New World Notes

Core Metaverse Platform Adds NFT Option -- But Why? CEO Explains

Core, the upcoming Unreal-based, Epic-backed, user-generated game development platform, just announced (somewhat unexpectedly) that it's adding NFT integration to its platform:

Today we’re excited to announce Core is expanding to include blockchain technology, starting by integrating with the largest crypto wallet, MetaMask, and the largest NFT marketplace, OpenSea, for a first-of-its-kind API that enables creators to make full metaverse experiences based on their NFT collections.

I say "somewhat unexpectedly" because key funder Epic CEO Tim Sweeney isn't exactly a fan of NFTs, and since the crypto crash, the already tiny NFT market has gotten even tinier. So why even bother?

"We understand not everyone is interested in NFTs and that is why it's not a requirement to connect a wallet or engage with NFT content on Core,” CEO Frederic Descamps, CEO of Core developer of Manticore Games, tells me in response. 

However, he goes on, many third party developers are interested in adding NFTs to their own metaverse experiences in Core:

Star Atlas Sure Seems Less Like a Metaverse Platform & More Like an MMO

Star Atlas occasionally appears on my Metaverse Radar as a virtual world to potentially follow, but this report from CoinDesk leaves me wondering if it actually is a metaverse platform at all:

... Star Atlas has two tokens that drive all game operations: POLIS and ATLAS. POLIS is the governance token with a market cap of $14 million and ATLAS is the payment token with a market cap of $18 million, according to data from CoinGecko. Players buy ships, NFT-based space vehicles used to explore deep space, from the in-house marketplace to start the game. These spaceships with different details, crews and components are critical in a player’s capability to fight rival factions and discover assets scattered across the Star Atlas metaverse...

And so on. Little or nothing is said about powerful content creation tools, which is a core feature to the Metaverse.  Star Atlas's design document also says little about that, beyond a single vague reference to "optionality to incorporate player-created content". Compare and contrast Star Atlas with Dual Universe, and the former comes up short: