Game developer Peter Molyneux has gone all-in on NFTs and the concept of “play-to-earn” games, announcing in December that the next project from his studio 22Cans called “Legacy” will incorporate blockchain technology and NFTs. The point of the game is basically to scale from a small local business into a mega corporation, but they key component is that you have to own land in the game. There’s the rub, and the huge potential for revenues. Welcome to the metaverse!

You can see the Legacy Land Sale here with the following intro:

Our first Land sale takes place in London, England, one of the World’s most lucrative real estate locations. Here, you can grab yourself a piece of the UK, home to Peter Molyneux and the 22cans team. Be quick, this is a city with a history of property price rises — in Legacy, you’ll not get a better chance to own a piece of this magnificent city. Avoid delay, get in today!

Players reacted with enthusiasm as they invested over $54 million in digital land! This is definitely another “play-to-earn” project to keep your eyes on.

When you think of NFTs being issued by game publishers, one might expect NFTs that can be used in game play. That’s obviously the most logical and popular use case, but game collectibles can also be very lucrative.

Knoami is cashing in on the 35th anniversary of its Castlevania title by issuing a series of anniversary NFTs for fans and collectors. The publisher sold 14 NFT images and videos on OpenSea, earning over $160,000 for the series. Konami will also get a 10% royalty on all future sales on the secondary market.

This is obviously a money-grab for the publisher, but it will be interesting to see how many of these collectible NFTs emerge in the gaming space. Fans love these old titles, so these types of collectibles will likely earn good revenues for publishers while we remain in NFT mania, but will these projects have staying power?

There’s a ton of controversy out there regarding NFTs in games. Some games have literally grown around the concept of “play-to-earn” NFTs that are an integral part of the game. For some established games, however, the announcement of NFTs that can be purchased has created a huge backlash from fans who believe the gaming companies are just using NFTs for profits as opposed to enhancing the games.

Expect this battle to continue, but NFTs in games are here to stay. SEGA recently filed for a trademark for SEGA NFT in Japan, so we can expect a lot more of this from other game companies.

NFT mania continues as prices keep breaking records. Along with NFTs for digital art and collectibles, we’re seeing an explosion of NFT sales relating to games and virtual worlds. Virtual land, buildings and other property in the metaverse are selling for astronomical prices.

One of the latest is the NFT for The Metaflower Super Mega Yacht which is available in the popular virtual world of The Sandbox. The NFT sold for $650,000 which naturally generated some criticism.

We’ll see if the criticism is justified. The popularity of the metaverse and virtual worlds is exploding, and many collectors are trying to get in on the ground floor by scooping up land and other property. We’ll see if they’re being smart, or if they’ll be hurting once the bubble bursts.

Streaming powerhouse Netflix will be entering the video game business. Expect to see this in 2022 in the US as the company is already rolling this out in European markets.

Netflix has hired former Electronic Arts and Facebook executive, Mike Verdu, as vice president of game development, to lead this important strategic initiative. The company sees gaming as one of its biggest competitors, and this also offers an opportunity to differentiate itself from the likes of HBO Max.

At this time the company does not intend to charge an additional fee to access games.