryptocurrencies (ERC 20 tokens and Ethereum) as well as NFTs conveniently. In what might well be the wallet’s star attraction, users can swap different tokens directly within GameStop’s digital wallet without the need to offload funds to an exchange. Nonetheless, readers should note that GameStop’s unbridled push toward Web3 has attracted a fair amount of criticism in recent days owing to the fuzzy nature of the company’s declared commitments. For instance, the video game retailer has already announced that it eventually seeks to enter into a partnership with around a dozen other crypto-focused enterprises. However, apart from Immutable X and Loopring, virtually nothing is known about the rest of the prospective partners. Critically, the success of GameStop’s NFT marketplace initiative ultimately boils down to the outcome of its negotiations with major game publishers – the same entities who have been on the receiving end of GameStop’s used game resale business. Given the uncertainties involved, it is not surprising that the market remains reluctant to incorporate an upside to GameStop’s market capitalization at this stage. The video game retailer’s shares are essentially flat in today’s after-hours trading. Year to date, the stock is down a relatively modest 15 percent.
