blockworks.co
GameStop has partnered with the Telos Foundation to pilot a new Web3 game launcher called GameStop Playr.
The intent of GameStop Playr is to be a vehicle for “delivering AAA Studio games through the platform utilizing Telos blockchain as the core infrastructure,” Telos Chief Marketing Officer Peter Nguyen told Blockworks.
At present, GameStop Playr hasn’t yet launched and no compatible games have been announced, but interested parties can sign up for a waitlist.
GameStop, long known as a brick and mortar game retailer, pivoted to crypto a year after the infamous r/wallstreetbets short squeeze sent its stock skyrocketing in January 2021. In January 2022, GameStop launched an NFT and crypto division, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time.
Just over a year later, it partnered with Immutable X to launch its own NFT marketplace, which reached $1 million in trading volume in its first 24 hours.
For now, games compatible on the Telos blockchain will be able to be distributed via the GameStop Playr, according to a statement from Telos.
Some games that are compatible or “close to fully integrated” on the Telos blockchain include gambling platforms such as W3Poker and OwlDAO, as well as a mobile game called Monkey Empire.
However, none of these games are guaranteed to be available through GameStop Playr, Nguyen noted.
Head of business development at the Telos Foundation, AJ Dinger, said this partnership will drive new customers into the Web3 gaming space.
“By combining GameStop Playr with Web3 games utilizing Telos’ high performance blockchain infrastructure, we can break down many of the barriers currently deterring Web2 players from embracing Web3,” Dinger said in a statement.
Shares of GameStop (GME) were relatively unchanged by the news.