Donovan Choy

The consumer electronics giant Sony <a href="https://soneium.org/en/blog/introducing-soneium-by-sony-block-solutions-labs-for-the-future-of-web3/">introduced</a> its own Ethereum L2, dubbed Soneium, on Friday. Testnet deployment is set to go live in the coming weeks.



The announcement was well received amid the crypto market’s increasing <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-infrastructure-bloat">lamentation</a> of infrastructural bloat and lack of consumer applications.&nbsp;



The details around actual onchain use-cases are still vague, but Sony’s focus seems to be centered around creators. The official Soneium blog <a href="https://soneium.org/en/blog/introducing-soneium-by-sony-block-solutions-labs-for-the-future-of-web3/">emphasized</a> “protection of rights to creativity created by creators”, and “new mechanisms for returning profits to support creators and fans.”



Sony intends to build Soneium with Optimism’s rollup development kit “OP Stack”, which already boasts 29 L2 chains in its Superchain ecosystem, based on <a href="https://l2beat.com/scaling/summary">L2Beat</a>.



The company will launch the L2 chain under Sony Block Solutions Labs. This is a joint venture between Sony Group Corporation and Startale, a Singapore-based blockchain infrastructure startup that raised $3.5 million in June 2023.



Startale helped develop the Astar Network zkEVM chain, which is planned to transition to Soneium.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CREATOR Chain to join ZKsync</h2>



As Optimism expands its burgeoning ecosystem of Superchains, ZKsync isn’t asleep at the wheel either. <a href="https://x.com/ZTXofficial/status/1826967269479494032">Stepping</a> into the ZKsync Elastic Chain ecosystem this week is CREATOR chain, a project originally incubated by ZTX (ZepetoX).



ZTX is the metaverse initiative of ZEPETO, an Asia-based avatar social game with 20 million monthly active users.



It’s another bold attempt at leveraging a successful Web2 distribution funnel of users into Web3.



“CREATOR will offer personalized DeFi services for creators and position itself as the premier Web 2.5 hub and a one-stop shop for new entrants to crypto,” the official press release said.



ZTX’s open beta has been live on Arbitrum since December 2023. It is migrating to take advantage of ZKsync’s zero-knowledge technology stack. Marco Cora, Director at the ZKsync Foundation, said: “With ZKsync, ZTX can keep up with their explosive scaling needs while also avoiding the fee spikes commonly seen in other stacks during demand surges.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">One interesting stat:</h2>



Blast L2 transactions are hitting all-time highs in the last week, racing up to almost 2.5 million in transaction count. It’s currently the second most used L2 behind Base, based on <a href="https://www.growthepie.xyz/fundamentals/transaction-count">Growthepie</a> data.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Also of note:</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Crypto exchange Gate.io is sponsoring Italian soccer, specifically FC Internazionale Milano (or Inter Milan). Its logo will appear on players&#8217; sleeves.</li>



<li>NFT marketplace Magic Eden <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/magic-eden-announces-me-airdrop">announces</a> its ME token, and plans to expand beyond NFT trading to fungible token trading</li>



<li>The rollup-as-a-service (RaaS) provider Conduit <a href="https://blockworks-research.beehiiv.com/p/good-ship-transitory-crowded-one?_bhlid=df3b87cee379531339d37f5ec576c07e52f4cb78&amp;utm_campaign=the-good-ship-transitory-was-a-crowded-one&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_source=blockworks-research.beehiiv.com">unveiled</a> its Conduit Marketplace, a new service to allow rollups to shop for the modular bits and pieces of its rollup stack in one landing page.</li>
</ul>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Web3 Watch: Sony lends its name to Ethereum L2

Shalini Nagarajan

Sony Group’s internet services division is offering a Web3 incubation program in partnership with multi-chain decentralized app (dapp) hub Astar Network.&nbsp;



The program will be jointly hosted by Singapore-based Startale Labs, a company led by Astar’s CEO Sota Watanabe, and will run from mid-March to mid-June. Startale Labs is a developer of dapps and other infrastructure like wallets.&nbsp;



In April last year, Sony Network Communications launched a Singapore-based business to explore NFT-related development outsourcing and consulting.



The three-month <a href="https://astar.network/incubation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">incubation program</a> will begin accepting applications on Feb. 17 and close on March 6. Most of the program will be conducted online, with communication about mentoring and Web3 sessions on Slack. The demo day will be in person at Sony Group’s headquarters in Tokyo during Japan Blockchain Week in mid-June.



Watanabe <a href="https://twitter.com/WatanabeSota/status/1626402571673034753" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> 10 to 15 Web3 projects from around the world will be selected for the program, which coincides with <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/toyota-tests-developer-skills-with-hackathon">an effort to attract developers</a> in partnership with Toyota.



Global VC firms and Web3 companies will participate in the business and technology strategy sessions. Participants will also have access to making direct contacts and getting feedback from companies like Web3 Foundation and Alchemy.



Sony will consider projects that show promise for investment opportunities.



The Japanese conglomerate was already actively exploring opportunities in the Web3 space. In November, its subsidiary Sony Interactive Entertainment published a <a href="https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=US378324956" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">patent</a> that suggested NFTs could soon be integrated into the company’s line of video game consoles, PlayStation.



The Sony patent, &#8220;Tracking Unique In-Game Digital Assets Using Tokens on a Distributed Ledger,&#8221; covers a system for tracking digital assets associated with video games.&nbsp;



The digital assets may be in-game digital assets like in-game items or characters, assets representing moments of gameplay like video clips or images, the patent says.



