Next week in San Francisco, thousands of gaming enthusiasts from around the world will convene in San Francisco for GDC 2022, the industry’s flagship gathering. While GDC is known as a premier forum for game developers large and small to introduce the latest and greatest experiences to captivate players, this year’s show will host a new contingency that some will welcome with open arms.
For others – maybe not so much.
The proverbial elephant in the room to which I’m referring is, as you probably guessed, is blockchain. In the eyes of many developers, no good comes from incorporating decentralized models into their virtual worlds. Objections ranging from overall distrust in blockchain, technical complexity and environmental concerns, to interruptions in the gameplay experience, are well-documented.
However, the opportunities in-game NFTs bring to the indie developer community outweigh the negatives. In addition to attracting a new generation of gamers, appetite for blockchain has manifested into new partnership opportunities with brands that want visibility in the metaverse.
Over the past year, billions of investment dollars from both venture capital and well-known publishers have created a new pool of previously inaccessible go-to-market resources and capital for indie developers.
Companies like Stardust understand that gamers are dedicated loyalists who spend hours and hours competing online. The last thing people want is publishers cannibalizing their favorite pastimes with sponsorships or gimmicks that violate the integrity of their play.
Stardust announced that it’s teamed up with Tilting Point, a prominent and highly respected mobile game publisher. Developers benefit from Tilting Point’s expert services in app store optimization, marketing creative and UA management bolstered by Tilting Point’s user acquisition fund.
For the uninitiated, Tilting Point has launched several top franchises in games, including SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off, Star Trek Timelines and Warhammer: Chaos & Conquest.
“At our core, Tilting Point is and has always been about accelerating and amplifying developers’ businesses and, in so doing, changing their lives,” said Samir Agili, President and Co-CEO of Tilting Point. “The metaverse provides even more opportunities for our developers’ growth, and we have big plans to help them take advantage in myriad ways.
“This new partnership with Stardust will enable us to be the bridge from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 for our indie developer partners, as well as easily bring new metaverse-ready games to mobile players worldwide while leveraging next-generation, AI-powered marketing for branding and monetization.”
Stardust is a chain-agnostic, end-to-end NFT ecosystem that makes it quick and easy to build and scale metaverse-ready games, delivering player-first, immersive experiences. The company is unique in that it provides a comprehensive, secure, and seamless solution that eliminates the cost-prohibitive, technical, and environmental barriers that have hindered game developers and publishers’ ability to capitalize on financially viable, play-and-earn models.
“Partnering with Tilting Point positions Stardust as the API for leading game publishers building on blockchain,” said Canaan Linder, founder, and CEO of Stardust. “Together, Stardust and Tilting Point are paving the way for indie developers to quickly and easily bring play-to-earn and blockchain games to mobile players worldwide while leveraging next-generation, AI-driven marketing for branding and monetization.”
Hiring in-house blockchain experts can be costly, time-consuming, and impractical - especially for independent developers. Stardust eliminates the need for recruiting and onboarding new programmers by providing a comprehensive platform that enables 1-click integration with blockchain applications without development-related expenses.
By empowering indie and enterprise creators with access to solutions for building on blockchain, regardless of programming skills, Stardust provides game developers and publishers the means with which to monetize in-game experiences, attract and incentivize new players.
The financial data for blockchain gaming is hard to ignore. According to a report from DappRadar, gaming-related NFTs generated revenue worth nearly $5 billion last year and represented around one-fifth of all NFT sales in 2021. In addition, the Blockchain Gaming Alliance reported that the number of wallets relating to the game industry increased more than 2,400% from Q1 to Q3 of 2021.
When you add it up, there is now an exponentially higher probability of indie games going mainstream.
If you believe in the adage that money talks, its support for Stardust’s unique model has been vocalized quite clearly. The company has attracted the attention and support of heavy hitters like Blockchain Capital, Framework Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins – as well as angel investors including Piers Kicks of Delphi Digital, Gabby Dizon of Yield Games, Sebastien Borget of the Sandbox, and Nikil Viswanathan of Alchemy.
The most important takeaway: for players, integrating NFTs with Stardust ensures that the game experience is uninterrupted.