GameStop launching NFT marketplace alongside $100M crypto fund

GameStop has unveiled plans to launch an NFT marketplace later this year in partnership with blockchain company Immutable X. 

The partnership between GameStop and Immutable will see the pair establish an $100 million fund in IMX Tokens — the name for Immutable’s own cryptocurrency — that will be dished out to anybody looking to create NFT content and technology.

In a short press release, GameStop expressed a desire to work with creators from game studios and web 3.0 and metaverse companies to fill its marketplace with non-fungible content. According to a Wall Street Journal report that circulated earlier this year, the company has hired 20 people to run its NFT division.

Immutable, which will become a “layer-2 partner and platform” for GameStop and its NFT marketplace, claims to offer zero gas fees, instant trades, and carbon neutral NFTs for a variety of platforms.

Other information on GameStop’s proposed NFT platform is scarce. A visit to the GameStop NFT website simply suggests the act of speculatively trading virtual goods will somehow provide “power” to players, creators, and collections, and directs would-be creators to apply for a grant consideration.

GameStop isn’t the first video game company to run the NFT gauntlet. Other high-profile names like Ubisoft and Sega have expressed an interest in the tech, with the former having already launched its own NFT marketplace ‘Quartz’ — though it’s fair the say the move generated a frosty response, leaving one Ubisoft VP somewhat frustrated.

Others, have dabbled in NFTs before performing a hasty retreat. Earlier this week, Worms creator Team17 tried to sell promotional NFTs based on its iconic invertebrates before swiftly scrapping the program after an internal and external backlash. EA also branded NFTs “the future of the industry” just three months ago, but has now seemingly lost interest in the tech.

It’ll be interesting to see how GameStop handles the response to its own NFT project, which often generate disdain due to concerns relating to fraud, environmentalism, and the dicey nature of selling digital items that serve no real purpose.  Curiously, in the presser sent out today, the company insisted it won’t be “commenting beyond the release.”