&#8220;Individuals often find it meaningful to own or use unique physical items related to respected celebrities or activities,&#8221; a background note of the patent says, citing baseball memorabilia as an example. <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/gaming-giant-square-enix-sells-major-franchises-to-fund-blockchain-initiatives">Square Enix</a>, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ubisoft-nft-efforts-are-off-to-a-rocky-start">Ubisoft</a>, <a href="https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/konami-announces-plans-to-launch-a-platform-for-trading-in-game-nfts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Konami</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Blockworks_/status/1575818971470856193" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sega</a> are among other gaming companies that have launched NFT projects.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Sony Eyes Investment in Web3 Projects From Around The World

Sebastian Sinclair

<div id="highlights-block_6254c9ca036e5" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Epic Games has secured a whopping $2 billion in additional funding from Sony and KIRKBI to further its metaverse ambitions</li>
 <li>While some see the Fortnite developer&#8217;s position to port their games to Web3 as a challenge, others view the move as a positive</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The developer of one of the world&#8217;s most popular games, Fortnite, has scooped up $2 billion in additional funding in a bid to accelerate its metaverse ambitions.



Epic Games said Monday it had received $1 billion each from existing investors Sony Group Corporation and KIRKBI, the family-owned investment company behind The LEGO Group.



Following regulatory approval of the deal, Epic&#8217;s post-money equity valuation stands at $31.5 billion.



The fresh funding will be used to build out Epic&#8217;s vision for the metaverse and support its continued growth, according to a <a href="https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/news/sony-and-kirkbi-invest-in-epic-games-to-build-the-future-of-digital-entertainment" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>. Epic said it is attempting to create novel &#8220;social entertainment&#8221; by exploring the connection between the digital and physical worlds.



“As a creative entertainment company, we are thrilled to invest in Epic to deepen our relationship in the metaverse field, a space where creators and users share their time,” Kenichiro Yoshida, president and CEO of Sony Group Corporation, said.



Sony&#8217;s participation in the round extends upon its <a href="https://www.roadtovr.com/sony-epic-games-investment-implications/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$250 million cash infusion</a> for Epic in 2020 and a further <a href="https://www.roadtovr.com/epic-games-unreal-engine-1b-investment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$200 million</a> a year later. Epic&#8217;s accrued capital is slated for the developer&#8217;s project to build “real-time 3D social experiences leading to a convergence of gaming, film, and music,” its CEO Tim Sweeney reportedly said at the time.



While the funds have been flowing, questions are mounting over how the developer will best attempt to monetize their efforts in a world seemingly designed for decentralization and individual ownership of digital assets.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">This does not mean LEGO in Fortnite, but Epic Games is working with them to create a &quot;Digital Experience&quot; and with references of the metaverse, it doesn&#39;t rule out anything to do with Fortnite 👀&mdash; T5G (@Top5Gamingx) <a href="https://twitter.com/Top5Gamingx/status/1512038899304087555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



&#8220;What they&#8217;ve been building with Fortnite, is what they&#8217;re kind of calling a metaverse, but I&#8217;d say it&#8217;s a closed ecosystem, where they rely on external investments and deals with large intellectual property rights, instead of a more open web3 metaverse,&#8221; Lost Relics and Codebit Labs Director Cliff Cawley said.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">&#8220;It seems that some companies are merely using the term metaverse as another marketing term to ensure their balance sheets remain profitable for themselves,&#8221; Cawley added.</blockquote>



Fortnite is a hugely popular free-to-play battle royal game where 100 players are dropped on an island and duke it out by crafting, shooting and looting their way to a top spot. 



While the model is free-to-play, Epic generates substantial profit through microtransactions via its in-game store. Players can purchase skins, emotes and sprays in exchange for the company&#8217;s in-game currency called V-Bucks, which are purchased using fiat.



Epic uses V-Bucks to turn a large portion of its profit. In 2018, the company generated $5.5 billion in gross revenue from its Fortnite title and $3.7 billion the following year, according to <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/20696836/epic-apple-trial-epic-games-exhibit.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">leaked documents</a> from last year&#8217;s Apple v. Epic Games trial.



&#8220;It would be next to impossible for Epic to smoothly transition Fortnite into a Web3 Game,&#8221; Simon Kertonegoro, CEO and founder of MyMetaverse, said. &#8220;Its game mechanics and monetization are already set up to run in a Web2 way.&#8221;



Web3 refers to the idea of a decentralized internet where ownership of data is possessed locally by the individual. Metaverses, meanwhile, refer to the experience individuals will have based on an intersection of technologies including virtual reality, blockchain and Web3 infrastructure. 



Both concepts are in their early infancy, but development and major funding have continued to push the bounds and explore new revenue streams that share collectively in the success of a particular title.



While revenue models will need to be hashed out, some blockchain gaming developers believe Epic&#8217;s foray into the metaverse will help position the budding industry front and center.



&#8220;We should definitely anticipate more innovation happening in the space as new economic models are introduced,&#8221; Brian Akaka, chief marketing officer at Laguna Games, the developer behind the upcoming non-fungible token (NFT) title <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/crypto-unicorns-nets-26m-in-token-sales-led-by-tcg-backed-vc/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crypto Unicorns</a>, told Blockworks.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">&#8220;It is important for game developers to incorporate new mechanics as a natural part of gameplay, rather than treating it as an add-on.&#8221;</blockquote>



Kertonegoro believes Epic is poised to take advantage of an entirely new title centred around the concept of monetizing in-game assets that give players the option to share in the profits of Epic&#8217;s sales.



&#8220;I believe Tim Sweeney and Epic Games, in general, are smart enough to know that, in the end, the solution that&#8217;s best for players will always win,&#8221; he said.



Epic continues to distribute only a single class of common stock outstanding and remains controlled by its CEO and founder.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.



Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/onthemargin">Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter</a>.



Get alpha directly in your inbox with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/research">0xResearch newsletter</a> — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.



The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed">Subscribe to daily Solana news</a> from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.