M2 Week in Review - April 22, 2022
Tracking the business and innovation in the interactive and real-time content creation
Intel announced the formation of the Graphics Research Organization. Described as “a graphics lab to make games look more real and deliver virtual social interactions, democratized content creation and realistic visual effects.” One of the first areas of focus for the new group is real-time path tracing. It also plans to improve the way user content is generated in 3D spaces.
Raph Koster’s company, Playable Worlds has raised $25 million. Leading the Series B round was South Korea’s Kakao Games, along with other investors including Bitkraft Ventures, Galaxy Interactive, Lilith Games and Gaingels. This latest round will be used to further build out the, yet -to-be-announced MMO title the company is currently working on.
Samsung has invested $25 million in DoubleMe, along with other investors including Coentry Investment and NH Investment. DoubleMe specializes in personal volumetric capture technology it uses in its metaverse platform, TwinWorld. In TwinWorld users are able build and share mixed reality experiences in a physical location.
Epic has made an undisclosed investment in M-XR, a London-based 3D scanning and production company. Founded in 2018, M-XR is focused on the 3D asset creation process via 3D scanning. The company has developed a solution that allows users to measure and extract real-world materials across a 3D object, thereby providing a photorealistic render when placed in a game engine. Aside from building out more support for virtual world building, the investment will support deeper collaboration between M-XR and Epic’s asset library, Quixel.
Sony has announced it is looking to support ads in free-to-play Playstation games. The news comes just a week after Microsoft said it was planning a similar strategy of providing in-game ads. The idea is to provide an additional method for game developers to monetize their games. Expected to appear by the end of this year, the ads would most likely appear in games as billboards. Last month the company launched their new upgraded multi-tier version of PS Plus, and this week they announced the global launch dates: Asia markets (excluding Japan) – May 23, 2022, Japan – June 1, 2022, Americas – June 13, 2022, and Europe – June 22, 2022.
The Sandbox said it is planning on raising an additional $400 million, in addition to the $95 million it has already raised, bringing its valuation to $4 billion. In a separate announcement, The Sandbox announced it is partnering with FlickPlay to allow players to use blockchain assets across both platforms. The Sandbox co-founder, Sebastien Borget explained, “The integration is notable because it may be the first to bridge an NFT in the virtual world with usage linked to the physical world”.
Adidas announced it is launching the world’s first personality based AI-generated avatar creation platform through a partnership with Ready Player Me. The platform allows for interoperability of generative avatars across more than 1500 metaverse apps. In 2021 Adidas sold over $22 million in NFTs and minted a collection of 30,000 NFTs through Bored Ape Yacht Club and Punks Comics.
Read more news highlights below:
5X5 Gaming Secures Funding to Bring Multicutural Core Games to Global Market
Blizzard president Mike Ybarra says it is not making an NFT game
Blockchain Gaming Usage Explodes 2,000% in a Year: DappRadar
‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Devs Have Sunk Millions Into Game’s Next Expansion
Framework Ventures allocates half of $400M fund to Web3 gaming
Gearbox to acquire Tiny Tina co-developer Lost Boys Interactive
Intel forms graphics lab to make games look more real
Microsoft exploring ways to bring ads to free-to-play Xbox games
Microsoft officially launches PC Game Pass in Southeast Asia
Netflix Reveals ‘Exploding Kittens’ Mobile Game and Animated Series
One More Game secures $22 million in Series A funding round
Piepacker aims to be the ‘Game Boy of the cloud gaming space’
Playable Worlds Raises Over $25M Series B With Strategic Investment from Kakao Games
ProbablyMonsters closes fundraise with $250M for new game studios
Sony PS Plus Premium Worldwide Launch Dates Revealed, Cloud Gaming Comes to More Countries
Sony reportedly considering in-game ads for free-to-play titles
Spellcraft is a new ‘hero collecting’ strategy game from Blizzard and ArenaNet veterans
StatusPro unveils NFL Pro Era as licensed VR game
Xsolla: Video game junkie quietly builds US$3b payments powerhouse
Adidas and Ready Player Me Partner to Launch AI-Generated Avatar Creation Platform
Cardalonia Announces their 3D Virtual Reality Play-to-Earn Metaverse On Cardano Blockchain
Disney patent proves it is readying itself for the metaverse
Enablo unveils multimillion dollar investment into the metaverse
First pure-play digital fashion brand DressX launches collection on Roblox
Gaming platforms FlickPlay, The Sandbox take steps toward metaverse
How Flume and Unreal Engine Brought Coachella Into the Metaverse
How Victoria’s Secret Aims to Win Over Tweens With New Happy Nation Line and Metaverse Marketing
Infosys acquires oddity to boost metaverse and digital experience capabilities
Limitless Launches ‘Metaverse as a Service,’ Plans $60M Venture Fund
MetaBlaze: Blockchain Gaming Platform Announce Second ICO on April 20
Metaverse fashion companies are pulling millions in funding
Monster League Games raises seed funding of $2 million for NFT Esports Platform
Paradox Studios Announced Paradox Metaverse And Launch of its Own NFT Collection
Polygon will invest $100M in projects that use its Supernets blockchain
Samsung Invests In $25M Funding Round Of Metaverse Firm DoubleMe
SAND Soars 17% as The Sandbox Reportedly Plans to Raise $400M at $4B Valuation
SoundMint NFT Marketplace For Music Raises $1.7M In Seed Funding
TheMall aims to have 100 floors and 100M square feet in the metaverse
The Sandbox Plans Funding Round at $4B
UnitedMasters Becomes Exclusive Music Partner For Coinbase’s NFT Marketplace
US Air Force files trademark application for ‘SpaceVerse’ initiative
Amazon reportedly working on AR smart home product, Amazon View
Disney and Snap team up to create an AR Cinderella Castle mural at Disney World
Meta Quest Gaming Showcase 2022: Everything Announced
Meta’s Quest hand tracking can now detect high-fives and clapping
Nextech AR Launches Metaverse Builder App “ARitize Maps”
Snap continues to bet on augmented reality to attract more brands
Snap Unveils New Smart Glasses Details
Strivr Raises $35m for Enterprise VR Training
Supreme Studio Launches XR Cave
TikTok could substantially enhance its artificial reality success. Faster than Snap?
A new way to run your VFX or animation business has arrived
Blackmagic launches DaVinci Resolve 18 with real-time cloud collaboration
Enso raises $16.5M to make data analysis faster, visual and interactive
HTC Teases New Vive Product Likely Aimed at Virtual Production
Pixotope acquires TrackMen real-time 3D tracking provider
RFX, NVIDIA, and Supermicro Herald the Future of Animation and VFX Production
Versatile Media: New LED video wall film production studio to be built in South Burnaby
AI video service VideoVerse launched with US$46.8m investment
China ends Q1 with over 400 million 5G users
Epic invests in M-XR’s 3D scanning tech
Fortnite Creative: New Video Player, Water Device, and VFX Creator Now Available in Update v20.20
Gravity Sketch draws $33M for a platform to design, collaborate on and produce 3D objects
LG brings the force to Times Square with ‘3D’ LED illusion
Maxon Adds Enhanced Functionality and Unprecedented Value to Maxon One
Meet Newton: New Company Triplidata Introduces Moving 3D Images for Data Capture and Visualization
TikTok Ventures Deeper Into Music With New Sound-Editing App
M2 INVESTMENT INDEX FOR THE WEEK OF: April 22, 2022
Total Investment and Acquistions for the week of April 22, 2022 = $1.490 billion

